You'd think something simple like a D-shackle
("D-Ring", "clevis", etc.) would be a simple thing to buy. Of course it is... They are necessary for
most types of recovery. There is a bewildering variety of them available. Some
are for uses that do not require strength so it is necessary to be sure you are buying
high-strength items.
With my new rear bumper
came the prerequisite tabs for d-shackles.
The
holes are 3/4" which is OK, would have liked the next size up for capacity sake but
OK, I'll work with it. The 3/4"
hole for the pin translates to a 5/8" shackle so I went a-hunting.
My
first reaction was to reach into my
winch
gear for the two 3/4" d-shackles that I bought at Tractor Supply some time ago
more or less for this purpose. DOH! The shackle bow (or "u") is 3/4"
but the pin is larger (7/8").
Nice
to have but they won't fit the bumper.
Back
to the drawing board.
Next I
went to the Hi-Lift site since one
shackle that I have fits and came from them in their
off-road kit that they sell. The d-shackle is no longer in the kit, but I hoped
they might sell it separately. Nope. Fooled again.
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OK,
Quadratec
here I come. They have always matched prices
for me so I figured I would go there, look for the
WARN one (PN 13047).
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They had one made by
Tomken
(TMB-1544-D) $18. Hmmm...
The big powder coated ones at Tractor Supply were only $8... But they don't have the ones I need (I went to
three different stores). There HAS to be a
place that sells them for less (so I can do the price match or get a better deal.
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So I hit Yahoo! and did a search. Oh Goodie! Look at these sweet things:
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And for the man who has everything, a thimble for the cable on
my winch:
Oh now we're talking.
Nice
pins, stainless steel (or
titanium...) and polished.
We're
talking major bling here. Try $70 ~ $120
each... Hahaha! Nice looking, but that would be more than I paid
for my bumper... Regretfully moving right along...
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Basically it continued to go this way for quite a while. Finally I said to heck with this and went to
Grainger and found this:
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Butt ugly, but rated to 3.25 tons (I guess I won't be using it
for anything too aggressive) and just under $9.
For what I saved by not buying the stainless steel or titanium
beauties, I can buy a front bumper...
I
wonder if my wife will buy that...
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So I ordered them after deciding that I really
didn't want to drill out my bumper tabs and make them weaker.
I looked at doing that. Problem is, in my case, I'm not sure I
would have enough wall thickness left on the tabs to be safe. It was tempting
though. I had decided that for now, these shackles will be good for jacking with the
Hi-Lift or maybe a light tug with a strap or cable, but I won't be doing any jerks or
major extractions with them...
Then someone suggested that I check out McMaster-Carr
www. and do a search on
"anchor shackle". This is what came up:
====== 3663T43 Galvanized Alloy Steel Forged Anchor Shackle W/Screw Pin, 5/8" Material Dia, 10000 lb Wll
Quantity Each 1-9 Each $9.07
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There we go! A shackle with higher capacity (the ones
from Grainger were only rated at 6500 lbs).
The
pin sizing is a bit hard to nail down as the shackles are often labeled with the diameter
of the bow, not the pin. That little detail
is confusing, and what led to my original mistake when I bought the ones from Tractor
Supply (the "u" portion is labeled 3/4" but the pin is 7/8".)
Here is the
picture that shows the different dimensions that catalog listings reference:
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"B"
is the pin size
"S" is the bow (u-shaped body) diameter
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They typically refer to them by the bow diameter, but I needed
to buy according to the pin diameter.
I canceled the Grainger order and went with the
McMaster item. It is galvanized alloy steel
alloy vs. galvanized steel. That's what makes
the difference in capacity. Only the pin was
alloy steel on the one I had ordered from Grainger.
I
feel so much better now! With a 10,000 lb capacity, I should be able to use this to
winch, and maybe even light tow strap use.
It's a little like going to the lumber store for a "2 x 4". The important
thing is I got straightened out and found something better than I was about to buy from
Grainger. I can't tell you how bummed I was finding the larger shackle rated at the
strength I wanted but knowing it didn't fit my bumper. I knew about McMaster but I was so
whipped by the time I gave up looking I just grabbed the first thing I found (at
Grainger).
I was able to cancel the Grainger order and found what I was looking for on McMasters.
Enough said. Again, thanks MrBlaine for the insight into WLL and KonHd for the referral to
the place I should have started looking to begin with!
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I'm impressed. Those d-shackles came in one day! I
ordered them on the web site the day before at lunch time...
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Seriously,
they're perfect. So perfect in fact that I had to remove the thin coat of paint from the
holes on the bumper and "blueprint" the pins before they would fit through the
bumper holes.
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I cleaned them up with some solvent, wiped them down and shot
them with some black paint so they would not jump out at you against the rest of the Jeep,
which is also black.
Then I put a wire tie through the hole on the pin and around
the mount in such a way as to be unobtrusive but to prevent the pin from unscrewing.
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Not sure if that is necessary, but a couple guys I wheel with
have told stories about theirs shaking loose and becoming missiles on the road...
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