120 Series - Standard recovery points?

[sssstew Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sssstew]

Hi All

Can anyone confirm if the standard 120 series has recovery points front and back? Ive seen a few sale ads for additional brackets for this and was surprised to think that the Prado didnt have anything to attach on for recovery as standard.

Whats the deal?

Thanks

[timmay5.7 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close timmay5.7]

no. there is no standard recovery points.
only tie down points. (not strong enough)

[sssstew Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sssstew]

bugger! so what options have i got? before i go out onto the beach soon....

what have others done?

[Guest Close Guest]

Have a look around the forum. There is plenty of info on this. Just use the google search and add siteradopoint.com to your search terms.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=recovery+points...pradopoint.com

A pair of Maxtraxs is also worth the investment for beach work.

[toddy Member Find all posts View Profile Close toddy]

I have been recovered twice using the recovery points in sand and I've had no dramas. But they were my only option at the time. I've since had a Sahara bar installed but I'm led to believe that I need to reinforce their points.

Cheers, toddy.



Sent from my Tab on Tapatalk...

[sssstew Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sssstew]

thanks amts - yeah just did this whilst waiting the read loads.

toddy, are you saying youve had to use the standard welded on hoops at the front before?

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

Stew, As you will have seen, the standard hoops are tie down points not recovery points. Also, the loops on ARB Bullbars are towing points not recovery points. If you don't have a bar then you can easily fit recovery points for about $100. People have used both the tie down points and the ARB tow points for recoveries before now, mostly without dramas, provided you use a bridle so that both points are used simultaneously to spread the load. But for the sake of $100 in the name of safety fit some proper recovery points - it's one of the first mods I made to mine.

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

Note that for Prados built after 2006 (or maybe 07), the front loops are built MUCH stronger, and actually go through the front chassis - not just welded below it as the older prados have. Thus for the newer Prados, there is NO need to get aftermarket recovery points...

I have used these in recoveries with no problems at all.

If in doubt, get a load-balancing strap which ties to both front points, and the main snatch strap goes onto this strap, in the middle, thus balancing the strain.

[Matty80 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Matty80]

I think we need to look back and remember the injuries and deaths that occur in australia every year when the mis informed and untrained make mistakes during recoveries. Bits of flying metal, attached to the end of dynamic straps are never forgiving.

Whether it be from the incorrect fitment/connection at the rear, or incorrect attachment at the front, inexperience of the snatch or whatever else the causes may be - even a spectator standing too close. We need to ensure that the equipment we use is suitable for the task!

For this very reason, the toyota factory fitted points are "tow points", and as such should be used in this manner for which they were designed.

I believe it is still a requirement of the PP gatherings that aftermarket recovery points are fitted.

[toddy Member Find all posts View Profile Close toddy]

Matty,

Quick question, I have the Sahara bar as previously mentioned and cannot fit after market points due to this. Apart from re welding arb's points how would I be able to attend a PP gathering?

Cheers, toddy


Sent from my Tab on Tapatalk...

[sssstew Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close sssstew]

cool, thanks for the clarification everyone.

[jimmy91 Member Find all posts View Profile Close jimmy91]

would also be a good idea to post photo's so that people can see what to use and what to use for putting a snatch strap on. i have a tow hitch i bought from arb it was $55 and came with a 4.75t shackle. sadly i have had to use it but it was bloody good and easy to use.

[thawifestrolley Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close thawifestrolley]

I had no idea the ARB bar recovery points were not suitable. I have a deluxe bar and the rings on the bull bar which end up right next to the standard Toyota welded hoops are advertised as recovery points. I will investigate further with ARB.

thanks for the warning.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

I had no idea the ARB bar recovery points were not suitable. I have a deluxe bar and the rings on the bull bar which end up right next to the standard Toyota welded hoops are advertised as recovery points. I will investigate further with ARB.

thanks for the warning.

I'd be interested to hear where they were advertised as recovery points - ARB are quite adamant they aren't.

[Trekrider Banned Find all posts View Profile Close Trekrider]

For reference, here's what the ARB National Product & Services Manager had to say on it:

First and foremost, all 4x4 owners need to be aware that there is no rating system for 4x4 recovery points. There’s no Australian standard, no ADR or state regulation either.

The only regulations in force on recovery gear (in Australia) are in Queensland and that relates to recovery straps only, and not what they are attached to. ARB’s straps of course comply with all aspects of these regulations, which refer to minimum breaking loads rather than load ratings.

We supply rated shackles, and there is Australian standards coverage for these, as they are from a range of products sourced from industrial lifting gear suppliers. Several magazines have done really good articles in recent years on how strong these shackles are and how much safety margin is built into them. That margin means that the point at which these items fail must be at least six times the stated Working Load Limit (WLL) (Australian Standard AS2741- 2002). That’s exactly the sort of safety margin you want to know is in force when you walk along a city street with a crane working on a building high above you. They simply cannot be allowed to fail.

Great, I can hear you saying, let’s apply the same safety factor to our recovery points.

Bit of a problem there, I’m afraid.

Take your Prado 120 as an example. Its kerb weight is 2.17 tonnes, Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) is 2.9 tonnes. Say we want to provide a recovery point for this vehicle with a safety factor of 6 times that can be used with a snatch strap that has a minimum breaking strength of 8 tonnes. Then that point needs to survive a test load of 17.4 tonnes because that’s the total weight of the vehicle multiplied by 6 and over the break load of the strap (we always want the strap to break rather than break what it’s attached to).

But wait! What if the vehicle has a caravan on when it requires recovery, say in a boggy caravan park after a storm. That vehicle can have a 2500kg trailer/caravan as well, so now our recovery point needs to be surviving a load of 32.4 tonnes.

I can tell you that a recovery point that can survive that sort of load is a serious chunk of metal and there are a lot of vehicles where it would be difficult to find a point on the chassis strong enough to mount such a device, let alone survive the test.

Now, for all you mechanical engineers out there, you will understand that the load required to pull a vehicle is less than that required to lift it. However, we are hypothesising on application of lifting standards here (so hence that approach), but do not discount the off road situations we all encounter, the ledges we might be up against, the suction of a boggy mud hole, and the often less than straight-on direction of a recovery operation. For these reasons it is valid to want to have a safety factor. We definitely do not want hardware breakages anytime, anywhere.

I need to get off my soapbox, don’t I?

Your ARB Prado bar, even if it is not a winch capable bar, is designed as a winch bar initially and fully tested for winching with the largest winch that will fit. This design includes a replacement for the factory tow point which is engineered to be strong enough to anchor the winch rope hook in a double line pull recovery operation. It is also suitable for towing the vehicle and light duty strap recovery.

I’m pleased to say also that the last time I was on this particular soapbox, I was at a meeting to discuss ARB developing an industry standard for vehicle recovery points. This is a work in progress within our development engineering team so stay tuned for some exciting new products and industry leading practices in the near future.