Ratcheting tie downs BROKE in transit!

Dargo · Mar 20, 2005

Anybody else use the 2" wide ratcheting tie downs? I've gotten into the habit of using two of the tie downs on the front of my tractor and two on the rear, and not using chains anymore. I figured since the tie downs said that they had a 10,000 pound capacity that two of them on each end of my tractor would be sufficient. Wrong!!!

While running about 50 mph up a 2 lane highway yesterday I had both front straps break after going over a dip in the road. When they snapped, one of them caught the electric brake plug and also broke it. The only way I knew that the straps broke was my tractor began to exit off of the rear of the trailer. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Now I also ask, have you ever been towing a load and have it become extremely tail heavy? Once the tractor moved to the rear on the trailer, the trailer immediately slung around my 1 ton 4X4 dually diesel Dodge like it was a toy! There are heavy black marks that go within 6" of being off of the left side of the highway (wrong lane) and then within 12" of going off of the right side of the highway. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I literally was all over the road and almost completely sideways. Without trailer brakes, I absolutely had all I could handle and then some trying to get the whole shooting match stopped with the rubber side down!

After what seemed like an eternity, I luckily managed to get the truck and trailer stopped. I have no idea how I didn't lose the tractor off of the trailer and how I kept it out of the ditches on both sides of the highway. I was also extremely lucky that there was no oncoming traffic because I was all over the highway. I still can't believe how much the trailer flung an 8500 pound truck all over the road!

I still can't believe that the only actual damage I had (besides two broken tie down straps - which I promptly threw away) was a flat right rear trailer tire from sliding sideways with a heavy load. The trailer didn't get into my truck, the tractor stayed on the trailer, and the trailer didn't flip.

Anyway, I'm getting a larger trailer that will accomodate my tractor better and I'll never use straps to hold my tractor on a trailer again!!! Both straps broke in the middle. Not at the hook, and not at the ratchet. There was nothing rubbing against the straps where they broke. They just flat snapped. I'm using nothing but chains again!

I only mention this incident to hopefully prevent someone else from having a disaster happen because of (supposedly) strong tie down straps break. I consider myself extremely fortunate and I don't expect to have another "warning" about not using chains to tie my tractor down on my trailer. If you use straps, please reconsider and use chains. Before yesterday I would have thought you were nuts if you told me that my tractor could snap two straps and come off of the trailer when I'm just driving down the highway. I learned my lesson and really got off easy for my ignorance. Sorry to preach, but that could have been a complete disaster yesterday and I could have very easily have not only destroyed my tractor, but there is no way I could have presented my trailer from smashing into oncoming traffic on the highway.

Henro · Mar 20, 2005

/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif WOW! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Dargo,

Sure glad you came out of that OK without injury to yourself or anyone else!

I'm going to burn your experience into my memory banks for certain.

Thanks for sharing. You may have helped one or more of us here more than we will ever know, if we take your lead and use chains instead of straps.

Wow...scary...thanks again for taking the time to post this...

Cliff_Johns · Mar 20, 2005

Dargo, that was way to well written. Very scary stuff. I think I'd be shaking for many hours after an experience like that. You must have kept a level head, throughout. Thanks for relating the experience.

Cliff

Scrounger · Mar 20, 2005

Makes you wonder when all you see if tractor trailors with huge load sjust being held down by nylon straps. Thats how I secure my BX and I'm not planning to change to chain, but it makes me wonder.

Grade 70 5/16 is only good for 4700# and my nylons are good to 10K so wonder what is better. Time for Grade 100!

Cliff_Johns · Mar 20, 2005

( Grade 70 5/16 is only good for 4700# and my nylons are good to 10K so wonder what is better. Time for Grade 100! )

I admit I don't understand how straps (or chains for that matter) are rated. Is it like fishing line? I mean, 8lb test isn't something you'd normally use for a 8lb fighting fish is it? That jerking action is the key. I would think for a 5K tractor, you'd need maybe 50K test line? Maybe more? and if your ratchet is good for more than your strap, could you put so much pressure on the strap from tightening it down that a quick jerk could break it just from the ratchet being too tight? I've never trailered my tractor, so I have no idea. I'm just wondering.

Of course, this has probably been discussed to death before in other threads.

Cliff

johnday · Mar 20, 2005

Dargo; I'm wondering if I'm trusting straps too much now. I use 10K straps with a working load of 3300#. I keep them in very good shape with no fraying, don't leave them in the weather unless they are being used. Like you, I have two forward and two rear on my TC. With attachments, I'm carrying about 5500#. I thought I was being safe. Can you think of anything that might have happened? How did you store the straps when not in use? Around any chemicals or in direct sunlight?

At any rate, glad no one was hurt.

Dargo · Mar 20, 2005

As I mentioned, yesterday morning I would not have considered using chains again after the convenience of the nylon straps. My straps are less than 6 months old, have never been left outside or in the sun, and had positively no fraying. They were the more expensive commercial straps I bought from AW Direct, as opposed to the cheaper less expensive 10k straps that are sold by Rural King and Sams Club.

