12-inch low-profile shackles
Submitted by Jesse_at_TLT on September 9th, 2007
When we first installed the 62” Deaver springs on our long-travel Tacoma, we used 10” tubular shackles from Total Chaos. They worked great, except I ended up needing to move the shackle hanger location forward and install longer 12” shackles when we updated the bedcage and switched from 16” Swayaway shocks to a set of RICOR’s 18” triple bypass shocks.
I would have used another set of Total Chaos shackles, except that I was trying to squeeze a 35” spare tire between the framerails, so I needed to use something a little lower-profile.
I had these plates cut out of 1/4” (inner) and 3/16” (outer) cold-rolled plate and then welded them together. The hex-shape cutouts are just there to keep the nuts from spinning.
The shackle hangers are just a piece of 2” diameter tubing (.25” wall thickness and 2.5” long). After positioning the tubing on top of the framerails in the right place, I welded these gussets onto the sides of the framerails (previously boxed) to better distribute the load. Then I welded some flat strap over the top.
I made the outer half of each shackle from 1.25x.120-wall DOM tubing to make the shackles a little stronger. I would NOT recommend using flat-plate shackles on the outer half of the shackles. They’re just too long and wouldn’t be strong enough.
| Filename | Format | Date Added |
|---|---|---|
 12-lowprofile-shackles-and-shackle-hangers.dwg | AutoCAD DWG | September 9th, 2007 |