Straps or Ropes?

Written By Uncle Jon

So you need to secure loads in your truck, trailer, maybe on the roof.

What do you buy to do the job? 

The product needed varies on the work involved. You don’t use para-cord or accessory cord to hold down 900 lbs 3x3 square bales of hay. The opposite is you don’t need 2” ratchet straps to hold a gas can in the bed of your pickup. So what you purchase is a process of what types of cargo you need to secure most often.

I always keep a Roperoller with accessory cord or a Rapid Rope under the back seat of my truck. It’s quick and easy to grab and secure anything I don’t want sliding around or blowing out of the bed. Things like a 5-gallon bucket of used oil. What a mess that would
make if it tipped over while I was driving. I set it just inside the tailgate of the truck, put a loop of para-cord or rapid rope around it and secure it. The bucket won’t slide to the front of the bed on a sudden stop, won’t tip over if I take a corner too fast. When I get to the oil recycling center, the bucket is still just inside the tailgate of my truck. I don’t have to climb in the bed to retrieve it. Even if it gets covered in oil from the sides of the bucket, throwing away 4 feet of para-cord is not a major loss.

On the other end of the spectrum, I frequently haul 3x3 bales of hay that average around 850 lbs per bale or 3x4 bales of hay that average around 1200 lbs per bale on a flat bed trailer. I want that hay to stay on the trailer. Nobody wants 1,200 lbs of hay to slide off a trailer into the back of their pickup because someone pulled out in front of them and braked suddenly. These heavier loads require heavier straps that can hold the weight and resist pulling through the hay. 2” ratchet straps also offer mechanical leverage by using the ratchet to tighten. This allows you to get the straps much tighter than with a cam strap or pulling a rope and trying to tie a knot.

Many of you probably need something in between. Ratchet tie-down straps in 1”, 1.25” or 1.50” widths offer smaller, easier-to-store straps that work great to secure a motorcycle, ATV or snowmobile to a trailer or the bed of your truck. They still offer mechanical ratchet tightening of the strap. They come with various hooks or loops at the end of the strap. Making it easier to choose how to attach the strap. And they typically come in shorter lengths so you don’t have some extra strap to worry about securing. 

 So which should you buy?

Consider your load. How heavy is it?  Buy a strap rated  to hold the weight  involved with your  load. What are the  attachment points? Are you connecting to D-rings, bed anchors, bed cleats, or bed rails. Metal hooks on the strap usually do well connecting to these. You may want something softer to connect to surfaces that you don’t want to show wear.

I've use straps with loop ends to secure to motorcycle wheels, handlebars, frame parts where you don’t want a hook scratching the paint or finish. Never attach your straps to plastic trim or thin sheet metal. Make sure you use enough straps. The general rule is at least four tie-down straps. Basically secure right to left and front to back. If you are securing multiple items, like a stack of 2x4 lumber.

A strap that just passes over the top, will not secure the boards underneath.

So, it is best to use the strap to compress the bundle.

 This can be done by running the strap around the entire bundle, so that when you tighten it squeezes the bundle together. This can often be done more efficiently by laying strap underneath the bundle, pulling one side up and Ring Shackle on the strap and pulling the opposite side strap up and running it thru the shackle. Now when you tighten the strap, it will slide thru the shackle and squeeze the bundle.

- Uncle Jon

Disclaimer: Uncle Jon is a seasoned trail hound and grease-monkey, not a doctor, certified paramedic, or licensed engineer. The advice shared here comes from decades of getting stuck, breaking stuff, and making mistakes so you don't have to. Take everything you read with a grain of salt, a heavy dose of common sense, and a solid backup plan—because if you take medical or rigging advice strictly from an internet blog without doing your own homework, that’s on you!