Updated on 01/23/24
Today we will be going over 25 different uses for Ratchet Straps. Let’s begin with some of our favorite uses for our Tie Down Straps
What is a Ratchet Strap?
A ratchet strap combines tie-down webbing that is made from a polyester mesh blend that provides industrial-grade strength typically for cargo securement with the use of hardware. Through the combination of both, you are left with an industrial strength to make sure the sometimes extremely heavy cargo does not shift or fall during the move. No matter if you plan on going long distances or short ratchet straps can quickly secure and release making for the ideal cargo securement device.
What is a Working Load Limit?
A working load limit is located on the webbing of a ratchet strap. It is the safe working load strength that the tie-down strap is rated for. Any tie-down strap without a working load limit should not be used. As well as if the working load limit is not visible or legible the tie-down strap is not safe to use and should be disposed of for any transportation uses.
A working load limit is based on one-third of the breaking strength of the tie downs. In other words, the strap is unable to handle any more weight and becomes broken in the process. A working load limit was created to keep safety in mind when hauling tie-down straps. Without a working load limit, you could easily be going down the road not knowing what your tie-down straps are rated for and lose your load, potentially injure others, as well as potential fines or jail time.
Where does one-third of the break strength come from? It was created with the idea that although the straps can handle more weight certain variables could happen to allow numbers to come out of play. An example of this would be going down the road and an accident in front of you happens and you have to slam on your brakes. This in return causes a lot of force on your load attempting to move forward which is hard for any tie-down strap to handle with ease. One-third of the break strength ensures that everyone is safe and helps prevent any factors from playing a role in the strength of your tie-down straps.
A few more examples of this could include going down the highway and being cut off by other motorists causing you to quickly lane change without warning. Life doesn’t always go exactly as planned and due to some of these examples, you have to plan for the worst even if the worst never comes. It’s part of the standards of the DOT on tie-downs in the industry as well as being a good motorist. The last thing you want from transporting cargo is for someone to get hurt and your cargo to remain safe.
What is a Tie Down Strap?
A tie-down strap can be any combination of ratchet straps with different hardware choices, cam buckle straps, or anything else that is used to secure cargo down. Tie Downs can have numerous uses for cargo securement, ATVs, Motorcycles, car trailers, professional truck drivers, and more! Tie-downs play a vital role in industrial-grade equipment, professional moving, and on-the-road truckers. Life without tie-downs would take much more time, the roads would be much less safe, and honestly, it could be quite scary going down the road not knowing when cargo could come off the back of a flatbed truck or trailer.
Ratchet straps have become a staple in the shipping industry as being one of the most popular methods for securing cargo. But did you know that Ratchet Straps has many other alternative uses as well? Let’s begin by showing you our top 25 favorite alternative uses for Ratchet Straps.
Cargo Securement
The most common use for Ratchet Straps by far has to be by using Ratchet Straps to secure cargo. No matter if the load is in the back of a pickup truck or big rig trailer there is no job too big for a Ratchet Strap. Cargo securement has come a long way in the last 50 years and is constantly being researched by the Department of Transportation to remain safe and keep cargo secured. These guidelines are set based on countless hours of testing equipment and researching the best methods of safety. Ratchet Straps have been deemed as one of the most popular ways to keep loads secured and prevent moving from occurring to prevent accidents from occurring.
Slackline
Slackline takes the strength of the Ratchet Strap that allows cargo to be secured and is tightened to traditionally a tree. When secured the slackline removes slack and becomes similar to a tightrope. Allowing for a fun family activity with friends, family, or even coworkers. Try it out for yourself! We have had endless fun using Slack lines here at RatchetStrapsUSA.
In the back of a Pickup Truck
Ratchet straps are mostly used for cargo, but did you know you can even use ratchet straps to loop through grocery bags to secure them in the back of a pickup truck to prevent blowing away and movement from occurring? This is one of our favorite DIY ratchet strap hacks that can make grocery shopping more enjoyable.
Professional Trucking
Next time you are on the highway going down the road keep an eye out for how many flatbeds, pickup trucks with trailers, and other shippers who are using ratchet straps. It’s the number one most preferred cargo securement tool in the professional trucking and shipping industry due to its great cargo securement. OTR also known as on the road, are truckers whose profession is in the trucking industry.
