I purchased eight 1/2” D Rings from Harbor Freight. The first two will serve as a model for the other six and, more importantly, get done and out of the way for the winch installation project.




Here is what they look like. The first two will be on the front of the trailer oriented as shown here because I anticipate that this will be the direction of pull. The ones at the front will most likely be used to anchor the winch cable when a ****** block is being used. Obviously there is not enough width to the trailer frame rail to support this direction of pull orientation so modifications will be needed.




The winch will be in the center as shown by the chalk marks.




I had some 3/8” thick 2” X 2” angle iron on hand so cut these two 3” long pieces to serve as supports for the D Rings.




Here they are ready to weld.




Note that the center stake holder has been removed because it would be in the way of the winch. The other two stake holders on this front rail will also be removed which will preclude use of the crash bar that the trailer came with. Whether and how to compensate for these deletions will be a decision for a later time.




A V groove was cut into the top area because the weld will need to be ground/sanded flat to accommodate the D Ring bracket.




The D Rings are welded into place. Note that the “bolt hole” was converted into a rosette weld. The corners of the angle iron were rounded off for safety reasons - one less cut hazard.




A little paint and we’re done with these two. Six more to go. The winch project made these two more urgent than the others.




Here are the parts standing ready to be installed elsewhere on the trailer.




The plan is to mount the remaining six D-rings on the side rails. Here I have chalked out their locations and will use a sander and 24 grit disk to prep the metal in these areas for welding.




The 2” X 2” X 3/8” thick angle iron for these locations is 1-3/4” wide which will allow the rings a wide range of motion. They will hang down against the side rail and out of the way until they are in use.




So all is set up for welding.




Here’s where the six new side rail D-rings will be placed. There are already two D-rings on the front rail just in front of the winch toolbox.




After tack welding the magnets are removed, the sides are welded and a grinder is used to create a V grove for the top weld which will be ground down smooth.




The top welds look like this prior to using an angle grinder and then a circular sander with a 5” 24 grit disk to …




… create this platform for the D-ring. There are six of these, three on each side rail.




The D-ring retainers are set up like this for tack welding.




A slight breeze through the shop caused more spatter than usual.




A little grinding and wire brushing and they are all ready for paint.




So I apply a little Rustoleum satin black paint to all but the rings themselves which retained their plating through the whole ordeal.




So I am done, done and over done. There are a total of eight D-rings and eight stake pockets plus two upside down stake pockets at the rear on the bobtail. This should be enough to secure most loads except sand, rock and gravel.

 

Great write up and great work!