Hood loop tie downs

[Woodpuppy]

So my Thule hood loops with the section of hose aren’t going to work in the 4Runner’s hood channels because Toyota places gaskets along both sides. Looking inside engine compartment there are a few occupied and unoccupied threaded bolt holes along the fenders in about the right place for screwed-on loops. Looking online, they cost more than I want to spend for something so simple. Seriously, some nylon webbing and a grommet? I can do that. Enter a grommet kit from the big box store for ~$15. I already had some webbing from cam straps I’ve trimmed, and as a diehard scrounge I have a collection of salvaged automotive metric bolts that fit the holes in the engine compartment.

The grommet kit comes with a few 3/8” and 1/2” grommet pieces and Lee Loader-style tooling to punch a hole in your workpiece and seat the grommet.

Assemble the stuff


Punch the holes in the webbing


Seat the grommet and repeat for the second strap


I made ‘em long to reach down to where the available bolt holes are.


And yeah, the holes are different sizes.


Will install tomorrow, and make a second set for the van.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Thanks for documenting this, Woodpuppy. Are you just going to fold each strap over itself to form one long loop, or are you going to sew loops on the end of each strap?

 

[Woodpuppy]

I guess I cropped the pic that showed these are loops. Long loops because they need to reach a few inches down into the engine compartment. So a 15” length of webbing folded in half and secured with grommets.

 

[Ober27]

I've been doing the same thing for years, works great. Thanks for sharing your process.

 

[Woodpuppy]

And the result:






There’s nothing for the straps to get caught on inside and now I’ll never forget to bring them with me.

 

[Jatfomike]

I’ve done a similar rig to all of our vehicles. I didn’t have grommets, so after punching holes, I took a lighter and melted the inner edge of the punched hole. If the bolt didn’t have a large flared head, I threw on a large washer and they have held up for years.

Mike

 

[Boatman53]

Taking a hot nail to punch the holes works also and even if you use a punch it’s a good idea to run a hot nail around the hole to fuse the edges.
Jim

 

[yknpdlr]

Taking a hot nail to punch the holes works also and even if you use a punch it’s a good idea to run a hot nail around the hole to fuse the edges.

That's exactly what I have done for many years. Every Subaru I have owned (6) have had a perfectly placed bolt that I could tap into. the loops have always been secure for several years of canoe tranport wth just a hot rod burn hole secured with bolt and large washer, with no $15 grommet kit required.

 

[GeoBoy]

That's exactly what I have done for many years. Every Subaru I have owned (6) have had a perfectly placed bolt that I could tap into. the loops have always been secure for several years of canoe tranport wth just a hot rod burn hole secured with bolt and large washer, with no $15 grommet kit required.
View attachment 141430View attachment 141431

yknpdlr, do the straps rub off the paint on the hood from use over the years?

 

[yknpdlr]

yknpdlr, do the straps rub off the paint on the hood from use over the years?

Never. Probably because they are tight enough with the te down rope to the bow of my canoe so there is no wiggle movement of the straps at all. I use a truckers hitch with one continuous rope to snug it firmly, but not too much.

 

[Woodpuppy]

I may have to move my loops… the canoe will sit at a different position on this vehicle than my previous.

 

[Erica]

The presence of two loops sticking out from under the hood generates more questions about my car than anything else.

 

[jdeerfoot]

I have used old sockets heated with a torch to melt holes in the straps which then keeps them from fraying.

 

[Woodpuppy]

I used a lighter to melt the edges of the punched webbing.

 

[yknpdlr]

The presence of two loops sticking out from under the hood generates more questions about my car than anything else.

My straps, when not in use, lay nicely hidden inside the hood without interfering with any engine component.

The one thing you must remember is to not leave the bow tie down rope still loosely attached to the webbing strap when you park the car after you remove your boat, because, believe me, you will forget it is there. If it happens to be on the ground and you move the car for any reason, it will get caught under a wheel and the results are not pretty. I put a crease in the fender of an older car by doing that. Never again. At the very least, wad up the rope and capture it under a windshield wiper so that you will see that it is there.

 

[Sweetfancymoses]

Last summer, we parked next to a vehicle in the Beaverhouse Lake parking lot. They had a grommet at the end of their hood loops to prevent scrunching. It was one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. I had a hood loop fail at the end and I blamed it on age degradation and scrunching.

 

[Woodpuppy]

My straps, when not in use, lay nicely hidden inside the hood without interfering with any engine component.

The one thing you must remember is to not leave the bow tie down rope still loosely attached to the webbing strap when you park the car after you remove your boat, because, believe me, you will forget it is there. If it happens to be on the ground and you move the car for any reason, it will get caught under a wheel and the results are not pretty. I put a crease in the fender of an older car by doing that. Never again. At the very least, wad up the rope and capture it under a windshield wiper so that you will see that it is there.

I stow the tie downs inside the vehicle. I never assume they’ll still be there if I leave them outside.

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

The one thing you must remember is to not leave the bow tie down rope still loosely attached to the webbing strap when you park the car after you remove your boat

I stow the tie downs inside the vehicle.

I've almost always tied the front and back web loops to the ~15' bow and stern painter lines that always remain attached to my canoes. Hence, I don't have any lines dangling from the web loops when the canoe is off the vehicle.



The web loops coming out of my trunk are looped through factory D-rings on the floor of the trunk, and simply drop into the trunk when not in use. They are inexpensive:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016DSUGWO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Woodpuppy]

Looks like I nailed the location for the hood loops after all. The tie down rope could use trimming.