Professional Movers
Nothing goes better with professional movers as a tool like ratchet straps makes the job much easier than it can be without. Keep your clients happy by preventing load shifts, tight cargo securement, as well as utilizing trailer space. This goes perfectly along with products such as moving blankets, packers tape, and other moving supplies.
ATV’s
ATVs are the perfect weekend warrior getaway that you need. No matter if you plan on riding around a campground, or an off-road muddy trail, or you intend on even racing ATVs with friends then you need a reliable tiedown that you can trust to get the job done right. RatchetStrapsUSA has a wide selection of quality and durable ATV tie-down straps that make for the perfect method to keep you tied down through your ATV journey.
Motorcycles
Motorcycles and Dirt bikes can make for the perfect afternoon or weekend ride. Get to your destination spot knowing your sweet ride is going to be secured throughout the entire journey to the location. Sometimes the best thing that life can throw at you when shipping is peace of mind. Our Motorcycle straps have been thoroughly tested to help prevent any sort of harm to your ride from occurring.
Cars
Transporting cars can be nerve-wracking as a car if not tied up properly and not using the right tie-down straps can be incredibly dangerous for your ride, your safety, and other motorists’ safety. Rest assured that our tie-down experts know exactly what you need to get the job done right. If you have any questions regarding any of our tie-down straps you can give our friendly team a call at 800-483-2189 and our team will use our 75 years of combined tie-down experience and knowledge to help find the perfect straps for your application.
Towing
We take pride in the quality of our tow straps that provide excellent recovery for many tow truck drivers across the United States. One of the perks behind using our tie-down straps for recovery tow straps is our industrial grade strength that we use to ensure the safety of our tie-downs are far to none superior to our competitors. Tow straps are incredibly durable and are made to be put through the tests. It’s a good reminder to always follow the WLL of all of our tie-down straps to never exceed the straps’ working load limit to keep you safe.
E Track
E track straps are a great way to utilize the E track systems rails on the sides or floor of the trailers while also using the ratchet strap technology. You can make the most of shipping cargo by utilizing the walls of the trailer as well as keeping the cargo secured to the walls by using E-track straps to hold them in place and prevent any moving or boxes falling during the move. We have a wide variety of E-track straps with numerous different fittings, color choices of webbing, and different webbing breaking strengths to help get the job done.
Pulling Vehicles out of the Mud
Mud can be a nascence of trying to get cars out of the mud. No matter if you plan on going mudding for a weekend event, are stuck in the driveway in mud or snow, or intend on going down trails after a rainstorm. We have tie-downs that are perfect for getting any vehicle, tractor, or heavy-duty equipment out of the mud safely. Nylon is the type of webbing material that is used to help accommodate stretching to prevent strong jolts that could potentially damage your vehicle, ATV, or motorcycle.
DIY Projects
With the use of ratchet straps, you can combine the technology to secure woodworking projects that are being glued together to hold them in place using tie-downs. Quickly secure as well as the release without any damage from occurring when using ratchet straps. No matter if you intend on using ratchet straps for art projects, home improvement purposes, or your unique twist we would love to see some of your favorite ways to use ratchet straps. Have a favorite way of using your tie-down straps? Share it with us here.
Securing Bicycles on Hitches
Transporting bicycles can be a little bit of a hassle when attempting to keep the bicycle secured due to its unique shape. Bicycle racks that hitch on the back of the car can typically get the job done but are not always prone to all accidents that could happen such as someone cutting you off in traffic and you need to quickly lane change. With the use of Ratchet Straps, you can help prevent load shifts from occurring even more when using Ratchet Straps and Bicycle Racks at the same time. Between the combination of the tie-down straps, this makes a great combination to create multiple fail-safes. What are fail-safes? Fail-safes are extra layers of protection that can provide you with extra safety nets if something were to go wrong until ultimate failure.
Lifting Slings
When moving heavy objects that may not have the ideal lifting shape such as a dishwasher, oven, or refrigerator can be fairly hard to move. Lifting Slings use the same great ratchet straps material to help distribute the weight of the heavy object, as well as giving you an edge to pick up at those pesky odd angles as well. Help make moving easier by using our durable lifting slings to make moving safer, simpler, and speedy!
