I have the Blue Ox baseplate for my newly-aquired 2012 KK. I hate to lose the tow hooks to mount the baseplate.

Anyone figure out a way to have their cake and eat it too? Have the baseplate and mount tow hooks to get out of a jamb?

I contacted Blue Ox and they basically said "tough".

Help!

The Factory hooks can be unbolted from their brackets which basically gives you universal tow hooks. You might be able to have them welded on to your tow bar, but I'll bet you're going to need to trim the bumper. The closer to the mounts the better for hook placement. Just make sure they don't interfere with the operation of your bar. Also make sure the person welding them on knows what they are doing because strength is going to be critical.

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2010 KK 4WD BRILLIANT BLACK
Fox/King/Bilstein ATH BUMPERS ATH RACK GY DURATRACS

ATHFAB.com

Get a Backbone winch mount and use them both (plus you will have a winch!). Or, in the meant time you can use the safety chain brackets on the tow bar as a recovery source. Bent mine a little pulling out a big Bronco, but they work. Just don't go crazy with that method.

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2004 KJ Limited
Eaton "e" locker front
Detroit Locker rear
Frankenlift II
245 75 16 Goodyear MTR's
Moabs
Al's UCA's
Boulderbars
Backbone with Warn XD9000i, Viking synthetic line
Rubicon Big Brother

Maybe adding gussets to those safety chain tabs would make them safely usable.

_________________
2010 KK 4WD BRILLIANT BLACK
Fox/King/Bilstein ATH BUMPERS ATH RACK GY DURATRACS

ATHFAB.com

I like the Backbone idea. Will have to check that out more.

Another idea I had was to mount the existing hooks to the side of the baseplate where it attaches to the frame. It's already heavily gusseted and would be basically just 90 degrees from the factory mounting point. It will be very tight though.

Other than that, I suppose I could beef up the safety chain brackets, though that's pretty far from the frame mounting location. I don't know how much the baseplate could take in a recovery situation.

Maybe the best option is to not get stuck in the first place! But what's the fun in that??

Thanks!