Heavy Duty D Shackles

There’s no joy in just slapping together some chains and shackles and hitting the road. You’re always at risk of having a chain or shackle snap, which can put your rig, yourself, or others in serious risk. That’s why it’s important you always have the right D shackles for the job at hand.

A D shackle is what will attach the chain to either your trailer or vehicle. At some point, someone obviously created a brilliantly strong yet practical design for connecting this chain. But sadly, they weren’t exactly as good at naming things. Because it’s a shackle that looks like the letter D, so now it’s forever known as the D shackle. Oh well.

You’re either brave or mad to think you can go without one. And Outback Equipment’s got the best going around. Take our Cargo Mate D Shackle – this bad boy is rated for loads up to 3.2 tonnes. This really means its breaking point beats six times the working load limit. So if you hung a 19.2 tonne weight off one of these things, it’d only just be showing some signs of strain and wear. And with a galvanised painted finish, you know it’ll fare well in dirt, rain, or dust.

But if you need to tow something insanely massive, you’ll want the Mean Mother D Shackle. The 4.7 tonne capacity makes it ideal for recovery situations, particularly with electric winches. So if you get yourself as stuck as a spider in a bath, you know your D shackle will be more than up to the job.

D Shackle Requirements for Towing

The Australian Government’s pretty clear about what rating your D shackles need to be to legally tow stuff. In general, it comes down to how heavy your payload is. The general rules are:

• Up to 1,000kg, minimum proof load of 4.9 / 9.9 kN
• Up to 1,600kg, minimum proof load of 7.9 / 9.9 kN
• Up to 2,500kg, minimum proof load of 12.3 / 14.8 kN
• Up to 3,500kg, minimum proof load of 17.2 / 19.7 kN.

The Government even spells out that it’s important to trust in a reputable brand – and they’re bang on. That’s why we only stock the brands we trust and use ourselves.

Don’t trust in a no-name D shackle, or one rated for less than what you’re towing. Because you’re not only in danger of damaging your trailer, you’re in danger of copping some beauties of fines. For the right D shackles for every application, check out our collection below.