Recovery points
So after reading my owners manual on my 01 ZR I found that the two "recovery" or "tie down" points are both. The recovery point on the drivers side of the vehicle (right hand drive vehicles) is a tie down and the one on the passenger side of the vehicle is a tow point. I'm getting my pajero looked at by dragtec customs (located in slacks creek) to see what they can do about some central mounted recovery points on both the front and rear of the io.
Tow point
Tow point would be rated to tow the vehicle - the vehicle weighs around 1300kg, but most of this weight is supported by the ground.
Recovering a vehicle usually requires a lot more force than the weight of the vehicle (eg. buried in sand, stuck in mud with suction, very steep hill ascents). I would be hesitant to use a snatch strap on a 'tow point'.
Another member has posted about their chassis twisting when using one of these points alone, so I would go for the equaliser strap and always be safety conscious.
Syndicate
recovey point
I think that the io is light enough to not have to worry too much...just don't try to pull another heavy big 4wd, because even if you have very strong recovery point, it will be a bit rough for the io.
I think that using 2 recovery point is safer than one, one can fail, 2 at the same time is unheard off. If one fail you will have the shackle flying around, but will still be attached to the tree protector or the equaliser strap (whatever you use) and won't go far.
The equaliser strap is a stronger in the middle that the tree protector, again for the light io, plenty enough
A "tirfor" hand winch is a good investment if you go by yourself http://youtu.be/5UzX3F4Oygw
This said, the most important thing is that you comfortable with your set up, be very careful during the recovery, and too strong recovery point never killed anyone....
Happy io.
My io is now SOLD Thankshttp://pajerio.com/forum/claudes-io-2002-zr-built-thread-onlyhappy-io