X-BULL Hitch Receiver 5T Recovery Receiver with Bow Shackle Tow Bar Off Road 4WD

Plenty of 4WDs leave the factory with nowhere sensible to attach a strap at the rear. The tow ball is not the answer, as the supplier says plainly: tow balls are not built for the loads a recovery puts through them. A hitch-mounted recovery point drops into the receiver under the bar and gives the strap somewhere purpose-made to sit.

Drops into the receiver you already have

Pull the hitch pin, slide the towbar tongue out, put this in its place, and secure it with the same standard pin. The body measures 50 mm x 50 mm x 155 mm, so measure your receiver opening before ordering. X-BULL sells a lockable hitch pin separately, worth a thought if the hitch is going to live in the receiver between trips — a standard pin and clip holds it fine, a lock keeps it there in a car park. Nothing is drilled, cut or welded, and the tongue goes back in under a minute when there is a trailer to pull.

Four holes, two orientations

The block carries four holes so the supplied bow shackle can be pinned vertically or horizontally. That lets the shackle eye line up with the direction the strap is genuinely pulling, instead of the strap being dragged around a corner and loading the shackle sideways. The shackle itself is stamped and powder coated, marked 4.75 T, while the hitch body is quoted at 5 T. Neither figure is published with a basis, so treat the two as one assembly and work to the lower number.

Key features

• Uses the existing receiver: swap it for the towbar tongue, no drilling or fabrication.
• Bow shackle supplied: stamped and powder coated, marked 4.75 T.
• Four mounting holes: pin the shackle horizontally or vertically to suit the pull.
• Forged construction: supplier describes the body as high strength forged aluminium.
• Compact to store: 155 mm long, so it lives in the recovery bag rather than taking up a drawer.

Specifications

• Dimensions: 50 mm x 50 mm x 155 mm
• Hitch capacity figure: 5 T / 11,000 lb as quoted by the supplier. No basis is stated — it does not say whether this is a breaking strength or a working load limit.
• Shackle marking: 4.75 T, stamped on the shackle. Again the basis is not stated. Work the whole assembly to this lower figure.
• Material: supplier states high strength forged aluminium, and elsewhere describes a zinc coating finish. Those two descriptions conflict, so the finish is not something we can confirm.
• Fixing: your existing standard hitch pin (a lockable pin is a separate purchase)
• Supplied as: one hitch receiver plus one bow shackle

What's in the box

• 1 x recovery hitch receiver
• 1 x bow shackle, 4.75 T stamped

Recovery safety — read before first use

• Recover from rated recovery points at both ends. A tow ball, a towbar tongue, a bumper bar, a tie-down eye or any unrated bracket must never take a snatch or winch load.
• A hitch-mounted point is only as sound as what it sits in. The receiver, the towbar and the way that bar is mounted to your vehicle are not automatically suitable for recovery loads. Check with the towbar manufacturer before snatching from it.
• Neither the 5 T nor the 4.75 T figure is stated as a working load limit, so do not treat either as one. Work to the lower figure and leave margin.
• Lay a dampener — a heavy blanket, a bag of sand or a purpose-made one — over the strap or winch line near its middle before any load goes on.
• Keep everyone well clear of the line and of the arc it would sweep if something let go. That includes whoever is filming.
• Inspect the hitch, the shackle and the pin before every use. Retire anything cracked, bent, deeply gouged, or with a pin that is seized or will not run freely.
• Wind the shackle pin up hand tight, then back it off a quarter turn so it cannot seize solid under load.
• Never join two straps with a shackle.

Kept in the recovery bag with the strap, it means the back of the vehicle has an attachment point that is not the tow ball — provided the towbar behind it is up to the job.