rachet tie downs-tractor hauling

[zionview]

I must be old school- I use ratchet straps for light loads, I must have 20 of them, but I use 1/4 inch welded chain and chain binders for my TLB. I just don't know how ratchet straps would react in an emergency situation, and I really don't want to find out.

 

[ddivinia]

Now, I would highly recommend axles straps. People haul race cars all the time like that.

My trooper buddy in Texas says they are legal. They either go by the rating on the label of the strap. If there is not label, they say 1,000lb per x inches. I don't remember X. So, I look like an idiot here. I know they are legal.

Texas Commercial Drivers Handbook:

On flatbed trailers or trailers without sides, cargo must be
secured to keep it from shifting or falling off. In closed vans,
tiedowns can also be important to prevent cargo shifting that
may affect the handling of the vehicle. Tiedowns must be of
the proper type and proper strength. The combined strength
of all cargo tiedowns must be strong enough to lift one and
one half times the weight of the piece of cargo tied down.
Proper tiedown equipment must be used, including ropes,
straps, chains, and tensioning devices (winches, ratchets,
clinching components). Tiedowns must be attached to the
vehicle correctly (hook, bolt, rails, rings).
Cargo should have at least one tiedown for each 10 feet of
cargo. Make sure you have enough tiedowns to meet this
need. No matter how small the cargo, it should have at least
two tiedowns holding it.

 

[jgrreed]

I did use big tie downs once, the day I picked my machine up. I felt so sick to my stomach all the way home that I went and bought chains and boomers the next day.

My biggest concern is fraying or tearing if they rub on a sharp metal edge. Axle straps are different as they are often reinforced with leather or something tougher. Great for bales or lumber, not so great for metal IMO.

You guys have all spent 20K, 30K or even 40K + on your machines, and they're obviously very important to you all (like me, otherwise I wouldn't see you names on here almost everyday!!!), so for God's sake, go out and spend $150 on four 8' chains, 4 boomers, and 8 quality hooks and sleep better at night!!!!

Like I said regarding pulling a 4x20 on a 7k trailer - even worse would be your machine ending up in the oncoming lane of traffic and you being 'that guy' that killed the family in the minivan.

That's my rant. Just something to think about.

-Jer.

 

[tjkadar]

I use chains.... the same type of system they use to lock down helicopters to the deck of ships. Good enough to strap a Blackhawk to the deck of a rolling ship, good enough for my tractor.

 

[Dargo]

You guys have all spent 20K, 30K or even 40K + on your machines, and they're obviously very important to you all (like me, otherwise I wouldn't see you names on here almost everyday!!!), so for God's sake, go out and spend $150 on four 8' chains, 4 boomers, and 8 quality hooks and sleep better at night!!!!

I gotta agree with you. The real trouble is the people who think they are fine and don't worry one bit when in fact they are a real danger. Last week a guy got killed on a motorcycle about 3 miles from my house when a guy driving a pickup going the opposite way on a 2 lane road lost the 4 wheeler out of the back of their pickup. He had used the small tie down straps to secure his 4 wheeler, with the tailgate down, and they broke allowing the 4 wheeler to come out of the bed of the pickup and bounce right into the guy on the motorcycle going the other way. The biker had a helmet on as well as leathers but was killed on impact by the 4 wheeler.

I got lucky once and don't intend on ever pressing my luck again. I met a guy who owns one of those truck driving schools last year and asked him about this issue. His answer was that he teaches using straps for "non-rolling" loads that aren't likely to move anyway and grade 80 appropriately sized chains and binders for any rolling load or load that may easily shift. It seems to be pretty sound advice to me. And, like you said, after spending tens of thousands of dollars on a tractor, what is a hundred or two to safely secure it to a trailer?

 

[KB9UDE]

I did use big tie downs once, the day I picked my machine up. I felt so sick to my stomach all the way home that I went and bought chains and boomers the next day.

My biggest concern is fraying or tearing if they rub on a sharp metal edge. Axle straps are different as they are often reinforced with leather or something tougher. Great for bales or lumber, not so great for metal IMO.

You guys have all spent 20K, 30K or even 40K + on your machines, and they're obviously very important to you all (like me, otherwise I wouldn't see you names on here almost everyday!!!), so for God's sake, go out and spend $150 on four 8' chains, 4 boomers, and 8 quality hooks and sleep better at night!!!!

Like I said regarding pulling a 4x20 on a 7k trailer - even worse would be your machine ending up in the oncoming lane of traffic and you being 'that guy' that killed the family in the minivan.

That's my rant. Just something to think about.

-Jer.

I bought a new 4120 recently and then went and bought a 14K 20ft trailer for hauling instead of using the 7K 18ft trailer. I also went and bought chains and binders after using rachet straps for many years.

Be careful with that tractor on a 7K trailer!!!!!

John

 

[zionview]

Last night a woman in a pickup was coming off an exit on I-80 near here, and one of the 1" ratchet straps failed that was holding one of two 4-wheelers on the truck. It ended up in a ditch about 80 feet away from the exit. Nobody was hurt. My 1 inch ratchet straps are rated for 480# and 500#. I've seen 4-wheelers strapped down with tie-down straps with the friction style ends on them. I wish the state troopers would stop a few of these. It might save somebody's life.

 

[LBrown59]

I use them all the time, but they are very large ones. I use 4 with axle straps on each corner. I use them to haul my Jeep also and its nice not to have a bunch of chain around. I would not haul your tractor, or mine, around with only 2, no matter the size. There is more that can break on these compared to chain binders, and if you have a rachet going bad, they can slip.

2 hain't enough/

 

[LBrown59]

am i safe?

----------N 0

 

[LBrown59]

Mine are more than 2" and are rated for much more than that. I have 4" and they are made to do what I am using them for. Anything ratted for 10K should not be allowed on the road when using them for a 3-5K tractor. The forces that could ack on the tractor in hard breaking, bumps, or a crash would be 10 times that. Long story short, just like with chains, use the right stuff, and don't take an example from someone who used the wrong stuff to say that straps should never be used.

So then what size and what rating straps should he have been using ? ?