recovery points - front and rear?
Looking at my 463 I can see it has the standard removable pintle at the front behind the number plate and a Mercedes stamped tow bar at the back.
At the front it a single recovery point in the front bash plate and what looks to be space for a second one, Is it possible to fit another ?
Same with rear one recovery point, is it possible to ft another ?
I think these are on epc, but obviously welded on. A lot of work , especially if you want to do the back as will mean dropping tank. Maybe ORC offers an easier solution. What are you planning to do, severe off road stuff? Unsure how strong front towing pintle is?
The front pintle is rated at 5000kg if I remember correctly.
The front steel bumper on the G is bolted directly to the ends of the chassis rails and is extremely robust. I would advise fitting some heavy duty recovery mounts (as shown in the photo) directly to the bumper in line with the chassis rails, the military bumpers already have these fitted (see photo).
The rear recovery points will have to be bolted directly to the chassis because the rear bumper is not suitable for this
The existing factory welded hoops are primarily designed as tie down points when the vehicle is being transported and should not really be used as recovery points.
Hi Big Block
Your photo got me thinking. Is the bolt pattern on the block that you provided in the picture the same as the NATO bolt pattern for their beak-style tow hitch? (NATO bolt pattern is 83mmx56mm, or 3 1/4" x 2 3/16" in old money) If so, it wouldn't be a big deal to make up an adapter plate that bolts on to where the tow hitch is and have the rear recovery point centrally positioned. Could you provide me with further details of the recovery point please.
Thanks,
Ph
Hi Phileas
The heavy duty swivel recovery point shown in the photo is by Forgetec and sells for around £45.
It will fit on the standard NATO hitch bolt pattern and is rated at 14 tons which should be enough for most recoveries !!
I recently replaced the NATO hitch on my Pinz with a four bolt Dixon Bates ball and pin combo which also makes a good central recovery point. This was a perfect fit for the original mounting holes except that it placed the ball to high so the rear door could not open. I then had to modify the NATO mounting point so I could drop the ball below the door. I could of used an adapter plate but I did not want to make it to low so that it affected the excellent departure angle of the Pinz when off roading.
Just as a word of caution, a mate assures me he saw a rusty 460 towing a big trailer at a farm sale , only for the tow ball to detach from the G on the crossmember, and the trailer shot off elsewhere..When you look at the standard arrangement doesn't look that strong? Is a Wolf/ Millatry one any different?
Obviously that G I am talking about could have really suffered abuse wise, so it is not a common failing
The rear tow hitch is bolted to the rear-most tubular cross-member on the chassis. This is an open tube and it is prone to rust from mud and dirt deposited through its open ends in rear wheel arch. Eventually, like the spring mounts, it could fail.
The rear cross-member tubes should be cleaned of dirt, inspected and repainted and waxed to maintain them in good condition. I have also fitted plastic caps to mine to keep mud and dirt out.
What did you use as plastic cap, anything easily obtainable?
Hi Big block,
Thanks for your message. I'll contact Forgetec. By the way, Pinzgauer actually make a cast drop plate for the TD models because they found exactly this problem for them too. If I remember rightly Camtec used to sell it. I'll see if I can fish it out somewhere.
Ph
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Front recovery does look to be welded on, need to take the front guard off to have a better look, and see if anything is possible
Rear looks possible to manufacture some new recovery points to attach to the same points the tow bar assembly attaches to,
A little poor that they are both located on the passenger side.
I've been always taught to use a bridle strap between two recovery points to reduce the load across two points.