metal thickness

clevis/towbar attachment

ok i am not wondering if i should put some towbar/D-ring mounts onto my bumper now before i box the front of the frame. what thickness of metal should i use? i have access to almost anythickness. heck i got some 1.5x3.5in solid stock stuff sitting in my garage right now im thinking that would be WAY overkill.

 

I would use 3/4"x2" or 1"x2" flat stock drilled with about a 1" hole for the shackle.

 

can i use this setup for both towbar and dshackle? also could i use 2 pieces of 1/2in to get 1in. kinda like plywood? my buddies welder can do 1/2. and i dont want to have to ask the boss to weld something else for me. at this point his list of things to weld is a days work.

 

ok i got the d-shackles today. 6.5ton rated . overkill i think not. well here is the new problem, can there be any side to side movement in them of will that possibly cause a failure? the 1.5" is just too wide so next size down i have is 1" by 2". or could i use 2 pieces of .5" with a piece of .25" sandwitching in the middle. width of the opening is about 1.25" more like 1.30"

also a question about the D-shackles. once you pull once on them should you throw them away. i remember back in my rock climbing days if you dropped once your 'binners that you were using should have been tossed into the trash due to stress fractures, or at least thats what we were told.