[All] Recovery Points

[300bhp/ton]

Recovery Points.


In any off road situation it is a sensible requirement to have suitable recovery points. These can vary in many different types and fittings from vehicle to vehicle.

The standard lashing eyes and front recovery points fitted to Land Rovers are not suitable for off road use and exist for lashing to a trailer or a short easy tow on level hard ground, such as if you break down. Wrapping a rope around a bumper or front A frame/brush guard is also not a suitable alternative.

There are a great many different types of hooks and shackles and most can be fitted to any vehicle with enough determination.

Popular types of recovery points:

Jate rings



Tow jaw


Tow ball/jaw combo


Tow hook


NATO style pintle/hook


Recovery eye


Swivel recovery eye


Large Recovery eye


Each type of recovery point has it’s own distinct advantages, be it price, size, fitting, 360°
swivel ability or for towing.

When installing any recovery point ensure you follow the instructions supplied with the recovery point and/or seek professional assistance. The recovery point must be mounted so that it is safe, securer and strong enough for its intended use. And that it will take the strain of a snatch recovery, should the occasion arise. If such a recovery point should fail it could be very damaging and very dangerous.

Choosing the correct type of recovery point is very important. If you compete in competitions such as ALRC Trials events then recovery points have to meet certain criteria. But consideration should also be given to use, if you plan to use the vehicle to tow a trailer or caravan then a NATO style pintle or recovery eye will not be the appropriate choice. Also some vehicles such as Discovery’s may require modification of the bumpers to allow certain types of recovery point.

If you are serious about off roading then multiple recovery points are advisable. This means even if one fails you still have a recovery point, but it also means that multiple recovery lines could be attached if needed, maybe to pull the vehicle to one side or prevent it from rolling during recovery.


Series, Ninety, One Ten and Defender

These are arguably the easiest vehicles to attach recovery points to. And almost any type of recovery point can be used. You do need to ensure that the front bumper is of adequate strength (additional bracing/backing plates may be required) and that high tensile bolts are used to attach the recovery point to the vehicle and to attach the bumper to the vehicle if the point is mounted on it.

At the rear you can either mount directly to the rear cross member but for towing this may place the hook too high up, so the addition of a tow bar or drop plate may be advised.

Tow bar:



Range Rover Classic & Discovery (D1)

Fitting of recovery points onto this type of vehicle will often result in modification of the original bumpers or replacement with heavy duty after market items. The standard rear bumpers only mount to the vehicle with 2 bolts, this is not sufficient for mounting a recovery point to the bumper. HD bumpers should mount with at least 4 bolts, the additional two should mount to the underside of the rear cross member where the drop plate would normally mount. All bolts should be high tensile.

The addition of a fuel tank guard is also advisable (fuel tank is plastic on some models) and the guard can be used to incorporate a rear recovery point.




Discovery Series 2 (D2)

This series of Discovery has plastic bumpers as standard, a departure from the D1. You should still be able to mount the standard factory style drop plate or Jate rings/tow hooks directly to the chassis. However you may need to cut the front bumper to prevent it being ripped off during recovery.

The easiest and most common solution is to simply fit heavy duty after market bumpers as these will generally include suitable recovery points or give you a suitable location to mount a recovery point too.






Examples of recovery points fitted to vehicles:


Jate Rings:



Tow ball/jaw:


Swivel eyes:





Large recovery eyes (note on top of bumper):


Recovery eye:


NATO Hooks:



Military spec bumper and pin: