Install of oem tow hooks on a 14 Express

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bryce88

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Cutouts and hooks...no brackets necessary.

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Well he will need the stock brackets. Sometimes they don't come with them so you have to make sure. I had a guy at a junk yard try to charge me $100 just for the brackets. Alot of them on eBay do come with the brackets though.

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SitKneelBend

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Well he will need the stock brackets. Sometimes they don't come with them so you have to make sure. I had a guy at a junk yard try to charge me $100 just for the brackets. Alot of them on eBay do come with the brackets though.

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Fair enough...if bought new you will get everything needed for installation of the tow hooks.

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armallard

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I will check and see what I have or don't have after this rain gets out of here. And try to figure how much to cut out.
 

SitKneelBend

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I will check and see what I have or don't have after this rain gets out of here. And try to figure how much to cut out.
You shouldn't have to cut anything. Post a picture of your bumper.

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Ken226

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I haven't checked in here in awhile. I'm glad to see that some guys are making these and having success.

I'm reading that some guys are having trouble getting a dimensioned drawing from the .STP file. I'll have some time on my hands today, so ill open up the file using Inventor and dimension it.

I'll upload it into grabcad in .pdf, fully dimensioned. Anyone will be able to download the drawing and print it without any need for CAD software.

My original design was tested for strength, statics and dynamics using Autodesk Inventor Pros Finite Element Analysis software, and to the best of my knowledge has already been used by several members here to pull with, without failure. Sorry i can't make any more for you guys, but it was very, very not cost effective :) to make via CNC VMC.

If someone wanted to manufacture these for resale, a CNC laser or waterjet could get the cost down to about 15-20$ per set. Unfortunately, i don't have a CNC Laser or CNC Waterjet.
 

Ken226

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Ok, last time, I got a lot of questions emailed to me about missing dimensions, so ill explain a couple things about general dimensioning and tolerancing standard practices.

To keep the clutter of the drawing to a minimum, features tend to be only dimensioned once. Some views will show certain dimensions. The same dimension isn't typically repeated in a different view.

For example: If view A shows a cubes length, width and height, view B won't show the length width and height.

Some dimensions are inferred, again to reduce clutter.

For example:In a drawing of a circle centered within a square, The dimensions are from a specific datum (point from which everything is measured). If the datum is the lower left corner of the square, then the dimensions will show the distance from the lower left corner to the top left corner, it will show the distance from the lower left corner to the lower right corner, it will show the distance from the lower left corner to the circle center along the X axis (bottom edge of the square) and it will show the distance from the lower left corner to the circle center along the Y axis (left edge of the square). It will also show the diameter of the circle.
(important: In the above example, if you need/want the distance from the circle center to any other point on the drawing, it is common practice to break out a calculator and calculate that information using the information in the drawing)

The distance from part edges to hole edges are not typically given, rather the distance from part edge to hole center is given. It is expected that if the machinist interpreting the engineering drawing need such a measurement, he will take the distance from the part edge to the circle center, and subtract half the diameter (radius) of the hole.

Symetric features are typically only dimensioned once.

Example: in the above circle in a square example. If the corners of the square are radiused, the radii of all for corners will be shown on one corner only. If any of the corners were meant to have a different radius, that specific corner will have its own seperate dimension.

That's why nerds always carry calculator!


The Adobe .pdf drawings are up on Grabcad.com:

https://grabcad.com/library/ram-sport-express-tow-hook-brackets-1
 
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mike19950

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Awesome work Ken!

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Ken226

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I didnt bother tolerancing it. Anything + or - .005" on all dimensions will certainly fit and function. Likely alot more generous on most dimensions.
 

holtff1074

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I purchased a set of used OEM tow hooks from a member here on the forum , I found a tow hook DIY here but I did a couple things different to keep the hooks from hitting my bumper and to open the gap a bit more to make it easier to install a strap .

My truck : 2014 4x4 QC EXPRESS with painted bumpers.
This is how I did it .

First I painted the exposed area of the hooks with VHT Roll bar and Chassis paint.

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Next I removed the black plastic bumper insert for measuring and for cutting the holes for the hooks to protrude through.
I started with a much smaller hole , took a couple attempts to get it right .

REMOVAL IS NOT REQUIRED IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE MY MEASUREMENTS.

ADVICE ON CUTTING , if you use a heat gun to warm it up it cuts really , really easy with a sharp xacto knife . Be careful don't heat too much , start off on low for about 10 seconds max .

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Both sides cut the same ! Easy to cut while installed , I actually finished cutting mine while installed .

I wanted to install the hooks with the opening outward , but due to the design of the hooks and how they install from the inside and things being in the way when I installed them with the hooks opening outward they wer contacting pretty good on the bumper without the insert installed .
So I installed the opening inward , I believe this is how they are supposed to be mounted because the way the bumper is shaped .

EDIT ××××××××××EDIT××××××××××EDIT

actually with the steel bumpers ( which are made for hooks) I think they go outward . They are functional either way.

Even inward the hook was aprox .030" from the bumper so I modified the brackets a little to lift the hooks up to have it up off the bumper aprox 5/16ths of an inch .
Bracket modified.

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I cut the right side above and on the left of the hole , opened the bottom of both holes a bit , to allow the bracket to be raised in its mounting location , and I knock out the alignment pin .


Hook mounted with modified bracket .

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I then painted them while installed

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Hooks installed .

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Touched up paint after install because I scratched thisone during install.

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Sorry so log , I hope this helps someone !

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆EDIT☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

FOR ANYONE READING MY ORIGINAL POST HERE AND WANT YOUR HOOKS TO POINT OUTWARD INSTEAD OF INWARD LIKE MINE ON AN EXPRESS OR SPORT OR A PAINTED BUMPER CHECK OUT POST #22 & BEYOND FOR (KEN226) HE HAS MADE BRACKETS TO ACCOMMODATE OUTWARD HOOKS ! POST #44 IS HIS PROTOTYPE.

THIS IS A LINK TO Ken226 's 1rst post , just read on from there ! Fantastic intuition.

http://www.ramforum.com/showthread.php?p=1495081
 

holtff1074

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They sell them on mopar parts online however they say that they wont fit express or painted bumpers
I've got a set from a wrecked truck and my 017 has the inserts where the hooks are to be mounted. I will prob install near spring as I must also figure size of the bolts to install. Looking forward to adding those and other minor mods I wanna do. Im just under 10k so I'm just making changes slowly to HellBoy 2.0
 

Ken226

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For those who occasionally send me PMs about these brackets, for some reason i cant reply to PMs.

Itll let me type a message, but theres no post button.

I dont make these anymore as it is too expensive. I would need to purchase a cnc waterjet or laser, and dont have the room for such a large machine.
 

bruiserRAM

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I looked into making some of these in bulk using Ken226's design (with his permission...thanks!)

If I make 50 sets I could resell them for about $50 including shipping.

My partner would be able to fab them all up to Ken226's specs and powder coat black...however, we wouldn't do it unless we sold 50...

We are considering making a pre sale order website, with a guarantee of delivery once 50 are sold.

I'm sure a few will preorder...but I'm a little skeptical we could presell 50 in a reasonable amount of time. Afraid the people who preorder right away will have to wait too long.

Thoughts???
 

JB1

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How is that light bar at night? Does it put out anything worth while for light ?

Well its 12,000 lumens so it lights up all I need, if you need more you might want to get a 42" dual row.
 

Ramdan32

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Wow so just took Ken’s bracket design to a local machine shop. They quoted me $550!
 
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