Tie Down Straps with loops for tractor

[can do]

How can anyone argue chains vs straps without addressing the weight of the tractor? My Max 26xl with FEL and hoe weighs about 3200#. I use 4 straps that are rated WLL 3300# + each. Axle straps and strapped left to right, right to left in the rear. Axle straps and strapped left to left and right to right in the front. FEL and hoe are on the deck and strapped also. Am I doing something wrong?

If I was hauling the old Farmall M I would probably look into chains but haven't had to do that yet.

That's exactly how I plan to haul my M-F 50; That weighs 4,200 lbs. on my 20 ft. trailer with a 2 ft. dove tail; That weighs 2,000 empty with a gross weight of 7,000 lbs. The tractor will not have any implements on it; Or on the trailer. I'm only hauling it 30.5 miles to have some service work done at the dealer. Not that it matters I drove trucks for 44 years, But I do know about being dot compliant, & most of all doing it safely. I'm still in the habit of doing my pre trip, & post trip inspections on all of my towing equipment; As well as my trailer, & travel trailer.

 

[JWR]

F=Ma -- in dynamics the force is the mass x the acceleration. None of us REALLY have a quantitative clue how many g's of deceleration the load will experience if we hit something, when we jamb on the brakes, etc. Neither do the people making the regulations. What we DO know is the huge backlog of millions of miles and trips worth of experience. Common sense: Does the tie down look like it would hold the load, say by dangling it stationary if it had to? That is one 'g' to dangle the load by the tie down statically. Probably overkill for most of us. A lot of things in life call for good judgement... so use it.

I think two examples will suffice here:

This was not a good enough tie down.

On the other hand this one was tied down more than well enough:

I'm assuming the Kubota on Trailer involves the ROPS being hard against the sod and holding the whole thing vertical? Doesn't really seem photoshopped...

 

[workinonit]

I love these threads. I call them Straps vs Chains. For me it's like watching a football game that my team isn't playing in. I don't have a preference so popcorn and an unbiased opinion make for some good quality entertainment.

 

[Helogabals]

I need your expertise on this

Germany

On that semi were 2 such tractors.
Both tied the same way, with 4 ratchets, one each corner

 

[JWR]

Expertise?
Surprising that the signage is in English. That top link perched up there in apparent storage position looks too small for its' duties. That's a big assed, well anyway healthy looking, tractor...

 

[bcp]

Expertise?
Surprising that the signage is in English. That top link perched up there in apparent storage position looks too small for its' duties. That's a big assed, well anyway healthy looking, tractor...

I believe that is the front of the tractor.

Bruce

 

[ultrarunner]

I use made in USA Macs tie down products for tractors and classic cars.

Professional Tie Down Systems for Any Vehicle | Mac's Custom Tie-Downs

Learn why U.S. made Mac's ratchet tie downs, axle straps and wheel nets outperform the competition and are the choice when safety and security matter!

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[JWR]

I believe that is the front of the tractor.

Bruce

Sure, it definitely IS the front end. But in Europe many, if not most, large tractors use a front end 3pt hitch besides the std rear end one.

 

[sandman2234]

Pay attention to the long haul 18 wheelers. The large 4" wide straps with heavy steel (not hooks) ends are common. The ratchets are available at my TSC and other stores to be welded or bolted on to your trailer or convenient location. They usually tighten with a tire iron or similar and are made of 3/8" steel or better. But those same gurus driving 18 wheelers also seem to nearly always use chain and tighteners for tractors and heavy steel stuff as opposed to boards and bags and packages. I am told the old over-center chain tighteners are no longer "legal" and one must use the PITA threaded turning type. I throw out a few points of opinion not caring where they fall ...
1) I've never been stopped while hauling in 30 years of not very frequent experience. Doubt I ever will be.
2) DOT inspectors are looking mainly for obvious offenders, not you guys trying to move a farm tractor. They are in general not going to bother you.
3) Serious day-in-day-out haulers pick their tie downs based on what they are hauling. Straps if they work well, chains if they think it is better.
4) I do not give a crap what DOT inspectors or State Police or other patrol folks think or do. Worst case I pay their fines. What I really care about is that the load I am hauling is not going to come through the cab at me. And secondarily that it not be bouncing loose around the trailer bed. So the chain or the straps I choose are based on the weight of the object that may be moving at 70 mph in my rearview mirror when I hit something. If my own criteria is met, the inspectors criteria will also be met and exceeded in almost every case. Honestly I do not care what their criteria is, I care about protecting me and that automatically protects others nearby.

I am one of those long haul 18 wheelers...and I have seen a lot of other drivers that don't have a clue as to how to properly tie a trailer down! (Most of my days are spent hauling a dry van nowaday)
If you aren't much at tying things down, or pay no attention to the simple laws of phyics, then the last thing you need to worry about is the DOT, as the chances of that happening soooner than the DOT catching you is a given!!
David from jax

 

[JWR]

Amen brother !!

 

[bigtiller]

Sure, it definitely IS the front end. But in Europe many, if not most, large tractors use a front end 3pt hitch besides the std rear end one.

We don't have to go to Europe to see one, my JD 3039R has a 3 point hitch on the front.

