Ratchet Strap - How to Stow the Excess Strap

The job of securing a load with a ratchet strap isn’t done until the excess strap (“tail”) is secured as well. Here is the best method we’ve found so far, and we really like it. We think you will too.

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#tiedowns #ratchetstrap #securingloads

It’s easy to focus on the “business end” of a tie-down strap when the load has been secured by the ratcheting action of the handle and hub. However, the job isn’t done until the surplus end is gathered and secured.

Flapping loose ends not only fray and wear the strap, but it’s dangerous. One of my family members failed to secure the end of the strap that was securing a load in his pickup truck. On the freeway, going about 75 mph, there was a sudden explosion of glass from the back window. He thought they had been shot at - no joke. The tail had flapped its way under the truck and got wound up on the drive shaft. The strap wound up and snapped while pulling the metal hook loose off its connection to the truck bed and turning it into a projectile that went through the cab’s back window. The load was now loose as well.

One of our viewer family members also related observing a large flatbed trailer with the tail end flapping off the side. It wound up under the trailer’s tires at high speed, snapping the strap in two and displacing the load. Again, it could have been really bad.

Lesson learned? Securing the end is part of securing the load. In fact, it’s usually the law. Load securement includes tail end safety. In the U.S., the DOT (Department of Transportation) takes this very seriously.

DirtFarmerJay shows you his favorite method to stow the tail end securely, but easily undone when it comes time to release the load and stow the ratchet strap set.

Here’s DirtFarmerJay’s favorite method for stowing a ratchet strap set: COMG SOON!

Don’t be embarrassed if every time you use a ratchet strap, you have trouble threading it property ,

Don’t you just love being able to do stuff? JUST DO IT YOURSELF!

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