Billet D-Rings NOW AVAILABLE!

Hello Charvonia Design fans,


Today we’re very excited to announce our latest product offering, something many of you have been requesting for months – Billet D-Rings for your Toyota Tacoma!


Billet Tie Down D-Rings follow the same design language and color scheme as our current Bed and Rail Tie Downs, so you can complete the look with these CNC machined Billet D-Rings.

• Machined from durable 6061-T6 aircraft-grade aluminum
• Anodized in Red, Black, Blue, or Silver, these Billet D-Rings will add a splash of color to an otherwise dull and boring truck bed
• Radius prevents dangerous cutting and fraying of ratchet straps, bungee cords or rope
• Corrosion resistant stainless steel pivot bolt boasts a 70,000 psi tensile strength
• Marine grease is used during assembly to prevent corrosion and provide many years of trouble-free service
• When stowed in the closed position, the spring-loaded ball detent keeps the D-Ring from rattling while driving down dirt roads

Sold in pairs
PATENT PENDING
Fits 2005-2024 Toyota Tacoma Trucks

AVAILABLE NOW: Tacoma D-Rings






www.BilletTieDowns.com

 

*Gasp* $150 for two?? The cost-to-bling ratio is way off for me...

 

Yes sir, I do wish they could be cheaper but made in the USA and making a small business survive drives the price. These are more expensive than my Bed or Rail Tie Downs since those are one solid part and these are two pieces plus expensive hardware. I'm hoping it's still worth it to the many loyal customers who have already outfitted their trucks with my other Billet Tie Downs.

 

Those look awesome! Way more than I am willing to pay though. I’m more of a function guy and willing to pay for quality and I just don’t see that $ of value. Certainly plenty will pick them up though!

 

Those are sweeeeeet looking!!!!!

 

I hear you. When I did the load testing on these versus the stock D-rings it was pretty eye opening. These definitely add "function" since they don't bend and pull through the bolt! I will post the test results later.

 

Thanks! It has been hard to wait for the patent to show these off!

 

I'd be in for a set if I didn't have bed stiffeners. Love your tie downs, hope you can move some of these they are beautiful.

 

Thanks!

 

Unfortunately I missed your Memorial Day sale on the tie-downs. Will they be going on sale again anytime soon?

 

Tell us about the load testing. If it only takes a couple hundred pounds of force to secure my load do I need something that can handle 5 times that? Not questioning the design or quality of work but as many have and many more will state the $100+ for the bling will be hard for many to swallow. It shows "Patented Pending" on the part. What aspect of it are you trying to protect and how much does that add to the cost? Patens are not cheap.

 

I have design patents on all my Billet Tie Downs (along with a lot of stuff I've designed for other companies). This covers the aesthetic styling of the part and would prevent people from ripping off my design with a version that is "easily confused" in the marketplace. I did not get a utility patent because there isn't anything novel about a D-Ring and I did not invent the function of it. You're correct, even a design patent costs several thousand dollars, but it's the cost of doing product development the right way.

I will sit down and write up the details of the load testing. I don't want to write anything that is inaccurate on the forums without first reviewing my videos of the tests. I'm also hoping to grab some images from the video, as the stock D-Ring really stretched and distorted while the Billet Tie Down D-Ring did not show any signs of failure at all.

When you say a couple hundred pound load, you're referring to the static weight. You have to consider the dynamic weight ie. that of a moving vehicle that could make sudden direction changes or a panic stop. This increases the load significantly. I am working with an OE now to determine what their testing standards are, which is another reason I have been reluctant to publish anything. These are my own tests, not an independent third party and therefore have to be taken at my word only. It is still interesting data though.

I used to work for a TV mounting company and we load tested everything to 5x the rated load. The good news is, my Billet Tie Downs have all been tested to 10x the rated load and I can sleep at night knowing that. The digital scale I use for testing maxes out around 2300 lbs, and it has hit max before any signs of failure on all tests. At this point I have exceeded what I can test in my shop, and will have to send the parts to a lab with bigger equipment to find the failure point.

As for the "rated load" - I advertise that you should not exceed the load rating of your truck. The reason for this is that even though the Billet Tie Downs are stronger, you could still exceed the strength of the ratchet strap, the bed rail, the factory bolts or the bed itself. It's all part of a system.

This does not erase the benefits of a stronger tie down, as they are much more securely mounted to the truck, they wiggle way less than the stock plastic cleats, you get more ways to attached a ratchet strap and the hook won't fall out EVERY SINGLE TIME you let tension off the strap to hook the other side!

 

Will these work with bed stiffness installed ?

 

If the factory D-Rings fit with the bed stiffeners then these will also work.

 

Thanks..Pre-Ordered the black D-Rings..

 

Thanks for your order! We're working diligently do fill all the pre-orders that have come in. These are going to be very popular!

 

They look nifty but I would also be interested in reading about the ratings and testing, mostly because I spent a half decade working as a technician doing performance testing of lifting and tie-down provisions for vehicles and cargo systems. I know you mentioned the tensile strength of the pin, but in this particular application I would be more curious about the shear rating, since tensile is pulling on the pin in the direction of the pin, which you wouldn't see in this setup. Shear strength would be the force you see when the pivoing provisions pull perpendicular to the pin. The OEM D-rings have a max capacity of roughly 440lbs. If you factor in panic stop forces of a full G, which is difficult to achieve (roughly 60mph to full stop in just under three seconds), that means you can haul a 440lb load, close to the bed rating, tied down with only two straps, and not have to worry.

The product looks nice, but if you associate any sort of rating or recommended load with them, unless a CPE signs off on it, you expose yourself to a lot of liability. I'm not here to be a debbie downer because they look cool and I'm interested, but working in the lift and tie-down load rating field for a half decade gives me some pause.

 

Thanks for the input, it's nice to hear from someone with so much experience in this area. The minimum shear strength on the shoulder bolt is 35,000 psi and these are obviously double shear. To your point, I have been reluctant to post ANY ratings on the tie downs due to liability. I always go back to the fact that the owner should not exceed the factory load rating anyways. In my own pull testing they hold 10x the factory rating of 220 lbs with zero indication of an impending failure. All that said, I would be interested in discussing this with you further.

 

This is a great explanation to a lay person such as myself. It comes off as honest and open--good luck with this beautiful product!

 

The price should remain the same even if I don't order by the end of the pre-order, I hope?