Kayak Securement
Kayaks are one of the most unique items that are attempted to be shipped typically at the top of an SUV every day in the United States and around the world. It can be difficult due to the long narrow shape of the kayak and how it deals with the oncoming wind and potential turbulence. That happens. You can help keep the Kayak secured to the roof and not along the side of the highway by using some of our quality ratchet straps to keep it secured. Not sure what strap fits your application best? Give our tie-down experts a call and we would be happy to assist you further in making sure you and your load are safe and ready to go at 800-483-2189 we look forward to speaking with you!
Christmas Tree Transporting
Similar to kayaks Christmas trees can be extremely difficult to transport due to their shape, size, and very few anchor points. With the use of Ratchet Straps, you can easily tie down a Christmas tree to the roof of your vehicle and keep it safe until it arrives at its destination point. Every year around Christmas time make sure to look on the side of the roadways for debris that has littered the highways and roadways. You might be surprised how often Christmas trees can be spotted on the side of the roads.
Storing Luggage in the Garage
When you think of your garage to store your vehicle you often don’t think about having being able to store above your garage without the risk of your storage falling on the car. You can help prevent any damage from occurring by falling from the top of your garage by using our 1 and 2-inch ratchet straps that allow you to store boxes and other cargo out of site. Making the most of the space that you have as well as becoming more organized.
Securing Moving Blankets
Moving blankets are the most popular and widely used cargo protectors in the moving industry. They help provide an extra layer of protection for any wooden or sensitive material surfaces from receiving damage from chips, scratches, or even little dings. It’s an absolute must for any professional mover or shipper to help keep the customer’s valuables safe. In addition, Ratchet Straps go great with Moving Blankets in order to keep the moving blankets wrapped around the object that you are transporting. In combination, these are becoming key to success in the moving industry due to the extra layers of protection and the fast and easy cargo securement.
Trailers
No matter if you have a small to midsize trailer that you are transporting cars, luggage, or professional mover ratchet straps have become a staple in the industry for being the most reliable method to hold cargo down. Nothing is worse than waiting for a period of time for a package in the mail and when it arrives it has been damaged due to improper moving securement. It’s happened thousands of times a day in the United States alone and overestimated 70 million dollars in damage every year according to the DOT. Additionally, did you know that every year 12 billion dollars in luggage litter the highways every year? Items that become loose when transporting can be deadly, pollute the wildlife in the area, as well as hold costly fines and even potential jail time in some of the states in the United States.
Flatbeds
Flatbed Trucks are the most used way to transport heavy-duty cargo in the professional trucking industry along with tractor trailers. The use of heavy-duty 4-inch ratchet straps and winch straps can make the world of a difference in an easy move and an extremely bad move for truckers. As professional truckers will agree time on the road is money, the easier it is to tie down cargo and to release the cargo is crucial. This can make the difference between a trucker’s week being good or great depending on the amount of time he or she can spend on the roadways.
Moving Vans
Moving vans are the main way of transportation for movers inside of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. It’s become the main way to get someone’s belongings from point A to point B. However, part of the task for movers is having the cargo secured when placed in the back of a moving van. Without having secured cargo the professional mover can quickly go from a returning client to having a client never speak to them again or worse depending on the amount of damage done to someone’s belongings.
Rope Swings
Rope swings are great for children, adults, and at family or friend gatherings. It’s the perfect way to sit down and relax while getting a nice cool breeze on a nice warm day. Ratchet Straps are great for holding rope swings up by replacing the traditional ropes that are used.
Hammocks
The best way to relax or get a nice tan on a warm hot sunny day is by laying in a Hammock and feeling a nice cool breeze. With our Ratchet Straps, you can ensure and trust that the rating on our straps from our website will keep you safely secured above the ground without ever worrying about falling off of the hammock.
UTV’s
UTVs are another great way to utilize the strength of Tie-down straps to make transporting easy and secure. Keep peace of mind as well as your ride being safe while using our high-quality tie-downs.
No matter what use you can find for Ratchet straps, tie-downs, or E-Track systems you can always find a great use to help make life easier for you. Have a way you use ratchet straps that you would like to share with us? Send us an email using our contact form above. and we would be happy to assist you further with any questions you may have or provide you with further information.