Distinguished by appearance style, car tow hooks can be grouped into two main categories: exposed and concealed.
1.Exposed Tow Hooks
Exposed tow hooks are simple to use, generally at the lower edge of the front and rear bumpers, just connect a tow rope of the right size directly to it. This design is generally used in hardcore off-road vehicles with non-load-bearing body structure.
2.Concealed Tow Hooks
The Concealed tow hooks is designed inside the bumper in order to take into account the overall design of the aesthetics, this design is common in city cars and SUVs. Before using the hidden trailer hitch, you have to open the trim cover and then manually install the trailer ring in the hole.
In addition to exposed and concealed tow hooks, tow hooks also involve a very important point :The way they are attached to the car. According to the type of tow hook used and the way it is fixed, it can be further divided into the following types.
1.Welded Type (body longitudinal beam)
Most of the tow hooks with welded type will be connected to the longitudinal beam of the body, while some vehicles are fixed with screws in addition to the welding method in order to further improve the fixed strength of the tow hook and the longitudinal beam. In other models, the rear trailer hitch will be welded to the base, which is welded to the longitudinal beam on the right side of the body, and this is done to allow the trailer hitch to bypass the bumper.
2.Welded (spare tire slot)
There are also cars that will have the tow hook welded to the underside of the spare tire chute, and because the bottom of the spare tire chute is lower, there is no need to add a base.
However, the spare tire slot and the body are welded together, and sealant is used between the welds to seal the water-proof treatment, so it is difficult to ensure that the spare tire slot welded to the body will not be pulled off if the towing method is more intense. Although some models will be strengthened between the spare tire groove and the tow hook, the spare tire groove is not the main weight-bearing part of the body in the end, and the connection strength is not sufficient.
3.Bolt-on Type
The most common form of tow hooks currently on sale is the bolt connection. From the point of view of material and thread production process, the manufacturing cost of this type of tow hook will be higher than the welded type. In addition, the material and location of the hole where the trailer hitch is screwed in will be chosen to have high tensile strength, such as placing the threaded buckle directly inside the longitudinal beam, or fixing a higher strength steel plate behind the crash beam as the fixed base of the trailer hitch, and all the pulling force will be transmitted from the crash beam to the longitudinal beam used to fix the body on both sides when towing.
