D-rings in wood deck on car hauler

[GoSlowGetStuck]

Back part of my car hauler:

Instead of using one of the triangle pockets as seen in the lower left corner of the picture, I would like to use a few of these D-rings (with backing plates) through the wood deck in several spots:

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/product/49/DRings

Any issues with securing to the wood deck like that? I have seen many photos of car haulers using these, but I just want to make sure this is a reasonably smart / legal approach. I will be using (at minimum) 4 axle straps around the front/rear axles and 4 10k / 3333 WLL ratchet straps to secure them to these D-rings. I don't really want to get into the axles vs body tie-down argument, just wondering if D-rings through the deck will be secure enough. I suck at welding and don't trust anyone I know enough to do it, so welding D-rings onto the frame is out for now.

 

[FlexdXJ]

Back part of my car hauler:

Instead of using one of the triangle pockets as seen in the lower left corner of the picture, I would like to use a few of these D-rings (with backing plates) through the wood deck in several spots:

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/product/49/DRings

Any issues with securing to the wood deck like that? I have seen many photos of car haulers using these, but I just want to make sure this is a reasonably smart / legal approach. I will be using (at minimum) 4 axle straps around the front/rear axles and 4 10k / 3333 WLL ratchet straps to secure them to these D-rings. I don't really want to get into the axles vs body tie-down argument, just wondering if D-rings through the deck will be secure enough. I suck at welding and don't trust anyone I know enough to do it, so welding D-rings onto the frame is out for now.

I would find someone to weld up some kind of crossmember for the backing plates to mount to. The ones with backing plates should be pretty strong but i'm not positive!

 

[5-90]

Definitely backing plates. Welded to the existing structure would save you figuring out where they are, but I'd want them to spread the load fairly broadly (say, min. 6"x12"x1/8" plate) and centre the D-ring attachment in the plate as much as possible.

If you can't weld the plates to the extant frame of the trailer, then you'll want to bolt the plates to the wood at/near the perimeter of the plate (prevents it moving while you're putting it together, prevents it moving under load, and ties the wood and steel together for additional strength increase.)

 

[GoSlowGetStuck]

Definitely backing plates. Welded to the existing structure would save you figuring out where they are, but I'd want them to spread the load fairly broadly (say, min. 6"x12"x1/8" plate) and centre the D-ring attachment in the plate as much as possible.

If you can't weld the plates to the extant frame of the trailer, then you'll want to bolt the plates to the wood at/near the perimeter of the plate (prevents it moving while you're putting it together, prevents it moving under load, and ties the wood and steel together for additional strength increase.)

Just so I have this straight... what you're envisioning would have just the D-ring on top, like this:

but instead of having just one of these on the other side of the wood plank:

there would be a significantly larger plate (like you said, 6"x12" or so), and bolts would go through the top D-ring, through the plank, and through the backing plate. Additional bolts around the perimeter of the plate would come up and secure the plate to the neighboring wood planks. Or, ideally, the plates would extend to the trailer frame and be welded (assuming I could pull that off). Of course, if welding was no issue for me, I would just get the smaller weld-on rings and put them along the trailer's frame.

I do see how the larger backing plate would significantly improve the situation. Although they claim that the D-ring is "rated" for 6000#, my big concern is the plank breaking during an impact or other sudden force... distributing the load across three planks and close to the front or rear of the trailer should help quite a bit then.

I like the User Friendly avatar!

 

[5-90]

Yah - that's what I've got in mind. The plate would be bolted to the frame of the D-ring itself, and bolted through the planks as well at the edges.

And who doesn't like Dust Puppy?