I have an AWD 2003 Astro. The nice bumper has the plastic trim which makes it difficult to install a tow hook and still keep the front end neat.
So to minimize the size of the cutout or hole that needs to be made, I used a 5/8 inch heavy duty eye bolt cast type about 6 inch long. So the only hole that needs to be drill in the lower bumper trim is about 3/4 inch hole to let the eye bolt go through. The key to the design is to install a heavy steel plate to the under side of the front cross member using grade 8 bolts. At a building supply or hardware store you can get a 5" x 21" 7 AWG (about 1/4 inch thick) steel foundation strap that already has 8 holes drill in it. Conveniently, there are already 4 holes in the oem Chevy cross bar. Just install 5/8 grade 8 bolts of about 1 1/2 inch length to fasten the heavy plate to the bottom of the cross member. I used Fine threaded bolts to have slightly better holding power with the vibration of the vehcile. then install heavy duty L brackets to the cross bar to create the mounting point for the eye bolt. Again there are heavy oem L brackets for foundation achors on houses and these L brackets are already drilled.
The eye bolts are rated to 3500 lbs for a straight on axis pull. One could use large eye bolts such as 3/4 shaft and make it a bit stronger.
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I will send a photo when I can. I am a new member and need to get more familiar with posts etc.
submitted by member Astrophyscis
So to minimize the size of the cutout or hole that needs to be made, I used a 5/8 inch heavy duty eye bolt cast type about 6 inch long. So the only hole that needs to be drill in the lower bumper trim is about 3/4 inch hole to let the eye bolt go through. The key to the design is to install a heavy steel plate to the under side of the front cross member using grade 8 bolts. At a building supply or hardware store you can get a 5" x 21" 7 AWG (about 1/4 inch thick) steel foundation strap that already has 8 holes drill in it. Conveniently, there are already 4 holes in the oem Chevy cross bar. Just install 5/8 grade 8 bolts of about 1 1/2 inch length to fasten the heavy plate to the bottom of the cross member. I used Fine threaded bolts to have slightly better holding power with the vibration of the vehcile. then install heavy duty L brackets to the cross bar to create the mounting point for the eye bolt. Again there are heavy oem L brackets for foundation achors on houses and these L brackets are already drilled.
The eye bolts are rated to 3500 lbs for a straight on axis pull. One could use large eye bolts such as 3/4 shaft and make it a bit stronger.
!
___--------O
--------------!
I will send a photo when I can. I am a new member and need to get more familiar with posts etc.
submitted by member Astrophyscis