Recovery Points

[Brian Kinsella]

Could some one please tell me if the Land Rover Discovery 4 comes supplied with suitable off road recovery points or do these have to be fitted by 4 WD company expert

[Tank]

Welcome to the Forum, try posting in the Disco 4 section should get the answers you want, Regards Frank.

[Barryp]

Fitted front and rear.
Regards
Barryp

[CraigE]

Fitted front and rear.
Regards
Barryp
Are these rated recovery points or just standard vehicle tie down points? Often tie down points are mistaken for recovery points. The difference can prove to be catastrophic or even fatal.
Want to qualify this as most vehicles do not come out with recovery points as standard.

[Mike_S]

They're fitted to the chassis already and aren't tie-down eyes.

[Blknight.aus]

if you're talking about the loops welded to the chassis they are NOT recovery points they are flat tow (as in up onto a flatbed truck or for a very short distance on the road) and tiedown points.

[Barryp]

Solid hooks welded to chasis behind plastic removable covers on front and rear bumpers on D3, D4 and RR Sport.
There is a utube video of a D3 hanging off a crane from the front hook with three competitor 4WD's hanging off the rear recovery point, they are tough!
Barryp:D

[jonesy63]

They may be tough, but are not rated. IIRC, Gordon had problems competing due to this.

(It seems unless you buy some extra parts to bolt to you 4x4, it doesn't count). :angel:

[DiscoWeb]

Could some one please tell me if the Land Rover Discovery 4 comes supplied with suitable off road recovery points or do these have to be fitted by 4 WD company expert

Brian,

As far as I am aware and based on advice from experts (Land Rover driver trainers) and experienced users alike the hooks on the D3/D4/RRS located under the plastic cover at the front and rear of the vehicle are considered suitable for recovery.

LR does not confirm they are recovery points for liability reasons. However I and many many others have used these for recoveries on numerous occasions and as far as I am aware I have never heard of a failure of either of the recovery points.

Hope this helps, unfortunately it is technically not a simple yes or no answer but if I was asked I would say yes the points are suitable for recovery use!

George

[gghaggis]

The centre points front and rear (behind the plastic covers) are for recovery, not tie-down. LR will not rate them (neither do any manufacturers), but the G4 team and LRE estimate them rated at twice GVM. We have been using them for 6 years on various cars for multiple recoveries (winch, tow, snatch) without issue.

Cheers,

Gordon

[roverfan]

Can anyone post a pic?
or a link to the video mentioned would be good

[jonesy63]

Land Rover Discovery / LR3 The Big Lift - YouTube

Enjoy! :cool:

[101RRS]

Not sure that is all that relevant to the recovery point question as the lifting points in the vid are not the recovery points. As far as the relevance of the vid overall, I am sure my 58 series 1 chassis would do just as well as the the D3 chassis given the way everything is connected up.

The vid did state that the recovery points are rated at 6000kg.

Garry

[Mike_S]

Front recovery point is the loop inside the oval shaped hole on my front bash plate.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/01/748.jpg

This is it in use later on in the day :angel:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/01/749.jpg

The rear recovery point is behind the plastic panel covering the towbar electrical sockets. Seen here on mine with a shackle through the eye and a rope attached to it, which in turn is attached to the front point on one of the other G4 cars in Thailand. Mine is the car in the middle with a rope on the front recovery point to the back of the FFRR in front, you can see the shackle fitted to the recovery point on the RRS at the rear of the group

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/01/750.jpg

And again here, on the back of my car the shackle attached to the recovery point is visible.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2012/01/751.jpg

They're in the same place on the D3' & 4's of course, as it's essentially the same chassis. I believe the Mitch Hitch towbar arrangement uses the rear recovery point as a mounting point for the bar, have seen a couple of close up photos of that. Hope that helps.

[bbyer]

I realize that the thread is about recovery points however for interests sake, below is a LR pdf on various recommended methods for lashing their vehicles for transport to the dealer lot.

I thought it may be of interest. The Freelander as well as the D4 are covered.

