Ratchet Tie Down 101

The ratchet straps we usually say is the assembly of straps and ratchet buckles, also known as ratchet tie down . Usually people use nylon or polyester webbing to make the straps  , the safe load limit can range from less than 100lbs to more than 1000lbs , the width can range from 1 inch to 4 inches , usually we can see hooks, loops or chain extension at both ends of the assembly .

The ratchet buckle is primary made of steel, some buckles have plastic handles, some have aluminum handles, and there is one kind of buckle called one piece ratchet buckle, the handle is steel. For different applications and jobs, these ratchets come in with a few flavors, short handle, wide handle, long handle, long and wide handle ones,  depends on their personal preferences and purpose, people will choose different ratchet handles for their tie down needs, it’s the varieties make ratchet straps the king of tie downs.

Both nylon and polyester webbing are used to make the straps, but they have different characteristics, for shock absorption, we need nylon webbing and for tie down bulk loads we need polyester webbing straps, nylon webbing has better elongation than polyester while polyester webbing are stronger than nylon ones, in real world applications we need varieties of straps for different jobs , that is to say we need both nylon and polyester webbing  straps for different needs.

Webbing cab also be coated with suitable materials that will improve desirable characteristics, such as abrasion resistance, sealing to prevent penetration of foreign particles and matter, increased(or decreased) coefficient of friction, ultra-violet light resistance .

Of course the quality of the straps is the critical characteristic, to use these straps properly and safely is a must . Now we need to find low price yet high quality straps. Specialty stores will have almost all the straps you may need, and you probably are familiar with the people as well as the products in the store, and you don’t mind to pay a little premium for the service and quality. Actually there is a better way to acquire these straps, you guessed it, online stores are probably the best place to find wonderful deals, not most of the time but you will always find what you need, maybe not exactly but it will be close, and you may find some websites are pretty helpful in this regard, such as Trucker’s Deal, you will find extremely useful information about tie down stuff.

Tags: personal preferences, abrasion resistance, polyester webbing

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