Rough County tow hooks

ryan030389 · October 5, 2019

Very nice quality. They are beefier than stock and seems like the coating on them will last a long time. Overall I’m very happy with them. Install on the passenger side was 5 minutes. The driver side was an absolute nightmare, I have the 2.7 and in the front bumper there is a huge plastic shroud and what looks to be an electric air damn. The two bolts on the tow hook face towards this. One bolt comes out but it’s extremely tight. The second bolt is to long and is physically impossible to get out. It hits the shroud, I ended up cutting it off and then put a new bolt in through the opposite direction. To remove the shroud and air damn it looks like the whole front bumper has to come off. Seems like the V8 does not have that shroud and air damn so if you have a 4 cylinder, be prepared for hell. What should have been 30 Min total took 2 hours fighting with the bolts on the driver side.

Thomcat · October 5, 2019

The V8 setup is just as complicated to swap out. But, a $5 can of epoxy spray paint is quicker and cheaper with the same results on OEM tow hooks (plenty left for an exact match touchup if needed), and cutouts from a $10 sheet of light grey tint plexiglass tones down the look of the fogs to match the rest of the front lighting.

As far as a need for aftermarket heavy duty tow hooks....I've pulled downed trees from the road and even dragged a concrete section of Jersey wall using the stock tow hooks.....no advantage to having hooks with a capability heavier than the engine and tranny can handle.

ryan030389 · October 5, 2019

Really? The YouTube Videos made it look extremely simple on the V8 trucks.

There is no “need” for aftermarket hooks, clearly it’s purely aesthetic. I’m sure the stock hooks are good for far more than the engine/trans can handle. My reference to the aftermarket hooks being “beefier” was regarding their appearance, not strength vs the stock units. I Made this post because I have a seen a few people asking about these in other threads.

And for what it’s worth, the install was not worth the hassle, definitely worth it to just paint the stock ones.

-Ryan

fatwhiteboy · October 5, 2019

I bought the GM chrome ones to replace my black ones. Thanks for the heads up. Ryan is correct, youtube makes it look easy but then again, I have seen a few clips on youtube that turned into nightmare jobs in my garage.

fatwhiteboy · October 5, 2019

14 hours ago, ryan030389 said:

Very nice quality. They are beefier than stock and seems like the coating on them will last a long time. Overall I’m very happy with them. Install on the passenger side was 5 minutes. The driver side was an absolute nightmare, I have the 2.7 and in the front bumper there is a huge plastic shroud and what looks to be an electric air damn. The two bolts on the tow hook face towards this. One bolt comes out but it’s extremely tight. The second bolt is to long and is physically impossible to get out. It hits the shroud, I ended up cutting it off and then put a new bolt in through the opposite direction. To remove the shroud and air damn it looks like the whole front bumper has to come off. Seems like the V8 does not have that shroud and air damn so if you have a 4 cylinder, be prepared for hell. What should have been 30 Min total took 2 hours fighting with the bolts on the driver side.

They look great!!!

Thomcat · October 5, 2019

I learned my lesson on the '16 I traded, that was impossible to remove one of the hooks without dismantling half of the front end......simply no clearance to remove one long bolt........painted that one too, to match the painted look on the '19 Trail Boss hooks......looked so good I decided to replace the rest of the truck....that why I didn't even bother taking the mess apart on the '19.

Cutting and replacing the bolt would have worked and made it a lot easier, didn't think of it.

bullet3z · October 5, 2019

It is not a nightmare to replace the factory hooks on the V8s. I did it in my driveway and did not even jack the front of the truck up. The bolts are in there pretty tight from the factory but nothing a breaker bar can't handle. It is tight up under there but still manageable.

There are several members here selling the factory reds for a great price. Some are even willing to trade. I got mine here for about $30 shipped and put them on. No big deal.