Just wondering how much affect grit & grime ingrained into ratchet straps, effects the life and strength?
I dunno! 
That’s why i’m asking people! 
Sand certainly does damage the webbing and shortens ratchet life. When I was at Smiths and pre auto sheet days it was common to have new ratchets fitted every few months or so. They were well oiled every six weeks but it was the spillage from machine buckets that damaged them.
They were a pain but those sheets were a much better load restraint than the “front to back lift arms with a net” systems. They looked tidier and didn’t obstruct your rear vision either.
Anything you use has a shelf life, straps are no exception. The more you abuse them, the less life they have. My ratchets get jet washed along with the lorry once a week, and they get lubed with WD40 once a week, when the Manitou has his weekly grease up. Just the same as my curtains.
Keeps everything free and easy. If I have to struggle to make something work, IT’S ■■■■■■■ BROKEN! 
That being said you could not be as vigilant at cleaning and greasing your straps and get exactly the same life out of it. But I wont have struggled to get that rusty old ratchet open, or struggled to free off the brake or be unable to slack the ractchet off. Ever.
People sometimes look at me as if I’m barking, because I’m doing something for the 50th time they haven’t done once. But I think they are the ones off their nut, if they have a piece of malfunctioning equipment making their working day harder and or longer. I’d rather take the brownie points for looking after my gear, and the easy life ta!
Cheers guys, it’s not the ratchets I’m thinking about, it’s the fibre damage I assume you must get in the straps at points of high wear. I’d have thought that the grit would act like a grinding paste on the fibres which may not really be visible to the naked eye. I just wondered if it was something I should be concerned about with old straps that are looking tired…
Evil8Beezle:
Cheers guys, it’s not the ratchets I’m thinking about, it’s the fibre damage I assume you must get in the straps at points of high wear. I’d have thought that the grit would act like a grinding paste on the fibres which may not really be visible to the naked eye. I just wondered if it was something I should be concerned about with old straps that are looking tired…
You can see when a strap gets frayed. If it has frayed into the strap to one of the black stitching lines I bin it off, and it will only get used as a back up on light items only.
Sand and grit even salt water will kill straps quickly, back in the day when I used to go climbing we used to religiously wash out our ropes if sea cliff climbing or grit stone climbing, straps will suffer the same.
When I was on for CCF, straps where always getting dirty and ratchets to boot.
Tried to keep them as clean as I could. If the ends frayed and we had no new ones some duct tape round the edges and a heavy press (left over night) would give you another 2 weeks out of the strap to allow it to pass through the ratchet
Sent from my SM-T555 using Tapatalk
F-reds:
Anything you use has a shelf life, straps are no exception. The more you abuse them, the less life they have. My ratchets get jet washed along with the lorry once a week, and they get lubed with WD40 once a week, when the Manitou has his weekly grease up. Just the same as my curtains.Keeps everything free and easy. If I have to struggle to make something work, IT’S [zb] BROKEN!
That being said you could not be as vigilant at cleaning and greasing your straps and get exactly the same life out of it. But I wont have struggled to get that rusty old ratchet open, or struggled to free off the brake or be unable to slack the ractchet off. Ever.
People sometimes look at me as if I’m barking, because I’m doing something for the 50th time they haven’t done once. But I think they are the ones off their nut, if they have a piece of malfunctioning equipment making their working day harder and or longer. I’d rather take the brownie points for looking after my gear, and the easy life ta!
I would like to do the same but somebody hides the lube. 
I mean the lubricant for making things go easier
Makes me wonder why my regular truck has awful straps, but the other truck and the van have really nicely lubed ones. Plus the curtain on the other truck moves freely, but mine sticks while pulling it back…
Saying that I can still do the job so it’s fine.
I’ve had some straps nearly 20 yrs ,thickish ones ,ratchets I oil weekly with gear oil and weld they ends on that poxy riveted cross pin ,got some pull down ratchets at the min absolutely brilliant.
With being on tippers I kept the ratchets clean and well lubed weekly and never had a problem, certainly we didn’t replace any and some were a good few years old. The straps would get tarmac and mud etc on them but it cleaned off when dry and they were fine again.
Pete.
Evil8Beezle:
Cheers guys, it’s not the ratchets I’m thinking about, it’s the fibre damage I assume you must get in the straps at points of high wear. I’d have thought that the grit would act like a grinding paste on the fibres which may not really be visible to the naked eye. I just wondered if it was something I should be concerned about with old straps that are looking tired…
you can never put enough straps on to be save, one of our contractors lost a 2.5t steel frame on the 62 a few months back. if somebody is killed its manslaughter get some new ones not worth the risk. any frayed strap £50.00 fine
sweeper1gg:
any frayed strap £50.00 fine
Got that in writing anywhere? Otherwise I’m smelling Bull Manure… 
F-reds:
sweeper1gg:
any frayed strap £50.00 fineGot that in writing anywhere? Otherwise I’m smelling Bull Manure…
Even if its not in writing, any frayed strap I find gets tossed.