When it comes to tie downs, you have to bear in your mind that there are totally different things, there are different kind of trucks, box truck, pickup truck, flatbeds, etc., they use similar or different tie downs, even for same kind of trucks, people probably will use totally different tie downs, say e track straps or plain ratchet straps for box trucks, so try to talk about generic tie downs is not a good idea, more specifically, we are going to talk about flat bed truck this time, because we can see those tie downs on the highway,
There are all kinds of loads on the flat bed truck, sometimes they just have to , the requirement for tie downs become complicated. We will introduce truck tie down straps exclusively, since the are popular tie down devices on flatbeds, and it should be the most popular tie downs on all trucks as well. .
For most flat bed trucks, truck winch and winch straps are what we usually use to tie down stuff, some trailers come with winches installed you only have to get winch straps. There is one thing definitely needed for truck winch and winch strap tie down combination, winch bar, which is the tool to help you control the cargo on the flatbed, since you can only tighten the winch straps through turning winch barrel, this only can be done by utilizing winch bars.
If your flatbeds come with winches installed, you only need to get some winch straps for most of your work, of course you still need to keep some chains, binders and ratchet straps handy. Winch straps with winches on the flatbed can be used to secure pallets, machinery, steel coils, concrete pipes etc., with 5400lbs working load limit and the protection of plastic corner guards these winch straps can tie down almost anything threw at them. Both flat hooks and wire hooks may be used on 2”, 3” and 4” winch straps, but flat hooks are more popular than wire hooks, you may see flat hooks on all size winch straps while wire hooks mostly on 2” straps. There are 2” and 4” winches and 2” and 4” winch tie downs, depends on different applications , the length of strap can be 20′, 25′, 27′, 30′, 35′, 40′ or more than 50 feet.
And here are most used tie downs: ratchet strap. Common wisdom indicates that the ratchet strap is assemblies of ratchet buckles and nylon or polyester webbing tie down strap, there are fixed end straps with ratchet buckles and loose end straps.
The ratchet strap earned it’s popularity by being the most flexible, adaptable and capable tie down devices , from passenger cars to eighteen wheelers , you can see ratchet straps anywhere cargo needs to be secured. The ratchet straps may have flat hooks, double J hooks, chain anchors, cloth loops or just plain straps at both ends, probably some special made ratchets have some other funny ends, say, D ring? Width of the ratchets measured from 1” to 4” and the length can be anything from inches to more than 50 feet, the ratcheting mechanism really has it’s advantage. On big rigs ratchet tie downs are the most used tie down devices for truckers , those flat bed trucks without winches installed will find ratchet straps pretty useful .
In order to purchase these tie down straps, you have the choice between local stores and online. Depends on different situation , sometimes purchase them locally is more appropriate , sometimes online deals are much more attractive. To help you make decision you need accurate and non altered information on the vendors, you can check out online forums, blogs and opinion sites to figure all of these out before you go all in.
