I was always fed up with the rear tow bar digging into the ground when I went offroad. However, it was an excellent rear recovery point. I wanted to maximise my rear departure angle and still provide a solid fixing point if (when) I needed pulling out.
I liked the idea of the 2” receiver sockets which could take allsorts of accessories but the only ‘off the shelf’ options available at the time were from Scorpion Racing, and sat below the rear bumper, or a complete replacement, heavy duty bumper. Despite all the changes to the car I still wanted to maintain a ‘factory standard’ look and I wasn’t keen on the bumper options available at that time.
Having a god nose at the Camel Trophy Discoveries at Billing I noticed that they had cut a section out of the centre of the rear bumper and mounted a recovery plate directly onto the rear crossmember.
Duirng my research I had visited the Discoparts website (now defunct) and having read the write up on landroverdiscovery.net on fitting their rear bumper I spotted exactly what I wanted.
The central mounting bracket for the Discoparts rear bumper fitted exactly where I wanted and even had a square hole in the centre. I contacted tham and asked it they would be willing to supply the bracket separately and weld a 2” receiver socket into the hole. Apparently they had done this before and were more than happy to oblige.
The bracket fitted onto the top locating holes for the rear towbar. I had a friend weld the existing nuts onto to top of the bracket to make them captive and, as such, easier to fit.
Once fitted I carefully removed a square section from the centre of the rear bumper, which I had just had sand blasted and coated in hammerite, to allow the socket to show.
I bought a solid ‘shackle block’ from a stand at Billing and also bough a mounting plate for a NATO hitch direct from Discoparts.
A side effect of fitting this bracket with the top captive nuts means that the old towbar can be easily refitted and removed without resorting to taking the bumper off (as before). Refitting the towbar is simply 2 nuts and bolts for the lower, forward fixings and two bolts at the top. It takes about 10 minutes. Stealing an idea I saw on someones disco in the car park at Billing I have mounted my rear tow sockets on the rear door to keep them out of the mud and easily accessible.
I have yet to use it in anger but I am very happy with the end result. I have included a few pictures to show the bracket below.
