The Great Tow Hooks Conspiracy Thread

Exactly, getting stuck. has nothing to do with reliabilty. A tundra can get stuck just as easy as any other truck.

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZX60X9pOD0o

 

Just trying to add some lighthearted humor to a thread that's become way too serious. My posts should be concidered an unreasonably over-optimistic perspective...and you should laugh at them.

 

You mean you don't drive a hundred million miles away from civilization 9 days a week to hunt and fish where there are no humans or roads in all weather conditions up hill both ways and NEVER ever gotten stuck!!!???

Shocking....

 

Who says they’ve never gotten stuck?

You get stuck enough when no one is around to help and all of a sudden you learn to to drive in such a way you wouldn’t/don’t need tow hooks. Digging out of a snow drift by yourself in -30 wind chill sucks.

 

Oh, I've gotten stuck... briefly. But I've always been alone in a remote area when it happened so having tow hooks didn't really help my situation any.

3 weeks ago I blew out my front steering rack, passenger side tail light and a fitting on my airlift air bags getting unstuck while on a trail all by my lonesome. The only thing I've ever used my own tow hooks for was to pull limbs and logs off the trail.

I don't think there is going to be any issues between the active air dam and tow hooks when they're available (OEM or otherwise). If it doesn't deploy below 40 MPH and, I assume, never in reverse then I wouldn't expect it to come into play when your pulling out your buddies who can't drive.

 

Been there and done that when I was out quail hunting over in Grant County about 6 years ago, but I think it was only -20 with the wind chill that day. Good thing I had snow chains and shovel. Have you been following me?

 

Haha you better hope not because you don’t need to repeat some of my misadventures. I had to crawl out of my window one night so I could shovel out enough snow to get chains on all fours. Thank God the wind wasn’t blowing that night. It was a straight up -20. At least the moon was full.

On a side note, but I think it really is hard for folks to comprehend isolation who don’t live out west. Taking care of yourself is a must.

 

In all seriousness, yall should get a winch if your out there solo in that kind of weather and getting stuck.

Only needs to be used once to become a very satisfied owner.

 

If your serious about recovery, just get your self some of these. And if you don't recognize all the different hook patterns then I think "you just want to paint your tow hooks red"

 

Hell even Honda Civic's have tow hooks on the front. The reason why the "big great three" have front tow hooks and the new Tundra doesn't. Is because the Tundra is meant to Pull with its rear, hooked to the "big great three's" front and pull them out.

 

Probably should, but usually you can get out just as fast with chains, particularly if there is nothing to winch to. It’s certainly been a strong consideration as I get older.

 

Desire for a winch isn't my issue. Securing funding approval for a winch has been my issue.

 

That's not a Civic, it's a Fit.

You can not side load the thread-in recovery eyelet. You can side load recovery hooks on a truck.

 

You keep making good arguments against recovery hooks.
And I somewhat agree with you.
I will drive according to the circumstances.
If I'm out in the middle of nowhere, I will drive exactly like you.... evaluate the risks and don't overdo anything. This happens a lot as one of our favorite things is to off-road where we're unlikely to see other people.

However, if I know I'm going out with my friends who also off-road, I will bring my Bogs mud boots (for certain parts of WA state) a shovel and recovery straps. Because I fully anticipate to really push my luck and possibly get stuck. That's when it's fun, and I insist my rig has recovery hooks. The group I roll with actually enjoy the challenge of getting stuck. In these circumstances I also learn what my truck will and will not do, and how it behaves on wet logs, mud, deep water, wet rocks, sharp rocks, sand, what size tree can I push over, etc. Doing all of that in a group that can recover me helps make the lonesome trips safer.

And BTW, to everyone saying "tow hooks" aren't necessary, the actual term is "recovery hooks". If you don't know what they're called, and what they're used for, your opinion on the matter is less relevant.

 

Fair points and you’ll get no disagreement from me. For the record, and I know I’m repeating myself, I think it’s dumber than hell not to have them. It’s just not a deal breaker for me, and I bet if you look at pickup drivers as a whole, a very small percentage would fall in either yours or my usage patterns.

 

In college my friends and I got stuck offroading in some super deep snow. Ended up digging for a couple hours. Needless to say, we missed class that day.

 

I agre about most people never needing them, but the same could be said about other stuff like crawl control. Ive only need hooks a handfull of times over the years, but i dont think ive ever been in a situation where i would need the crawl control. I dont know how much time and effort it took for the r&d, software, etc, for this feature, but it sounds like a lot more than adding tow hooks would have been.

 

As I get older, I am becoming less ambitious.

