beware: that moment when you realize....

An "Oh S#!+ Moment" for sure. Great catch. Glad you're OK Hand. Thanks for sharing.

A smart one learns from his mistakes. A WISE one learns from others' mistakes.

 

Is that ratchet coming free of the trailer in the top pic?

 

Moral of the story is.. wear a helmet people.

 

Keeping your eyes open and paying attention to details is not just important but mandatory for survival in this industry.

 

looks like somebody rigged up a sliding winch track and welded it in spots, the welds broke and the track twisted outward. due to poor welds, not enough welds, or the steel wasn't of sufficient strength to handle the tension the strap was putting on .

 

yep the more I look at it , that's a homemade winch track with no welds on the inside apparently . it most definitely doesn't meet the working load limit of the straps. that is readily apparent

 

At first glance all I could think was just how big is this Ol' Boy, to have done that!

And then, just how nervous were you to get that strap undone?

I might have opted for a knife. . . A long knife.

 

Just an FYI, not a single sliding winch system supplied by any trailer manufacturer is designed to be used in a manner that pulls outward on the winch such as loads that extend beyond the rub rails. We do 100's of oversize loads every week, have almost every brand of trailer under the sun and EVERY manufacturer says the winches can not be used for securing a load that pulls sideways on the bottom of the winch.

When I strap an oversize load I either use 4" chain or flat J hook ratchets or run the strap up through the rub rail then out around the load. I have popped winches on of brand new trailers fresh from the factory pulling out from the bottom of the winch like the OP's picture and I only use a winch bar that is 1/2 the length as a normal one.