Road Glide banner

Trailer d ring placement

7.6K views 17 replies 8 participants last post by  Yellow09SERG  
#1 ·
J
Image


Image

Image

Just curious as to where to mount my rear d rings. Was wondering whether to place it where you see in the photo then attached to the saddlebag guard pulling the bike forward or behind the wheel well pulling backward. Or just one on each side of the tire running through the rear rim?
Thanks
 
#2 ·
We have E Tracks along the length of the floor on both sides and down the middle .. We attach the front straps on each fork at the fender bracket , running the strap between the fork and fender , and the rear strap is run through the wheel to the rear , ie. the attachment points for the rear wheel are behind the bike .
We have detachable D rings for the etracks so we can move them as needed ..

JtB
 
#3 ·
We have E Tracks along the length of the floor on both sides and down the middle .. We attach the front straps on each fork at the fender bracket , running the strap between the fork and fender , and the rear strap is run through the wheel to the rear , ie. the attachment points for the rear wheel are behind the bike .
We have detachable D rings for the etracks so we can move them as needed ..

JtB
 
#5 ·
My rear D Rings are set up to pull the bike forward. The fronts are also set far enough forward of the chock to do the same. I’ll snap a few pics on the way out the door in the morning and put in in here.
I attach the front the same as Jack. The rears are hooked to the rear bag guards.
 
#6 ·
I have one ring in each corner of the trailer and one in the middle up against the front and rear walls. Six total rings that can secure two bikes. They are each secured under the plywood floor with a steel plate my buddy fabbed up so it's not just relying one four tiny washers on the plywood. It's hauled motorcycles and other various items for about 20 years now without incident
Image
 
#10 ·
I have one ring in each corner of the trailer and one in the middle up against the front and rear walls. Six total rings that can secure two bikes. They are each secured under the plywood floor with a steel plate my buddy fabbed up so it's not just relying one four tiny washers on the plywood. It's hauled motorcycles and other various items for about 20 years now without incident View attachment 463413
Looking at that setup and taking into consideration the length and angle of the tie downs, I am thinking that in a situation of an extreme jar to the trailer because of some unforeseen obstacle like a really bad railroad track crossing at an angle that the rear of the bikes could slide side to side a little.

I would prefer the angle to be 45 degrees or less to prevent side to side movement.

Image

The smaller the angle the less tension required on the strap to resist lateral movement.
 
#7 ·
If I was placing D-rings for the rear I would go exactly 90 degrees from the rear wheel, with the objective to prevent lateral movement. Front D-rings go forward to pull the bike firmly into a wheel chock. Doesn't hurt to have an extra strap wrapped around the front wheel and chock.

As Jack stated above, I have E-track on both sides of my bike trailer. It provides endless options for attachments and angles. My days of D-rings are long past.
 
#9 ·
Ok here ya go. I use my trailer for other things beside toting the bike so I have a few D Rings set up on it.
So the Red arrows point to what I use to tie down the front of the bike and the blue the rear. Like I said before mine are set up to both pull the bike forward into the cholck.

Image
Image




I don’t have any good pictures of the bike tied down on the trailer, guess I should take some next time as this comes up fairly often.


You’ll probably get a bunch of different opinions on this, but this is always the way I’ve done and and I’ve never had any issues.

I will say make sure you check to see if your straps will accommodate your tie down points before you permanently mount them. I use soft straps with the tie downs and you need to make sure you have the tie down points far enough forward for everything to work with the strap tight on
 
#11 ·
See my post above so I don't have to repeat it, but wherever you decide to put the D-Rings make sure you either have them bolting through one of the frame cross members or have a large plate underneath the floor to distribute the forces.
 
#12 ·
What you don't know can damage your bike or injure someone else.

My neighbor borrowed an enclosed trailer from his son to go pick up a brand new motorcycle. He got it loaded, strapped it down and headed for home. At some point he stopped to check on the bike and it was laying on its side in the trailer. :oops: :eek::mad:

His son was too lazy to crawl under the trailer so he mounted the D-rings with Lag Bolts.
Image


What could go wrong?

My Father in Law improperly tied down a bike in an open trailer and it not only fell over, it left the trailer and caused a motorcyclist to crash. Lawyers and lawsuits were involved.
 
#16 ·
***Always mount the Etrack or D-rings through the frame and/or with a backer plate. I had a friend cut me up something like the ones pictured below, but much thicker metal. Used grade8 hardware, Bolt, washer,etrack, floor, frame (if available), backer plate, washer, and then locknut. Made sure to atleast hit four bolts for every foot or so and hit the frame where ever possible. We also made sure to 'link' any Etrack pieces that touched. Probably overkill, but if I get in a wreck I want that pic of the trailer upside down and the bikes still strapped to the floor. 🙃
View attachment 463435
 
#18 ·
Not going to try and make any suggestions on locations but make sure wherever you decide to plant them you are screwing to more than just plywood if your lucky or particle boad in most cases. Hit a crossmember or bolt through a doubling plate from the bottom to increase surface area.

Doesn't have a thing to do with your question. But I went to a Biker Bar set up a few years back and it has worked out really well