Strength of Discovery rear bumper

[M005]

I am looking at removing the tow bar assembly from the rear of my Disco to improve the departure angle, but still have the need for a recovery point on the rear of the vehicle.

I think the rear bumper is NOT strong enough to simply bolt a tow jaw onto, is this correct?

How would I go about strengthening it (if I need to)?

I have look at a few suppliers to see if there is a commercially available product but haven't been able to find anything.

[Renny]

The rear crossmember, just behind the bumper should provide a suitable mounting point for a recovery point.

I've seen a NATO hitch mounted using suitable brackets through the bumper.

Why not just cut the drop plate as high as possible, then use the lower arms to protect the otherwise vulnerable fuel tank? The arms may require adjustment to cope with the changed angle.

Southdown and others do a fuel tank guard. Southdown's also do a version that has a removable tow hitch.

Its worth remembering that some protection at the rear may prevent expensive damage to the rear quarter panels if you ground therear end

[Greendisco300]

Thats why i am keeping my tow bar on there even though i would probably never use it.

I saw the amount of battering it got at www.devilspit.co.uk and dont think the poor old tank would be up to withstanding that sort of punishment

MC