Tiedown Ropes

Are you using bungees on a tarp ? And you says it’s making holes ? If that’s the case, you can use bungee/rubber rope instead and better yet, you can leave the bungee rope on the tarp when you fold it.

 

Yep. The tarps I use aren’t the greatest and I’ve got lots of pinholes from vibrating bungees. My trailer doesn’t have hooks for the rope- I could buy them and screw them to the crossmembers for attachments? What would you suggest? Also, that “knot” you used to use is what I consider the original truckers hitch and it uses the sheepshank knot.

 

Growing up on a farm and working at age 8 up we used rope to secure hay, bagged grain, and any bulky items on a farm trailer / wagon.
Only used a chain in woods to snake out/haul in firewood poles.

Trucking in 1955 we had quarter inch sea grass rope for tarp tie down vs the bungee's of today. 34' trailer, baled cotton stacked on end, a one piece "good heavy canvas tarp" (Mahaffey Bros Tent and Awing, Mphs, TN then).

Ropes about 60" long, tied into the eyes on tarp. Hanging down to the rub rail, reach up about a foot, twist a loop in the hangy down portion, loop the remainder under the rub rail and back up, thru the loop you made and pull down snug. You had made a simple block and line configuration. Just snug, till you had all done. Then walk back around adjusting for tension as top height varied. Tarp was a definite part of securement as we only used 3 chains on compressed and 2 on Hi D loads.

In the middle 80's, I used 3/8" nylon to secure/divide up furniture in a U Haul when moving my daughter from MS to Lex, VA for law school. Truck had spaced exposed rails so easy to zig-zag /hi-low to snug up odd sized pieces.










Va

 

I don’t remember ratchet straps being around till the late 80’s early 90’s. Everyone used rope or chains on everything and they all knew how to tie knots. A lost art today. I remember when hardware stores first started selling 1” ratchet straps to the public and they were expensive and a novelty at first. The early ones were a pain to release if they were over tightened and many would have to be cut and thrown away.

 

We used ropes and V-boards until the early 80s to tie down roofing shingles or rolls of tar-paper. One of the reasons we quit was because the newer and younger scale cops didn't see a lot of rope and they'd pull you in every time to check out the legality of the tie down. PITA

 

What was your best rope material and size generally?

 

We usually used the black and red polypropylene 3/8 three strand right hand laid. It was easy to splice or repair and it lasted a long time if you kept it off of sharp edges.

 

What I used and still carry 5/8’s.

 

I have no idea. It's what everybody used, it was available just about anywhere, and it held up well with steady use.