My main attraction to the new Tundra is the wide availability of the longer bed with the Crew Cab, my wife and I love road trips (Crew Cab) and boondocking/camping with the Leer fiberglass capper we have on our current truck (current truck bed is 67", I am 71" so we have an SUV tent to leave the tailgate down). And my wife "let's me have it" every time I try to blaze a new trail or cross a creek. Point being, I'll likely do way less serious (for a stockish FS truck) off-roading in the future.

However, just in case, I'd still like the recovery hooks, even though I'm less likely to need them.
To me, another issue, about as bad as the lack of recovery hooks is the plastic schnoz overhang. I can see that getting bashed up way more easily than most FS trucks with light off-road package. To be clear, my gripes focus on the fact that Toyota expanded the off-road goodies for Gen 3, then strangely added the plastic schnoz overhang and removed the recovery hooks.

Probably not a big deal in reality, for me, but if I rip off the lower bumper or have a moment of "reliving" my adventurous off-road days and end up needing recovery hooks, I'm going to be disappointed. Especially at this price point (over $50k now)

 

And that’s the interesting part of this. I’ve had more use for craw control.

What I really can’t wrap my head around is 1) drag race tests and 2) what my engine sounds like.

 

if you are Solo'ing what good does tow chains do you if theres no one around to pull you out? As for winching there is always something to winch to just need a shovel and bury the spare tire or invest in a land anchor.

might be slightly expensive to start but once you have it, it will become your best friend. Plus a winch is versatile in what it can do for you. i've used my winch more times for moving Non running vehicles on the property or other property work. Even set up a snatch at my 2 post and winched a pallet engine/trans from my storage on a appliance dolly over to it. Made it so easy effortlessly for me to get it done. Might be using it here next year for controlled stump removal. But I have still yet the need to use it for recovery.

 

Toyota has made it clear they’re no longer interested in your business with the new Tundra.

Buy a truck that meets your needs, the 2022 Tundra isn’t the right truck because it lacks equipment you need.

Maybe the 3.5 or Gen 4 Tundra in 2042 will offer recovery hooks up front.

 

Engine sounds tests other than decibel level are subjective nonsense, I get it that guys get wrapped up in how the conversion of fuel and air into work and combustion gasses sounds but damn it’s far down the list of things that matter.

Drag race tests are fun, but drag racing pickups is an activity for tards who should have bought a fast car instead of a truck. Drag race tests or acceleration tests with a load or trailer are pretty informative though in my opinion.

 

Oddly, I was never interested in the 2.5gen Tundra, but some of the things 2.5 Tundra owners have been saying carry merit with me, and I have now warmed up to the 2.5 Tundra.
However, with resale values being stoopid high these days, I think I'll just keep my current truck. Drive it literally into the ground.

Still, when that time comes, Tundra is the preferred truck. Just too expensive and has gone down a slightly different path than I'd prefer

 

Tire chains, not tow.

 

Well good luck with your current truck. I hope to continue driving my 2007 Tundra for several more years at this point. Correcting the deficiencies of the 3rd Gen is going to cost money on top of the already high price of the truck. So I need more time to save more money if I want a new Tundra.

The upcoming year is going to be a no-go due to the expense of replacing our roof, and making a significant upgrade to the roofing material. That $12,000 out of pocket that insurance won’t cover put’s a damper on down payments, and accessories/mods budget.

My son loves the orange paint on the TRD Pro, and I appreciate the light bar and upgraded suspension, and I’m only interested in the iForceMax engine. Any off road capable truck does need recovery hooks, and that will be aftermarket unless Toyota pulls their head out of their ass from now until May and figures out how to add them.

So I’m looking at a truck that will MSRP around $68K (if it’s higher than that it’s not worth the money). Add to that a mild accessory list of:

1.) Aftermarket skid plate with oil filter access panel and recovery hooks (if possible).

2.) Ceramic window tint.

3.) Toyota solid aluminum rock rail/running boards.

4.) Tonneau cover.

5.) Swing out bed storage boxes to make up for losing under seat storage.

So I need to save more money, and that gives Toyota or the aftermarket time to offer solutions.

 

Hopefully, it wont be that high. The zr2 pricing is 66k, and thats with more expensive shocks ( i think), and front and rear lockers, 6.2l and the new interior, that will probably have the same or better tech. Other than the fox shocks, i really dont see what the pro has to offer that the other trims dont. And its not like it has the same level shocks thats on the raptor, or long travel susp.. Its still the one im planning on getting, but if its that high, ill probably go with the gm. Im not really brand loyal and i dont plan on keeping it after the warranty runs out anyway.

 

Wow. After reading this entire thread I have come to the conclusion that IDGAF about tow hooks.

However, I am crushed by the lack of cupholder capacity. Mind you, not the number of cupholders but the size. Does anyone know if the F150 cupholder can hold a Big Gulp or will I need to go after market?

Is it OK to post my concern in this thread, or do I need to start a new thread exclusively for cupholder issues?