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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2008
12:17:06
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 Subject: Tow rope
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now ill admit im a beginner to the offroading thing. im going up this old dirt road thats im very sad shape but is really fun. im going w/ a couple of my buddies who have a lifted jeep and a lifted dodge from the '80s. my truck is the 2000 slt 3.9l 4x4, bone stock. now this trail is only 1 truck wide and is built on the side of a mountain with a drop on the left and a steep slope up to the right. theres still a bit of snow on it too. ive got a 8500lbs tow rope in case one of us gets stuck so i know i got a tuff enough on. my question is, if i were to get stuck and the only part that they could attatch to to pull me out is the front, where would be the best place to hook it too? i dont have those hooks there under the bumper and i dont want to hook it something that could bend or break. any suggestions would be rightious! thanks!
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other bill
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2008
14:10:56
| RE: Tow rope
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If you have to tie off to the front and you don't want to install hooks, then I would suggest looping the strap around the forward most crossmember, on which ever side gives you the best pull considering the situatuion you are in. now, chances are good that you could bend the bottom side of your bumper up or that mud guard that goes between the crossmember and up to the body (under the radiator) depending how you pull. Without using properly mounted tow hooks, you may very well bend 'something' if you are stuck very bad at all. Even with tow hooks you can still cause damage depending on the angle of pull you have to make to get unstuck...and 8,500lbs is good for mild stucks (traction loss, sliding a little off the trail, 'slight' high centering, etc.) NOT much for a bad off-road stucks (burried in the mud, hung up on a rock, getting over a log, etc.). That's why you see most 'quality' straps starting at 20,000lbs. Don't get me wrong, you can probably go out as you are and have a great time, just be realistic about it and know that 'stuff happens', you can end up tearing something up...even when you are careful. I would suggest that you travel in the middle of the convoy. That way you have a more capable (non-stock) rig on both ends should you get into trouble. That is what I did when mine was stock...that and I removed the plastic air damb before I ever left the driveway. Good luck, stay safe, and have fun.
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2008
19:23:52
| RE: Tow rope
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air damps? what is that and what was the reason for removing it?
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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4/01/2008
20:30:35
| RE: Tow rope
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spend some money and get some tow hooks installed. My 02 didn't have tow hooks as an option. Father-in-law's friend who owns his own welding business welded some on for me. I got a family discount on the welding.
He took 2 L brackets and welded them together to form a tube. drilled 2 holes for me to mount the tow hooks. Welded the tubes to the underside of my frame rails so when the tow hooks are attached they stick out the holes in the air dam.
I picked up a set of tow hooks from a late 80s or early 90s chevy s10 blazer from a salvage yard. I think i paid $20 for them.
If you have a TSC around, go pick up a 20,000 lb recovery strap.
- Dan M
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/02/2008
00:37:10
| RE: Tow rope
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ya thats a good idea. im actually thinking about getting a new offroad bumper/brush gaurd to put a winch on in the future as well as some lights. if thats ends up being expensive then i will just end up doing something similar to what youve done. just gotta find a welder.
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TowHooks
Dodge Dakota
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4/02/2008
23:31:45
| RE: Tow rope
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Looky
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/758000-758999/758500_19_full.jpg
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/2/web/758000-758999/758500_4_full.jpg
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/03/2008
00:13:23
| RE: Tow rope
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ya that looks cool but the bumper on my truck is a bit different and doesnt have those holes for the hooks in it.
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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4/03/2008
05:55:23
| RE: Tow rope
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An advantage of welding the tubes to the bottom of the frame rail is that all of the brush guards I've seen mount on the side of the frame rail. I too can add a brush/grill guard.
A brushguard and winch is going to be expensive. I wanted to do the same, i really liked the trans4mer by warn, but it was about $1000 for grill guard, headlight guards, light bar and winch mount. Then you have to pay for a winch, another 500-1200 depending on type and weight.
The general guide line for a winch is to use a weight that is 1.5x your truck weight.
for a 5000 lb truck, get a 8,000 (5000 + 2500 = 7500) lb winch.
- Dan M
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other bill
Dodge Dakota
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4/03/2008
06:53:29
| RE: Tow rope
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ben,
I removed the air dam (that piece of plastic that goes along the bottom of the front bumper) whenever I made trips to areas I had not been before. At stock height, this becomes the sacrificial body part at the front when getting into/out of 'squirrely' situations. Tying to the front for a pull, sometimes even with tow hooks, can also be a good way to put a permanent crease in that plastic. I now leave mine on and take my chances, but I have also installed the 4" suspension and 2" body lifts to accommodate 33x10.5s. Hope this helps.
