What do we think of this gadget?
shep532:
What do we think of this gadget?
I’ve got pull down ratchets ,they’re great for what I do ,not sure about the extra lever idea ,if I need to get a long strap over a large load tight then I just put a ratchet on each end of the strap instead .
Punchy Dan:
shep532:
What do we think of this gadget?I’ve got pull down ratchets ,they’re great for what I do ,not sure about the extra lever idea ,if I need to get a long strap over a large load tight then I just put a ratchet on each end of the strap instead .
I can see your thinking with a ratchet on each end but it will only make a marginal difference.
If your straps are at 80 to 90 angle from the load bed, fully tightening a ratchet to its STF will give full tension on the ratchet side and possibly up to 50% on the other side. This will mean the load will likely move allowing the strap Tension to balance out.
I.e my ratchet has an STF of 400daN. This means I’ll have 400daN on the ratchet side and as little as 200daN on the opposite side. This means it will settle giving a total 600daN pre tension. This is known as the K factor in the BSEN 12195-1:2010 standard.
If you place a ratchet on both sides of the same webbing and tighten both to their STF of 400daN you’ll now have a total pretension of 800daN. Much better but not a great improvement. It is acknowledged as best practice though.
The idea of the device I linked to is it acts as a torque wrench type device and clicks when 50daN of input force is achieved, this way you know the full STF has been achieved in the strap. Looks like a good idea.
The issue is that many don’t know the difference between the STF values of ratchets and chain binders. They mistake the Lashing Capacity for the straps capability at securing a load thinking a strap with LC2500daN will easily secure a 1t pallet as an overstrap. The LC has nothing much to do with it.
My intention with the 2 ratchets per strap is to reduce the slack bits on a delicate but large load so not to pull the strap in to the goods on one side ,rather than to get the strap mega tight .
Gouls:
Here’s the real question, when you coil straps up do you roll them so the claw is in the middle of the coil or on the outside? I do it one way, my night man the other…and we both moan about each other and say the other makes the job more difficult than it should be
Always with the claw on the outside. As already said, that claw flying across the load into the unknown can cause a lot of damage to someone or something.
Also when rolling straps up I don’t bother wasting my time rolling from the very end all the way to the hook. I hook it onto the trailer, walk 2/3 of the way down the length of the strap, fold the strap in half then start rolling. Takes a lot less time.
As for the OP. Top method for me. We use a lot of internal strapped krone euro-liners. They come with 22 internal straps and the Swedish are big fans of using all 22 on light loads. Really winds me up when they’re all done with the bottom method. To the point where I’d happily get my knife and cut through them all… Not that I ever have!!!
straps ha we still use bungees for steel in belgium
I wouldn’t even know how to do the top method. I just push it through, and loop it back through like the bottom picture, because it feels more instinctive. It’s the only way I know and the only way I’ve ever seen.
Dieseldog66:
Saaamon:
The bottom way is the correct way imo. With the top one you end up having to wind the ratchet right up until you get tension so it doesnt leave you any more winds left when the strap gets wet or slackens off and you have to re-tighten. I should think the people that use the top method have never used flats.I’ve been loading flats for 40 odd years and always use the top method , but why are people still using those old fashioned straps that you have to push upwards, bad for your back, get the new one that you pull down on.
bottom one correct top one old style, i collect a trailer from an Irish guy who straps the top way it really does my head in because he wraps his straps around things and it takes me more time trying separate the ratchet from the strap than unloading. videos on YouTube showing correct way from manufactures. 
Punchy Dan:
My intention with the 2 ratchets per strap is to reduce the slack bits on a delicate but large load so not to pull the strap in to the goods on one side ,rather than to get the strap mega tight .
i use that way when i loaded straw or hay as it pulls straight down instead of pulling too one side
when I did straw I always made sure I didn’t have all the ratchets down one side as the strap is always tighter on the ratchet side
What are these ratchet things??
Double dolly and the odd spreader dolly works for me
Top one. Bottom one you have to fanny about threading the strap back through the ratchet. Top way release with right hand pull down with left and just slide the strap out from the ratchet.
After nearly 3.5 years on flats and must be knocking on 100 different drivers iv never come across a full load strapped by the bottom method. Only time to use the bottom method is when anchoring to the chassis so you can tuck the strap away neately to the trailer cape
As long as the strap and ratchet are in good condition and the load is properly secured it really doesn’t matter how the strap is fed through the ratchet. All I do is flat bed work and usually use between 20 and 30 straps per load and I use both methods depending on the load and where it is on the trailer.
Going back to my flat bed days in the UK, I found it better to hook the ratchet section to the under frame of the trailer to allow you to tighten the ratchet by pulling it up towards you as opposed to pushing it up and away from you, in doing so you get far higher leverage and torque.