TorkLift hitch isn’t even attached right for towing. I definitely would not use it for recovery – those bumper nuts are not designed to handle as much as 15,000 pounds of force necessary to recover an Ascent – so, be very careful if you use that. You have a recovery point in the front of the vehicle. I’d use those first for anything but a gentle tow. For instance, this is a tow rope recovery out of a sloped snowy driveway (a recoil rope will confer 2-3 times the force). Ripped the crash beam right off the bumper nuts. I wouldn’t want to count on those two “floating bolts” through the frame rail as being the only secure point (Subaru uses 6). Someone posted a vid of a Crosstrek where it ripped off and bent in the rear of the car – they got flamed badly and took it down.
Regardless, I use a soft shackle and a kinetic recovery rope.
For the recovery rope, I use something that handles 2.5 to 3 times the GVWR.
I’d watch this before choosing a recovery rope:
Also, you should get one of these – it helps ensure that a snapped kinetic rope won’t slice someone in half (either way, have people out of the “whip” range of a snapping rope – they CAN cut someone in half; I’ve sadly seen vids of it happening). I’d use it on a winch line, recoil rope or tow strap.
ON A RELATED NOTE:
When one of my aftermarket control arms snapped on a trail this past August, I had to jack up the entire rear of the Ascent using the OEM hitch. I was very very happy it was the OEM one with the much longer, three bolt (per side) frame integrated hitch that transfers all the force to the frame rails. There’s no way I could have lifted the car without using that point, and no way that the aftermarket hitches wouldn’t have damaged the Ascent when I was lifting over 3,000 pounds (bad angle transferring weight to the rear) off the ground.
There’s many reasons I suggest OEM – recovery and trail repairs are one of them. Should I use even the OEM hitch to lift the whole rear of the car? Probably not. But at least I know it’s integrated properly to do so.
Not trying to be mean or anything. Trail recovery is a seriously dangerous business, and I’ve seen too many mistakes, some costly (to the car or equipment), some that have harmed people.
ALSO:
I do have my tow rope for flat tows where the vehicle isn’t really stuck, but, honestly, there’s no need with a good recoil rope.
