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Vehicle tie down

Mullaney

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I am planning on hauling my CJ3a in my 66 M35A2 with the original bed style without rings in the bed. I interested in how do folks tie down a vehicle to the bed, or should I weld on a D rings? Any pictures would help.
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I am of the opinion that 4 D-Rings in the four corners of the bed would be a good plan. Tie-downs that went through the bed attaching your vehicle to the frame would be even better.
 

msgjd

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As you know, the top rail of a cargo bed is not strong .. I have not installed rings on my 6x6's but I have in one of the box trailers, to secure heavy LTL palletized cargo (truck & equip parts) and hauled a whole rolling jeep in there once on a backhaul... Wooden hardwood floor thus I drilled and Grade-8-bolted the rings down thru the floor into the steel crossmembers of the trailer, tight to the outer rail at the wall where strongest ..

Perhaps bolted thru the crossmembers on a deuce bed would suffice, but Mullaney is correct, to the (bed)frame is better .. truck frame won't do because it needs to flex and there's that spring-loaded "floating" front bed mount.. Besides, drilling a truck frame is usually viewed as a a no-no ..

Seems to me what would also suffice is if an adequate amount of 5/16" plate (or larger) was welded to the floor and walls at the bed corners, and bolt and/or weld the rings to those. but i would be concerned about the tailgate area being not as strong as the front corners due to the nature of it...

Of course we need to be more-worried about keeping a load from moving forward as opposed to backwards, unless your deuce can do wheelies and jackrabbit starts :D
 
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USN_Green_Addict

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As you know, the top rail of a cargo bed is not strong .. I have not installed rings on my 6x6's but I have in one of the box trailers, to secure heavy LTL palletized cargo (truck & equip parts) and hauled a whole rolling jeep in there once... Wooden hardwood floor thus I drilled and Grade-8-bolted the rings down thru the floor into the steel crossmembers of the trailer, tight to the outer rail at the wall where strongest ..

Perhaps bolted thru the crossmembers on a deuce bed would suffice, but Mullaney is correct, to the (bed)frame is better .. truck frame won't do because it needs to flex and there's that spring-loaded "floating" front bed mount to contend with.. Besides, drilling a truck frame is usually viewed as a a no-no ..

Seems to me what would also suffice is if an adequate amount of 5/16" plate (or larger) was welded to the floor and walls at the bed corners, and both the rings to those. but i would be concerned about the tailgate area being not as strong as the front corners due to the nature of it...

Of course we need to be more-worried about keeping a load from moving forward as opposed to backwards, unless your deuce can do wheelies and jackrabbit starts :D
I've been debating using a 3/4 D rings welded to 1/8 steel 4 square inches then to the bed. I was also thinking about sense there is tiny gap in the tailgate and the bed I might secure the straps to the frame or the rings behind the rear bumper.
 

msgjd

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I've been debating using a 3/4 D rings welded to 1/8 steel 4 square inches then to the bed. I was also thinking about sense there is tiny gap in the tailgate and the bed I might secure the straps to the frame or the rings behind the rear bumper.
on the right track but heavier and considerably wider is better.... sheet bed-steel can rip .. i always preferred tie downs that are welded AND bolted , preferably bolted to something stronger than a bed sheet underneath the mounting plate.. Some DOT jurisdictions also like to see that redundancy
 

USN_Green_Addict

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What plate dimensions would you recommend? I'm only going to be hauling it on the highway about 1500 miles. Thinking about what was said with the bed possibly ripping, would it be better to weld the plate square in the corners so it can be welded in with the side and bottom?

I'm looking at doing 7018 on a old AC welder.
 

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Mullaney

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What plate dimensions would you recommend? I'm only going to be hauling it on the highway about 1500 miles. Thinking about what was said with the bed possibly ripping, would it be better to weld the plate square in the corners so it can be welded in with the side and bottom?

I'm looking at doing 7018 on a old AC welder.
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Roughly a foot square. AND a piece the same size on the bottom of the bed as well. That way you have a lot more to "rip out" if everything goes bad.
Maybe quarter inch plate...
 

Valley Rock

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There's no end to how far you could go with this or how heavy duty you can make it, and while you're doing it you'll think of six or seven different ways to do it better/stronger/simpler and more neato

It's an old Jeep it probably weighs all of a ton, so unless you're going to start doing this for a living everyday or hauling bulldozers I would just grab some heavy large threaded eyes, drill four or six holes put them in and haul your Jeep

The only way it's going to get out of that box is if you crash, and if you crash all bets are off anyway

Oh, and when you get all done tying it down, just slap that jeep and say "that ain't goin anywhere" and you'll be fine, works almost every time 🙏
 

cattlerepairman

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There's no end to how far you could go with this or how heavy duty you can make it, and while you're doing it you'll think of six or seven different ways to do it better/stronger/simpler and more neato

It's an old Jeep it probably weighs all of a ton, so unless you're going to start doing this for a living everyday or hauling bulldozers I would just grab some heavy large threaded eyes, drill four or six holes put them in and haul your Jeep

The only way it's going to get out of that box is if you crash, and if you crash all bets are off anyway

Oh, and when you get all done tying it down, just slap that jeep and say "that ain't goin anywhere" and you'll be fine, works almost every time 🙏
If it helps any, where I am, the cargo securement must be able to support 50% of the item's weight in all directions and you need at least two tie downs for things over 5 ft in length but less than 10 ft. For a Jeep that would be at the minimum two straps that combined hold about 1250 lbs. Would I go over that? You bet, but that is the minimum to be legal around here.
 

USN_Green_Addict

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If it helps any, where I am, the cargo securement must be able to support 50% of the item's weight in all directions and you need at least two tie downs for things over 5 ft in length but less than 10 ft. For a Jeep that would be at the minimum two straps that combined hold about 1250 lbs. Would I go over that? You bet, but that is the minimum to be legal around here.
I'm driving from Denver to Georgia. I'm planning on going 55mph the whole way and towing my m105a2. Safety is paramount, I plan on having one or both of my kids riding passenger.
 

Mullaney

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I'm driving from Denver to Georgia. I'm planning on going 55mph the whole way and towing my m105a2. Safety is paramount, I plan on having one or both of my kids riding passenger.
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Just remember: The Jeep - loaded in the back of your truck - is almost dead level with the back of your seat. You don't want it to get loose. Either inside or outside of the truck...

And when you tie it down, put more emphasis on limiting forward motion.
 

USN_Green_Addict

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Just remember: The Jeep - loaded in the back of your truck - is almost dead level with the back of your seat. You don't want it to get loose. Either inside or outside of the truck...

And when you tie it down, put more emphasis on limiting forward motion.
Exactly!! Ratchet straps are cheap. I figure I will use at least 4+ straps.
 
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