[Beery]

After munching my rear bar, I'm staring at the back wondering what to do about it when rear recovery points crossed my mind.

Here's the back end of a sierra chassis: (SWB WT)



I was going to get all elaborate and do away with the factory tie down, use some thick plate to tap into the existing bolt holes and maybe wrap it up around the corner and secure it into the existing crossmember with a bit of tube, or something...

But then I thought, why not just reinforce the crossmember with some tube, and put a soft shackle through that? done.







obviously cut the tube down to like, ~200mm, and then weld the end of it secure.

Anyone got any thoughts? I can't see it failing in any spectacular way.

Obviously this won't suit a factory rear bar, because well... the bar is in the way, and the taillight, but I'm making a bar so I can incorporate it.

[Brenno]

That's what I do at the front. But I haven't reinforced it, I just keep it close to the rails and not pull from the middle.

[Beery]

Copy that. The reinforcement probably isn't completely necessary, but I have seen a bent front crossmember, so I'm a bit wary. I don't know how it got bent though, so who knows how it happened, and it was in the middle of the tube where it would be weak. The soft shackle can't go anywhere in this setup so should be apples.

[greenzook89]

I've bent a front crossmember doing unspeakable things to a Sierra. (Think tree, 6k reverse clutch dumps in low and wheels off the ground)

I think with common sense and a bit of mechanical sympathy that you'll be right.