I know I can't tell people what to do, but I feel that I need to relay my story to others who are of the mindset like I was yesterday morning. That is the mindset that told me that there is no way that my tractor could break two of those straps while simply tooling down the highway. As I said, I got off extremely lucky.

As I write this, I'm in the process of ordering some additional heavy D rings, two more chain boomers, and some of the protective covering to put over the chains to keep from scratching my tractor. I am also ordering new grade 100 3/8" chain to replace the "cheap" made in China chain that I got from Rural King. I know quite well what the straps say that they will hold, and it seems that they should have no problem holding a tractor on a trailer. I hate to sound too melodramatic, but yesterday could have been a complete disaster that could have ruined the rest of my life. I'm a reasonable and logical person, but that one experience is quite enough to be a lesson to me. I, too, have seen loads held on semi trailers by straps and thought I'd be plenty safe with my tractor. However, upon further investigation, most of the heavy straps holding loads on semi trailers are the double thickness 4" wide strap rated at 50k pounds. Quite a difference. Again, sorry to preach, but I don't care to ever duplicate that ride I took yesterday! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Oh yes, when you do use a nylon strap, be sure to go by the WLL (working load limit) figure when assessing the strength. Don't use the "breaking strength" (the one commonly advertised). The "breaking strength" is the strength at which under absolute ideal conditions the strap will fail. If you need to hold down 4000 pounds, don't ever use a strap with a WLL limit of under 5000 pounds.

GerardC · Mar 20, 2005

I learned my lesson and really got off easy for my ignorance. 

How do you figure? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif You didn't do anything wrong. Faulty equipment does NOT make you ignorant. Happy to hear that other than what did happen nobody was hurt. Gerard

Dargo · Mar 20, 2005

Thanks Gerald. I'm just a bit rattled after that wild ride I had. Also, based upon what I thought I knew, I didn't think that wild ride would (or could) ever happen.

Junkman · Mar 20, 2005

I had a similar experience while crossing some railroad tracks back in 1964. I was towing my 1926 Buick Master home on a home made dual axle trailer without brakes using a bumper hitch with a 1 7/8" ball on the back of a 1964 Chevrolet Impala Convertible. Needless to say that I had the same whipping effect and was lucky that the oncoming drivers saw my predicament and pulled over to the side. I smashed the rear of the left quarter panel, but that was all. The car stayed on the trailer because it was chained down. That day, I learned the importance of a proper tow vehicle. We both had angels looking over our shoulder. Junk..

GaryE · Mar 20, 2005

One thing to consider here guys, tying down a tractor is going to put more stress on the tie downs than a car of equal weight. Some if not much of the stresses in the car are absorbed and or dampened by the springs of the vehicle. A tractor is unsprung and will tend to pull harder and quicker with greater accelerations on the hold downs. Not to mention the higher center of gravity (on larger tractors) is only going to make matters worse.

Just something to think about when looking for hold downs.

Gary

kmdigital · Mar 20, 2005

Where did you have your straps attached? Just curious, and wondering if that could of somehow increased the pressure on them via some sort of leverage.

I haul my L4150 by putting the chain through the 4" hole in FEL arms and then down and forward to the D-rings on the trailer. On the back I loop the chain through the swing bracket for the drawbar, (if the backhoe is off) or through the backhoe lower pivot area if it is on. The chain then goes down and back to the rear D-rings.

I haven't had any problems, and hope I never do, though I don't go that far or fast. Usually under 10 miles, and under 45 mph.

About 20 years ago I saw what can happen with a travel trailer on a short wheel-base towing vehicle. Someone was towing a 20' (app) bumper pull travel trailer in NE AZ, when a herd of sheep (open range country) ran across the road in front of him. He was driving a full size Chevy Blazer, and hit the brakes and couldn't control the swinging that resulted. The trailer just yanked him around and into the ditch, where it jackknifed and flipped the truck and trailer their sides, all while still hooked together. Destroyed the trailer, and not sure the truck was drivable anymore. I helped him get them unhooked, and the truck back on its wheels, but it was pretty banged up. Not a good thing to have happen on the Navajo reservation, about 200 miles from anything of any size.

Bob_Skurka · Mar 20, 2005

One of the best things about TBN is learning from other's mistakes. And just like you, I use 2" 10,000# rated straps, 2 on the front, 2 on the rear. I'm thankful you ended up OK, and I'm also glad I looked at this thread. I'm buying chain before I haul my tractors again.

btolle · Mar 20, 2005

A little "theorizing" on my part.

When you ratchet the strap down you put tension on it. How much tension? I would guess the leverage of the ratchet would apply at the very least several hundred pounds of pressure. Hence, the strap is already "loaded" before we look at the tractor weight.

Try dropping, say a 5 pound weight on a scale from 6 feet up and I think the scale may register something greater than 5 pounds.

