Tie downs for under trailer dunnage Storage

Looks like E-track stuff to me. Most tracks have even spacing of bolt holes and track holes so you could probably cut what you need from a longer piece of E-track for a better price, but I'm not sure ATM...

 

i use the same ratchet straps from walmart. i have a red one. never considered what dottie likes. although i do have some strap hanging down. so they can see something there.

when i first started though. all our trailers were bungee straps. today, i'm the only one using a ratchet. the other trailers still have those bungees. but we haven't visited the southeast yet.

 

Yes, underneath. Stack the timbers in the notch of the landing gear supports, wrap the 1/4" chain around the timbers (making sure it also wraps around one of the support cross members for the landing gears)...hook the 2 ends of the 1/4" snap binder to the chain and tighten. You don't need a long piece of chain...3' to 4' is probably more than enough. It just has to wrap around the timbers & one of the landing gear braces.

The problem with using a ratchet strap you'll find out in the winter.....run through some slush, then let it freeze hard overnight. Good luck getting your timbers out for an early morning load. With a chain & snap binder, that isn't an issue. Not only that, but the strap will wear out over time and need to be replaced (even if you DON'T have to cut the stupid thing off after it freezes solid or rusts up on you)...the chain & binder won't.

I just don't like messing with stuff that shouldn't need messing with. The chain is much less hassle.

 

I never put my 4x4s under the trailer anymore. I stack them on the very nose of the trailer, going side to side. I stack them 3 wide, and 3 high. Then I use 2 ratchet straps to secure them, putting the straps over them in an X pattern. I don't use those cheap straps. I use my 2" wide ratchet straps. It only takes a minute to do the job right, so do it. One of those 4X4s ever comes off your trailer, and kills someone, it will be a little late to think about doing the job right.

I know, you've seen everyone doing it the other way. Those guys are not doing it right, and their actions are endangering the public. If you don't think it is worth the extra minute or two to do the job right, then you shouldn't be in a truck

How many loads do you haul on flatbed, that use every foot of trailer space? If you do use every foot of trailer space, then have them load the load 1 foot from the front edge of the trailer. Better to have the load hanging 12 inches off the back end of the trailer, which is completely legal, than to have improperly secured wood under it. The 12 inches in front is plenty of space to stack the 6, or even 9 4X4s you have. Use your 2" straps to secure the wood, in the same X pattern. Have both straps start about 3 feet from the front of the trailer, run over the wood, and come down the front on the other side, going under the front corner on the other side of the trailer. This will keep the wood properly secured.

In most situations, when I am dropping an empty, and hooking to a loaded trailer, moving the wood from the top of the one trailer, over to the top of the other, is easier than pulling them out from the landing gear. Even if it was not easier, I would still do it, because it is the right way to do it.

I know all the beer bellied flatbedders, who sit around telling stories from the road, will say they have always done it their way. Well, there way is wrong, and I won't do it. I hold myself to a higher standard than some other I meet do, and will not lower safety, just to save 2 minutes strapping wood down properly.

 

1 chain used correctly will hold the timbers more securely than your 2 straps when transporting them on the nose of the trailer. Hook each end of the chain back to itself in a loop just large enough to wrap around the end of the timbers....use a snap binder to pull the slack out of the center of the chain & squeeze the timbers together.

There is nothing unsafe or wrong with keeping the timbers under the trailer IF they are properly secured. Unsecured cargo and equipment, on the other hand, is ALWAYS a problem.

 

didn't realize the subject shifted into winter lol, as long as its secure and its legal who cares.

 

Kansas,go to a tractor supply or lowes,they will have the two inch wire hook ratchet straps. I bought two at tractor supply back in the spring on sale for ten bucks apiece,2x15.

 

September is only 34 days away...and September means certain states require CMV's to carry tire chains on certain roads. Tire chains mean winter is coming.