 

[kozal01]

I hauled millions of pounds of random crap all over Iraq on a 40' flatbed. From pickup trucks, HMMWV's, other semi trucks, semi trailers, deuce and a half's, Russian military trucks and literal tons and tons of everything else they could fit on our trailers. Straps by FAR were more reliable than chains. Cant count how many chains I broke over the rough roads over there. Not to mention they always became lose which meant we had to stop far more often to re-secure chained loads than strapped loads. Stopping to fix a chain and binder on the side of the road in Iraq was too often deadly so needless to say we hated stopping. I will to this day chose a strap over a chain any time I can. Chains dont stretch when they are suddenly shock loaded (like from braking hard, hitting an IED, going over rough terrain, etc) and they snap, where a strap will stretch and absorb the shock load without loosening or snapping like a chian would. There is a time and a place for both but for me, straps it is. I cant tell you how often Im on the road and see stuff on a trailer with lose chains flopping all over the place, one hard knock and that's a broken chain.

 

[ptsg]

We don't have to go to Europe to see one, my JD 3039R has a 3 point hitch on the front.

Is that a true 3 pt hitch or some proprietary design the JD uses and requires their expensive proprietary implements?

A true front 3 pt will accept any 3 pt hitch implements and that's what we have in Europe. It will also have a true front PTO, instead of an exposed shaft underneath running from the rear PTO or the mid PTO.

 

[QRTRHRS]

I have been buying my straps from rachetstrapsusa.com. Their axle straps are only stocked in 2" widths but in lengths of multiple of 12", 2x24 up to 2x84. They come with nylon protective sleeves, flat or forged D rings. The company advertises custom work so they may make wider axles straps?

I have purchased from this supplier several times. They send me discount offers on occasion and offer bulk packs at a good price.

They also carry just the sleeves by themselves. I have bought them to slip over my J-hook straps to protect chafing on my stake pockets.

I have not bought any but there are online sellers of used fire hose to use as sleeves. For really rough edges, leather sleeves are available too.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Someone mentioned that the fold over binders have been outlawed by the DOT? I was taught to properly seat them by giving them a "whack" with the piece of pipe that I used to tighten them to secure steel beams way back when. If I was hauling coils then I secured them with rubber straps just as a precaution since you cannot clamp down overly hard on coils. Never had one slack, never lost anything.

My "thing" is to take the time to basically use more straps (or chains) than the minimum. That comes from mainly hauling fence posts or pole barns. The smaller pole barns are the "worst" to tie down due to the post, purlins, tin, doors, windows, hardware on the same load. Heavy stuff strapped down first, light stuff on top with more straps. Then there are the roof trusses...

 

[CliffordK]

Someone mentioned that the fold over binders have been outlawed by the DOT?

They definitely are still used on log trucks around here.

I don't know if they are load restricted by DOT.

The log loads are perfect for the snap type binders. They don't hang out wider than the load, and weight holds the handles downward.

Plus I've had issues with binders on solid loads like steel, not enough flex in the loads to get them adjusted properly. The logs likely have enough spring to tighten down well.

 

[kozal01]

We always kept the chains long enough to wrap around the binder then ziptied the chains to prevent them from popping. I did much prefer the ratchet style but we weren't allowed to use those for some reason.

 

[CliffordK]

As far as the ratchet straps. I've come to like them.

Our local equipment auction has been listing a few blue colored 2" ratchet straps that are rated as 2,500 kg (a little over 5,000 lbs) working load. They're trying to list them as 5 tons which is annoying. Anyway, the straps themselves are heavier than the ordinary 3300 lb straps. However, the ratchets don't seem that different.

Double the straps into a circle, and one has double that, or 10,000 lbs working load. And, I always like to have at least 2 straps in any direction on a load, so they're strong enough for most ordinary vehicles.

There are 4" ratchets that have a higher load rating, but I haven't started using them. They just seem awkward.

27 to 30 feet seems a bit long, but there is always something that a couple of feet longer would be nice for such as lengthwise over the top of my load. If you do a loop, then the length is half that. Cut down the length if you wish, or simply tie down the excess. Or if you have enough strap, go back to the load for a second loop.

 

[QRTRHRS]

The supplier that I mentioned carries 1-2-3-4 inch wide straps in standard or custom lengths and colors. I have 2" straps in black, yellow and purple depending on the length so I can readily grab what I need.

I mostly use my ~82" wide between the fender equipment trailer to haul small hay bales. I have two 35' twisted safety hook straps that work great to go front to back over the bales stacked five layers high. I got the twisted hooks to use with axle straps for a secure tie down.

Most people that I see hauling the small bales just go with the two long straps. Because I like to stay within my fenders so my rear view is not blocked, I load 20 bales in a layer, five layers high. No as stable as say loading on a wider deck over so I also cross strap the load.

I bought an 8 pack of 27' J-hooks for about $120 a year or so ago then cut five down to 20' for my cross straps. Tighten and go, no tying up loose ends. People might laugh at me for overdoing the straps but I drive an hour for my hay and don't like leaving any along side of the road.

I also have six 20' straps with flat safety hooks that I use with axle straps if need be depending on what I am hauling. I like the twisted safety hooks better than the flat hooks.

I had a box truck for a few years so I also have several E-track straps and various adaptors that I hung onto when I sold the truck. So yes, I like my straps, lol!

 

[bigtiller]

Is that a true 3 pt hitch or some proprietary design the JD uses and requires their expensive proprietary implements?

A true front 3 pt will accept any 3 pt hitch implements and that's what we have in Europe. It will also have a true front PTO, instead of an exposed shaft underneath running from the rear PTO or the mid PTO.

It's a proprietary hitch for Deere stuff. I like it, does everything I need it to.