Tie-down strap rating?

Canoe resurrected! I am about to get my first trailer on Saturday (yay!) and am wondering if anyone recommends a particular brand of tie-downs? Or should I just get the $137 Summit Racing kit and call it a day - or even the cheaper Harbor Freight gear?

Thanks!

In reply to Dave M :

As an additional source somewhere along that price spectrum, my neighbor is one of the principals for the parent company of US Cargo Control that sells those kind of things.

He used to drive dirt track late model, so he's been one of us.

In reply to Karacticus :

Thanks, I will check them out...

I know I'm about 10 years late, but in answer to the original question... yes.  Straps, cables, and ropes all have a breaking strength and a "working load."

For pretty much anything that isn't lifting, working load is 1/3 the rated break strength.  That's why when you buy the 10k 3" straps they all say "working load 3333 lbs."

For overhead lifting you have a couple different ratings that range from 1/5 to 1/10th the break strength.  In theater, my rigging has to be 1/5th, so my 1/8" aircraft cable rated for 2000 lbs breaking can't lift more than 400 lbs per rope.  I frequently re-use my wire ropes and they get... um... questionable, so I follow a 1/10th rule and only put no more than 200 per.

So many people in my kind of profession don't know this rule and they think it's a great idea to do a cheap gantry crane using a 2000-lb ATV winch and then they think they can lift 2000 lbs.  They shouldn't.  They can lift 600 at best.

I also cringe when I see people do that criss-cross thing at the back of a car on a trailer.  It's great for keeping the car centered, but it increases the linear force applied to the strap during panic stops or accidents.  You have to understand that the strap's strength rating is based on the actual forces seen at linear vector of the strap's orientation.  If the strap is parallel with the forces applied on it, you can use the rated numbers as a guide.  If you do a panic stop in that situation, the car moving one inch means the strap stretches 1" for a 1:1 ratio.  The forces applied by the car are the same forces seen by the strap.

If you put them at a 45 degree angle, every inch of car movement only stretches the strap about 5/8", which basically gives it a mechanical advantage.  Its like using a lower ratio gear.  The engine torque hasn't changed, but the torque at the axles has increased.

Sorry Curtis.  Winches are not hoists.

I know you wouldn't do it, but technically for people in the profession, an ATV winch can't lift ANYTHING.

Along those lines, a ratchet strap is not a lifting strap.

When I was younger, poorer, more fit and even more dumb, I used two 10,000# ratchet straps to winch, by hand using the ratcheting mechanism, to winch a ~2,500# car up ladder-types ramps onto an open trailer.  It can nice to have that option if you need it.

Strapping my Spec Miata onto my open trailer, my system evolved to a chain from the back of the car to the back edge of the trailer, and two 10,000# ratchets crossed in the front.  The chain gave optimal restraint in a panic stop (or crash).  The ratchet straps tensioned the chain and the crossed straps prevented fore-aft movement.  The chain was also faster and easier than having two straps back there.

It's only been eleven years or so but I can't remember what attachment points I used.

This thread goes back to about the time I started here on GRM Forums. Happy 11th anniversary of my being here, y'all. 

Dave M said:

Canoe resurrected! I am about to get my first trailer on Saturday (yay!) and am wondering if anyone recommends a particular brand of tie-downs? Or should I just get the $137 Summit Racing kit and call it a day - or even the cheaper Harbor Freight gear?

Thanks!

I use these. I use two in the front and two in the back. Ive towed over 10000 miles with them on various cars, on average I'd say the cars with 4500lbs lol. Most of my tow trips have been at least 1000+ miles. I'm about to replace them though, they're pretty long and a couple got frayed by friction on my last trip. 

SVreX said:

Sorry Curtis.  Winches are not hoists.

I know you wouldn't do it, but technically for people in the profession, an ATV winch can't lift ANYTHING.

Along those lines, a ratchet strap is not a lifting strap.

Preach, brother.  Truth.

These are what I use .  I use 4 on a car. Buddy of mine had to do some repairs to his 69 Mach 1 when the trailer he was towing it on jack knifed. He was using 2 5k break strength straps (one front, one rear) and they let go. He had no idea. I've never lost a car my way so I'll just keep doing it that way. 

Also, I will drive 5-10 miles then recheck. Almost every time I'll need to retighten at least one of the 4 as the car settles on the trailer.

Also, I will drive 5-10 miles then recheck. Almost every time I'll need to retighten at least one

That goes back to something I think i've said before, which is that caution gets you further than equipment most of the time. Not that you should always have under-rated/size equipment but that if your gear/rig/etc lulls you into thinking you're 'good' then it's probably doing as much harm as help. Like you I almost always find a strap loose after a short bit of driving. The best thing you can do is assume that your equipment, the odds, and the world is out to berkeley you. Check everything as often as you can stand to, but at LEAST once shortly after starting!  

In reply to Vigo :

I also check every fuel stop, pee stop, every stop. I'm lucky in the respect that the truck and trailer are REALLY good towing combo. Truck could use another 200ft-lbs of torque and another 100hp.... but what couldn't? The combination of long wheelbase plus a good trailer makes it effortless.