Given what you say above, I would *cautiously* say you could remove those plates.
That said, inspect the area under them *very carefully* to make sure they were not covering some kind of damage that is not visible from the other side.
If someone is adding plates for strength (to go with the overloads) they would typically be a fair bit longer and better attached. The quality of the welds aside, it doesn't really looks like a strength plate.
Edit: thinking about this again, the low quality of the welds would concern me even if they are to fix some damage. Pulling them off and inspecting/fixing it properly might be prudent.
Last edited by Fibonachu; 06/09/2023 5:53 PM.