Given that there are 4 straps on the tractor/trailer none of them has the exact same amount of pressure as the other 3 so that strap will take the full load if even for a fraction of a second or a fraction of an inch until the other 3 start to assist. In the case of horizontal movement only 2 straps would be holding, either front or rear.

At this point, if my theory is correct, you could have several times the weight of the tractor applied to the strap when you hit a hard bump, and when you start/stop ("A body in motion tends to stay in motion"). There would also be an extreme amount of pressure in the horizontal plane as the tractor moves back and forth on the trailer.

"Shock loading" is the death of a rope and, I suspect, a strap. A shock load may damage one or more of the threads in the rope or strap. That makes it weaker and more subject to damage with the next shock load and so on.

Once the first strap broke the second one had to pick up the load by itself and it broke too.

Have you ever tried to cut a rope and had a hard time? The way to make a rope easier to cut is to put tension on it. With the tension each thread you cut allows more tension to transfer to the remaining strands and they cut easier.

Was the break in the straps perpindicular to the length of the strap and did the break appear to be clean, as if cut with a knife?

Anyone is free to shoot holes in my theory.

Bill Tolle

Dargo · Mar 20, 2005

Thanks for all the replies guys. Please don't think that I'm trying to tell everyone how to tie down their tractors. It's just that I would have never believed that those 10k straps possibly could have broken. Not at all. I just wanted to tell of what I definitely thought could not happen, but did, to everyone's attention. I can't be the only person who thinks (or rather thought) that 2 of the 10k straps on each end would be plenty. By the way, I attach my straps to the front bracket on my tractor that holds my front weights when the loader is off, and to the D ring on the nose of the trailer. My bucket sits on the front rack on the trailer, so the bucket does not rub on or ride on my straps.

Yeah, I'm still a bit rattled. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif Besides of the obvious danger of injury that existed, if it would have gone over and taken my truck over, it would have been an extremely expensive trip.

Dargo · Mar 20, 2005

( Was the break in the straps perpindicular to the length of the strap and did the break appear to be clean, as if cut with a knife?

Anyone is free to shoot holes in my theory.

Bill Tolle )

No shooting holes from me. The breaks were both rough ragged rips in each strap; like it was simply pulled apart. Even if your theory is completely correct, it would not be realistically possible to get the exact same pressure on each strap at the same time. Thus my decision to go back to chains. I've already placed my order with AW Direct for the Grade 100 chains, two new boomers, and a 8700 pound 6" wide strap.

johnday · Mar 20, 2005

Dargo; I don't think your telling anyone what to do. I appreciate you posting like you did. I have a real tendency to get irrate about unsafe conditions caused by other so-called drivers, I don't want to be one of them. How is AW Direct to deal with. I think I'll be looking at chains and boomers myself. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

billfires · Mar 20, 2005

Dargo, what caused the tractor to start coming off the back of the trailer? I use 3 chains and 2 ratchet binders to hold my 6000# tractor but always leave it in low gear and apply the parking brake. Bill C

Steve_Miller · Mar 20, 2005

Is it possible that something flew off the road and hit a strap to start the sequence? With that much tension it would probably not take that much to damage some of the threads.

Steve

jim_wilson · Mar 20, 2005

Thanks for the post. Sometimes it is good to put up stories like this to remind people why there rules and regulations around things like this. I seem to remember some other postings here on tractorbynet about proper tie down procedures of tractors and construction equipment on trailers and one of the things I remember being mentioned was that tying down a tractor on a trailer with straps would earn you a citation in many states from the Highway Patrol. I guess this is a good example of why that regulation exists.
Some of the other posters here mentioned cases of mishaps with towing and trailers where accidents occured and damage occured to the towers vehicles and trailer. I have another good example of why trailer safety is important - but this one concerns the damage you can do to other people by making a towing mistake. Back when I was in college I was a member of the university sports car club. The president of the club was a good guy who was one these people who was always involved in campus activities and student govt. and stuff like that. He was a great guy. Well one Friday afternoon he left school to drive home and his car broke down on the highway (this was in the days before everybody's parents bought them new cars to go off to school). Well as he was walking down the breakdown lane to find a phone somebody coming down the highway had their camper trailer break loose from their pickup. The trailer sailed down the highway and hit my friend who was walking down the breakdown lane and killed him. Turns out the trailer had safety chains but they were inadequate and just broke right off when the trailer bounced off the hitch. If you think about it there was a long string of coincidences that happened to make this event occur- time he left to go home, where the car broke down, how fast he was walking, trailer hitting the bump just right, chains breaking, trailer could have gone 3 feet this way or 3 feet the other, etc. and this never would have happened. But it did - and if that trailer had adequate safety chains the trailer would not have separated from the tow vehicle. The driver of the tow vehicle and got cited and charged. I don't remember what happened with the case but I always remember that incident when I am towing something. Count yourself lucky that your broken straps only caused a incident that will sit in your mind to remind you of proper procedures and not something worse.