The second installment of Armoring your Rig answers one of the the first and most common questions asked by folks looking to make their XJ or MJ more trail worthy.
"How do I mount Tow Hooks to my Cherokee?" Now we'll address the very common question right here and right now. The place to get tow hook mounting brackets used to be directly from Mopar. Many believed that they offered the most support and the best fit out of any that were available. The problem with the Mopar kit is that when you ordered them they very rarely, if ever, came with all the correct bolts and hardware. Rumor has it that Mopar has discontinued making the tow hook mounting kit for the XJ/MJ series so we're bringing this article to let you know about another company offering tow hook kits. Rusty's Offroad in AL has quickly been making a name for themselves for ultra tough XJ/MJ parts. Among their offerings is a tow hook mount kit. Their kit is very similar to the Mopar kit but it's much beefier and is also galvanized. You'll notice that the Mopar kit appears to be longer, it is longer, but this is because the mounts originally served a dual function for a hidden winch mount with the front bumper. The rear hole was not used when using the mounts for tow hook mounts so it doesn't even need to be there.
Rusty's kit on the right (above left picture) uses the stock bumper mount where the Mopar kit has a welded on bumper mount that replaces the stock mount. The mounts are the same but the Mopar kit was designed to be installed at the factory or at the dealer so that it didn't have to have the stock short bumper mounts. As far as strength you can't get much stronger than these brackets. Utilizing many of the already existing holes in the uni-body the kits make it possible to use a standard tow hook for recovery purposes. Without a kit like this you just can't mount tow hooks. Please note that there is absolutely NO way to mount the hooks directly to the uni-body without some sort of reinforcement bracket. The Uni-body is made of thin gauge metal and can not withstand the stress of a recovery pull. With this kit from Rusty's Offroad you can't go wrong.
Make sure that after you tighten all the bolts that you go back and re-tighten them to make sure they are very tight. Rusty's kit comes with mounting brackets for both the left and right side of the truck and one hook for each side. This is a very complete and VERY stout kit. I took my Mopar kit off just to put Rusty's kit on because it is so strong. You can see both brackets from the front without the bumper in the photo below. 
Please read this below...this isn't something from Off-road.com...it's from me...for your safety. Warning: Always use care when
pulling. The anchor point on each vehicle must be selected with
care, and must be capable of withstanding stress in excess of the
recovery strap rating. Weak anchor points could break. Possibly
causing physical injury. DO NOT attach a recovery strap to
axles, steering components, suspension parts, springs, body, bumper
or a trailer ball. All are not strong enough to withstand the
stress of a recovery pull. Always inspect the strap and anchor
points prior to each use. Companies:
By - Bob Mock ---> "Treat the trails like you treat your truck, you cherish it, you respect it, you take care of it, you don't abuse it, and most of all you fix it." Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OffRoadDotCom
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Installation is a breeze. First you'll have to remove
the front bumper and then remove the 3 bolts that attach the bumper
mount. Next you slide the long end behind the lower front quarter
panel brace back into the wheel well. As seen in the photo on the
left. The rear hole in the mounting brackets will have a bolt that
goes completely through the uni-body and will get a lock-nut on the
other side. Once that lock nut is tightened you then can put the
stock bumper mount in place and install the 3 bolts that originally
held the mount on. The holes in Rusty's kit match up perfectly with
those on the uni-body. Then after you've done this to both sides
you're ready to mount the bumper back up. Once the bumper is
mounted you're all done.
