Here is the fact about truck tie down , they probably are talking about totally different things depends on the context, for instance, ratchet straps for truck are definitely 2” and ten thousand lbs tie down while ratchets for pick up will be 1” and five hundred lbs tie down, we’re only going to discuss about truck tie downs here, 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. Now let’s talk about winch straps and truck winches, lots of flat beds have winches installed or you can install winches later, then you’ll be able to use winch straps with truck winches, it has to be a straight forward choice .
New flatbeds usually will have truck winches installed, this is a big plus for hauling stuff can be secured by 4×30 winch straps . When you work with truck winches and winch straps, there is one thing you can’t live without: winch bars, these steel bars are required for your job, so get one if you don’t already have one.
Usually most flatbeds will be sold with winches installed, there are still some of them come without winches though, in this case the drivers may use ratchet straps or binder chains as alternative. When the flat bed have the winches installed, we can use winch tie down straps to tie down loads on the trailer , usually we tie down steel coils, concrete pipes, skids, anything that not too heavy for the the straps’ working load limit. Usually we see flat hooks at one end of the winch straps, the use of flat hook sometimes is by convention, sometimes by choice, because the flat hook is easy on flatbeds, and double J hooks can be used as well, mostly seen on 2” winch straps. For most flatbeds there are 2” wide and 4” wide truck winches , while there are 2”, 3” and 4” winch straps available, if you were to use 3” winch strap you only can put it into 4” winch for sure, even the width availability of winch straps is limited, the length is not, though there are usually no winch straps shorter than 20′, these straps can be more than 60 feet long! And the best selling length is 27′ and 30′, 4” wide.
OK, now let’s look at ratchet straps are the most popular tie down devices for all kinds of trucks or hauling businesses. In fact that the ratchet straps are just the assembly of ratchet buckles and tie down webbing, which can be nylon or polyester, the combination of different ratchet buckles and different straps gives us many choices.
The ratchet strap earned it’s popularity by being the most flexible, adaptable and capable tie down equipment , from passenger cars to eighteen wheelers , you can see ratchet straps anywhere cargo needs to be secured. With flat hooks, wire hooks, cloth loops, chain anchors, even endless, ratchets just can’t have enough variety, how can we don’t love these ratchets? And it’s width can be 1” to 4”, length can be a few inches to more than 50′. On big rigs ratchet tie downs are the most popular tie down devices for shippers , those trailers without winches installed will figure that ratchet straps are pretty important.
To find high quality and nice priced ratcheting straps can be difficult or quite easy , it all depends on your preferences and point of view. Depends on your available options , sometimes acquire them locally is a good idea , sometimes online sales 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.