Replacement bed D-ring that lies flat

I’m wondering if anyone has replaced their D-rings with equally burly D-rings that lie flat. The hole in the existing D-ring is about 5/8.” Most I’ve found online are smaller and flimsier.

The long-winded reason: I’ve made a very basic sliding tray of 3/4” plywood for half of my 5’ bed so I can put heavy stuff on the tray (propane tanks, 5gal jugs, camp kitchen) and slide it out close to and onto the tailgate for loading and ease of access. It has a single wood runner on the underside that rests in one of the bed grooves to limit sliding. I hope this simple slab of plywood will limit hunching over inside the shell to move awkward items and speed packing/unpacking. I’ll make a few recesses and tie-down slots so the items can be lashed down. But the tray catches on the OEM D-ring that is designed to pop up and sits higher than everything else.

On a side note, the parts and bushings and everything included with the OEM D-ring were more involved than I expected—it’s nice to see they’re designed to hold a decent amount of weight.

Thanks for any help sourcing a solution.

 

I replaced mine with bed stiffeners... however, depending on your slide design, that may cause worse clearance issues.

 

Check out L-tracks. They're more versatile than D-rings. @Crom has used them extensively. Check them out here in his build.

 

These will work and lie flat. You may have to make the hole bigger and do the belt bolt mod, cheap and easy, good info at the link below. The OP used oe d rings, the ones that lie flat you can buy anywhere, they hold alot of weight.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/SIX-1-4-St...a=1&pg=2332490&_trksid=p2332490.c100891.m5206

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/installed-d-rings-in-the-bed-pics.28533/

 

That looks good. Thanks for hunting the thread down — I didn’t find it when I searched TW. There is a thick Hummer D-ring that I found that looks like it would work well without modification, but everyplace I looked was either out of stock or something charged ridiculous prices ($40 apiece).

 

Thanks. I really like L-tracks, but think they’ll be counterproductive for my setup, which involves tossing a bunch of heavy objects and bulky bags into the truck. My bed is basically full up to the shell roof. The halfie slide tray is just to help with loading and unloading.

 

I got a set of those back when they were available and were about $20 delivered for the full set. That surplus site doesn't have them anymore. They are stellar. But, I don't think that they will work in the stock D ring location.

Here's the thread from where they used to be found:

Edit: Holy carp! They are actually listed again. @Malvolio , jump on these when they come back in stock because they are nice and cheap!

 

That is freaking cool!

Aircraft seat track and anchors are cheap. If I didn't have the D rings, I'd go the length of the bed with two tracks.

 

Last week I added 4 more tie downs to the bolts that hold the bed to the frame. Im not sure if they would work for you application, but the do lay flat.

These are what I used:

$15 DC Cargo V-Ring Tie-Down Anchors |4 Pack | 2" Diameter Steel Bolt-on D-Rings for Cargo on Trucks, Pickups, Trailers |Flush Mount Tie-Down Anchor, Replacement for D-Ring Tie-Down w/Plastic Pan Fitting

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01CGXSNC0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Required drilling out the hole to 1/2", as well as a bit of grinding down on the bolt to get the washer off. But Im real happy with how it turned out, only possible issue is they dont rotate like OEM.

 

For me, I used a socket to hammer off the washers with a chunk of wood under the the tail of the bolt just in case. My only mistake as not wearing gloves.

Rotation would be nice, but I just pointed them somewhat toward the center of the bed. Straps at different angles have not turned them at all. You should be good to go!

 

Damn! They're already out of stock. Thanks for the hot tip. It was too hot for me. I'll have to be faster on the draw next time.

 

The link has been dead for a while. I was surprised to see then listed. Keep an eye out there. They might come back soon.

Worth the effort.

 

Update: I ended up grinding down the little nub on the OEM d-ring. It lies flat now. It’s a bit ugly but functional.