My company uses straps almost exclusively. You have to get good ones. Don't like the cheap 2" straps, but they work for little ****. We get the good straps from Alamo Iron Works usually. They're thick 2" straps. Some are 5 years old and still going, used almost daily. The best way to ruin one is to run it over a corner, it will cut fast. Put a little peice of cardboard or such under it. When we use binders they're the ones like ugly posted.
I've only hauled one vehicle and it was that new blazer, so I can't speak from experience, but here is my opinion any way!
I think chain's and binders on the axles and straps holding the suspension down.
I personally don't want the load moving on the trailer at all. The chains shouldn't loosen up and should be plenty strong holding the vehicle to the trailer if you get in an accident.
Straps holding the vehicle down takes the sway out of the suspension. Have you ever seen a trailer start to fish tail and the trailer suspension start to cycle, and then suspension on the car on the trailer start to sway with the trailer and amplify the problem? Thats what I want to prevent.
So 2 chains and binders tight on the axles and 2 straps snugging the suspension
1988 Blazer...RIP
to add some fun info about the bearings grayson was talking about. I am not sure what motor company did this but anyway. They were transporting cars in the 40's to CA on railcars. And when the cars got there they were fine but they noticed the wheel bearings were wearing out in 10000 miles and they had no idea why this was happening. So they found out it was due to the railcar cause it was a rough ride and the bearings rubbed in one spot and messed them up. So yes keep your car from moving on the trailer.Originally posted by Graystroke
I think it's better to strap the vehicle down and compress the suspension(from the bumpers/tow points). There's something to be said when every known vehicle manufacturer does it this way when they transport. Also you don't want the load shifting. I also read somewhere from a race car tech that they strap to the body to keep the suspension from cycling and nicking the races in the wheel bearings, which makes since. If you think about it all that weight of the truck goes up and down on the same part of the bearing w/ out rotating like it would if you were going down the road.
If I haul a vehicle I use four straps criss crossed front and rear w/ a safety chain in the front to the trailer just in case. It maybe overkill, but I never have had any problems and can go down the road w/ a little peace of mind.
one more fun bearing story
A company had some bearings in thier shop. They also had some big machines running making vibrations. They had there bearings stored on edge and they failed when they were in use way before they were supposed to fail. The vibrations from the machines in the next room cause them to rub and in one tiny spot mess them up. So if you are going to store bearings lay them down flat and pack them with grease this will help. By laying them down flat the bearing has more contact area than it sitting on edge. and grease can never hurt.
I always use chains for everything and I only tie to the axles when hauling. I hook the front up and then have another person put the vehicle in reverse and put load on the chains and I tighten the rear with the binders and call it good.
1 strap is cool to have on the trail since they're 10 times lighter than chain. I probably will never use a strap to tie my truck down to a trailer....one time me and my brother were hauling a chute on a winch truck and we hit a rough cattleguard and one of the straps flew off and hit the back windshield shattering it....i couldn't hear for about 2 hours later.
Where can one buy good ratchet straps in town? TSC just gots ****ty ones. I'm looking for thick 2.5" ones.
And for anyone wondering, the fit was not as tight as I thought it would be. The CG should be about at the front shring hanger so i guess its OK. I like to load the truck heavy, I'm wondering what effect the 900 lbs of water in the bed has, if it counts for proper trailer loading or not. And I told them at discount I wanted the new truck tires full of air, yep, 40 psi.
Last edited by eight; 04-23-2004 at 10:26 AM.
Lowes or home depot. Cheaper than TSC too.
wallmart and sams both have them....they are around 20 for the 2.5" yellow ones that are rated at like 10 or 20k
Steven W
02 Dodge 2500
82 CJ-7 - sitting in a field...
"....Your theory is f*cked up like a football bat...."
I know this is late, but SAM'S has the nice ones for $12.43 apiece. I had four of them on the Jeep this weekend if you look at it.
Got one at Home Depot, 2.5" x 25' for $13. But its not what I wanted. Looked just like the ones Brett had. What I wanted has straps about 50% thicker.
Mine have "Edgegard" technology. It's got a little trademark symbol, so that must mean they're extra strong.
Originally Posted by mudtoy67
Almost lost the fawking XJ on the way home. This is what was left of the front strap holding it to the trailer. I suspect it broke when we hit a big ass bump in the highway just north of Dallas. It had a nick in it from rubbing on the axle truss, I figured it was small enough to not be a problem. About 5 minutes after the bump some truck pulls up next to us and rolls his window down, motioning at the Jeep. I'm all thinking, "ya thanks, nice jeep I know!".I finally figured out he was saying "STRAP!". Pulled over and the XJ was about 12" from the back of the trailer.
Thankfully Karl and Kopecki weren't far behind and Karl let me borrow one of his straps. I WILL be buying 4 new straps and 4 axle straps so I can secure this thing properly in the future. I also need to redo the floor on the trailer and I'll add floor mount d-rings like most car haulers use.
Moving the discussion over here...figured I'd beat Ed to a chadnutz post bump.
BDR
I believe my problem here was not strap quality, but operator error.
Issue 1 - using only one strap per axle, going from one side of trailer, around axle, then to other side of trailer. This method has worked fine for me for a long time, but I have tossed a few straps over the years from getting cuts and scrapes on brackets and such. I've been telling myself the last few trips to buy more straps in order to put 2 on each axle, but end up not because I've already spent too much on the rig.
Issue 2 - poor care and bad judgement of strap use. I knew that strap had a nick in it. It had rubbed on the front axle truss on the way up and I thought it would be ok for the ride home. I should have disposed of the strap and borrowed someone else's. Thank God the Jeep did not fall off the trailer.
I like straps over chains/binders because to me they are just easier to work with. A strap will have to be replaced occasionally, but I think this is a decent trade off for not handling chains. If I had a real heavy full size rig I'd probably consider the switch.
I do like the poly performance straps with the axle strap built in. I'd be concerned though about possibly having to replace a $46 frayed polyperformance strap instead of a $10 Northern Tool axle strap.
I like Scott's d-rings, and while the strength numbers seem right, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with the strap around the axle. If I get in an emergency situation and the entire axle pulls out from under the rig I've probably got more to worry about than the rig coming off the trailer.
Last edited by mudtoy67; 12-21-2010 at 12:01 PM.
BDR
For the record, I also suck down my suspension with my front and rear winches. Keeps the truck from bouncing around and adds back-up attachments should the strap or chain fail.
On the 8th day god created the Super Swamper TSL and said "go forth and kick ass"
Moved from the previous thread:
If I ever buy again, I'm getting these or something like it:
JEGS 80122 - JEGS Ratchet Tie-Downs
http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS/555/80122/10002/-1
One-piece integrated loop and ratchet. They can be used straight or around an axle.
I've been using the separate axle strap and ratchet strap for years with no issues. But it's twice as many pieces and it's a little awkward holding the open ended hook on both axle strap hoops tight while trying to attach and ratchet the other open ended hook. The closing/locking hooks would also keep it all in one place, even if it somehow got slack. It can't fall completely off like my current setup. I'm not concerned about cutting them. Has anyone had that happen? I've never even frayed one. They're pretty tough.
Then I'm going to cut off all of the extra so I don't have to ever mess with it. I don't know why I haven't yet. All of them are still long enough to tie down a load of lumber on a semi trailer.
The disco ball in my mouth, insinuates I'm ballin'
I cut a strap while dealing with my FUBAR'd crewcab on the way to the Haloween run at alto. That was deffinately user error as I was pissed off and didnt pay much attention to strap routing.
On the 8th day god created the Super Swamper TSL and said "go forth and kick ass"
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