As an aside, what is definitely not a recovery point is the Land Rover "plow" detachable hitch for the rear of the D4. The cast loop centred above in the rear bumper surely is except in the eyes of Land Rover lawyers who with the same degree of enthusiasm would argue that the detachable tow hitch is without fault and any evidence of concern is due to owner misuse.

[discotwinturbo]

I was advised by land rover (verbally mind you) that these points being referred to are recovery points suitable for snatches. Scott at southerns in Perth advised me of this.

The rear looks more than strong enough, the front not so, but others (on this thread) appear to have used them for recovery which gives me comfort.

[SuperMono]

Pull the covers off and have a look at the front recovery point from underneath the vehicle. It is a pretty serious point of attachment.

[Stuart02]

I haven't seen how the Mitchhitch attaches, but do ppl think it would be a safe recovery point option?

[discotwinturbo]

I haven't seen how the Mitchhitch attaches, but do ppl think it would be a safe recovery point option?

I would be interested to see how this works too, as I have been thinking about adding this.

[rmp]

Look above. This was answered in the FAQ, which is to be read before posting.

[discotwinturbo]

Look above. This was answered in the FAQ, which is to be read before posting.

Mitch hitch used for recovery is not mentioned in FAQ, but certainly states that front and rear points talked about here are rated.

[101RRS]

The Mitch Hitch connects to not only the the rear recovery point but also in the slot that the standard tow bar connects to. The Mitch Hitch is rated at 3500kg the same as all other D3/D4/RRs tow bars so if you are happy using these bars for recovery then there is no reason to use the Mitch Hitch the same way as you would use any other tow bar based recovery point. Noting that the Mitch Hitch along with other bars are not dedicated recovery points as such but can be used as such.

Garry

[Stuart02]

Yeah I'm sure its just me but I feel intuitively that the receiver pin through the snatchem spreads the forces better than a D shackle.

[baldivistribe]

Its covered in the owners manual. When all else fails read the instructions.
Cheers
steve

[CraigE]

Looking at this again as I now have a D4. Now the rear one looks more than sufficient, its the front ones I am concerned about. Did anyone else notice a major issue with the video? It appears that they have also used weight distribution bars, not just hooked up to the so called recovery points? Also lifting is very different to Shock loading a point as with a recovery. I am not doubting peoples word, but has anyone tested one to destruction as for anything rated this has to occur. Now I understand they are not technically rated or approved by LR no matter what any mechanic or representative says, therefore if something does go wrong raises the question, if at worst you injure or kill someone using them you may be personally liable for using a non rated product. I know the anchor points you buy are not necessarily better, but at least rated. Just for an example re rigging our rescue ropes are rated to 3500kg capacity and lifting capacity but safety margins factored in more like 250kgs with shock loading, same with anchor points,however anchor points for 250kg are very different to nearly 3000kgs.

[DiscoJeffster]

I cannot recall a single failure ever being mentioned anywhere using the front or rear recovery points. I think that says enough. Practice safe recovery and always use a line/strap dampener so if the impossible does happen, it won’t be a catastrophe.

I suggest you go and overthink all the other Land Rover problems. Their recovery points are probably the one thing they got right [emoji6]

[101RRS]

Did anyone else notice a major issue with the video?

What video - I assume you refer to the Youtube video where they lift vehicles with cranes etc

If so that video has nothing to do with the recovery points - the video is testing the chassis strength not recovery points.

[HarryO]

I have used both front and back for serious snatching in some serious mud and never had an issue. Back one is built solid as a brick sh*thouse - front one not so much.

Did raise the question on how/ when to replace the front one after a few knocks bent it but never got much further.

.

[CraigE]

I have used both front and back for serious snatching in some serious mud and never had an issue. Back one is built solid as a brick sh*thouse - front one not so much.

Did raise the question on how/ when to replace the front one after a few knocks bent it but never got much further.

.
Yeah thats my point, the back one is what it should be the front one not so much, will be looking at front options as I prefer double recovery points to a snatch via a centering bridle, distributes the weight better.

[HarryO]

Would love to know where / how he got these fitted and if they are rated (perhaps for show only [bighmmm])