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/03/2008
11:18:02
| RE: Tow rope
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well i was looking at getting a westin safari bar with some 5x7 kc hilites long range lights. if i decide to get a winch i could just weld on a steel plat there on the safari bar. first though im going to dump some cash into making some more ponies for my v6. what are your thoughts on the safari bar setup?
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other bill
Dodge Dakota
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4/03/2008
13:52:37
| RE: Tow rope
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A Safari bar will not hold up to winch duty. It is not strong enough (thick enough metal). When mounting a winch, it is best to go with something built specifically for that purpose. Like a Class III trailer hitch, it has to be 'beefy' to handle the pulling stresses associated with its intended use. Same thing with a snow plow, the mounting hardware is all heavy duty (thick) stuff.
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/03/2008
15:26:52
| RE: Tow rope
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darn. so ill have to go the expensive route. im not quite sure what im looking for , is it a winch mount or what?
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calikota
Dodge Dakota
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4/05/2008
12:33:20
|  RE: Tow rope
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If you don't have the holes in the air dam you could simply have the tow hooks just underneath the airdam. I believe that your bumper does not go as low as the newer models, which is a good thing since you have better front end clearance when going up or down a hill.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2572956
The seventh picture down is a bolt on bracket that I made from some plans that I found on this site. Since your air dam doesn't go down as low I think these will work for your truck, they'll just sit below the air dam.
If your interested in the plans reply back and I'll find them for you.
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/05/2008
13:12:56
| RE: Tow rope
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calikota, the link didnt work. my bumper doesnt drop as low as the newwr models, i was checkin out the brand new ones at the dealership and they sit about a foot off the ground. im curious to see what you did but the link didnt work.
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calikota
Dodge Dakota
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4/05/2008
13:23:19
| RE: Tow rope
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Did you cut and paste it into your address bar? i just tried it and it worked.
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/05/2008
16:30:35
| RE: Tow rope
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ya i didnt work, said error something. i got your email tho. how did you get my email address tho?
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2008
13:34:06
| RE: Tow rope
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calikota - what kind of skid plates did you put on?
I have an 02 and found factory front suspension and transfer case skid plates. the front suspension skid plate actually covers the front drive shaft coming out of the transfer case to the front axle.
I want to make something to cover my fuel tank. I read the factory one (which i can't find in stock anywhere) is a composite and it was over $400.
I'm thinking about bolting some iron bars together - I don't have access to any welding equipment.
- Dan M
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calikota
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2008
19:32:37
| RE: Tow rope
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Dan M.- 1/4 inch steel plate that I cut myself, it all bolts on so no welding is required. I don't have a skid plate for my gas tank, but would be interested in making one or finding it for a reasonable price.
I've heard that they make one for the extended cabs, but not for the quad cabs or I might have that reversed.
Ben-Look on the left hand coulom where your name is and click on the little envelope.
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Dan M
Dodge Dakota
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4/07/2008
21:38:07
| RE: Tow rope
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I talked to a few local welding shops, they told me they can make something if I draw up some specs... but.. they are all busy and will take a couple months to do it .. small job.. not as profitable.
They do make one for the quad cab, at least 2 dealers told me that. It's not metal though, probably due to weight.
I was thinking of just picking up some metal from hardware store .. and either brazing or bolting maybe brazing and bolting it together. I may wind up using something like diamond plate to coverage and some L brackets and single thicker pieces to make a cage of sorts. I would make it all bolt on, someday I may have to drop the fuel tank.
I'm also thinking about taking some thinner sheet metal and replacing the front plastic piece that has the access hole to change oil filter.
I may wind up making a small heat shield / skid plate of shorts to cover the hoses and evap canister when I made the fuel tank plate, I already had 1 hose go bad.
- Dan M
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calikota
Dodge Dakota
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4/08/2008
14:13:44
| RE: Tow rope
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I had my fuel pump go out at 30,000 and its in the fuel tank. So that is good that your thinking ahead because the pump is in your fuel tank. Supposedly dodge is notorious about their fuel pumps.
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ben
Dodge Dakota
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4/09/2008
00:26:23
| RE: Tow rope
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Message:
dan, were you talking about the tow hoow job to the welders or your skid plate thing? is it relitively cheap for them to do small stuff like that?
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