How do you tie down your rig on the trailer?

[ghost]

I have decided to go with four total, two to the front axle, and two to the rear axle. My biggest debate now is whether to suck down the suspension with a fifth or sixth strap.

WHen I had to pull a pass in the grass on I-20 the 6 straps were nice to know they were there. LOL!

 

[aintlifegrand]

I have decided to go with four total, two to the front axle, and two to the rear axle. My biggest debate now is whether to suck down the suspension with a fifth or sixth strap.

clay, you'll be fine with two straps in the front and 2 in the rear. when you ratchet the axles down tight, it bind the suspension and keeps the rig from swaying..

most of the time i'll run my winch cable down to the deck of the trailer for extra security, you just have to be careful that tensioning your winch cable doesn't loosen the front ratchet straps..

i don't care what the DOT requires I'm strapping my shit down with 2 straps on each axle.. i like my rigs too much to take any chances... FWIW

 

[BigClay]

clay, you'll be fine with two straps in the front and 2 in the rear. when you ratchet the axles down tight, it bind the suspension and keeps the rig from swaying..
most of the time i'll run my winch cable down to the deck of the trailer for extra security, you just have to be careful that tensioning your winch cable doesn't loosen the front ratchet straps..
i don't care what the DOT requires I'm strapping my shit down with 2 straps on each axle.. i like my rigs too much to take any chances... FWIW

Thanks for the advice. I have also heard of people using their winch cable, but some leave it loose, just as an insurance policy if the jeep were to start rolling off the back. Some people say leaving that much tension on the cable for that extended period could hurt the winch. I don't know, just relaying hearsay.

 

[McCracken]

I have decided to go with four total, two to the front axle, and two to the rear axle. My biggest debate now is whether to suck down the suspension with a fifth or sixth strap.

I wouldn't. I've done it and the problem is that it rubs. I have a frame so maybe that's different. I ran one across and pulled it down anfter about 2 trips it cut in two. however, you may have a ring you could attach to and pull it down that way.

also, I saw this trick for the guys still running lever style binders. use a lock pin like these:

run it through a link on the chain and put the locking loop over the handle. that way it won't come loose.

 

[BigClay]

I wouldn't. I've done it and the problem is that it rubs. I have a frame so maybe that's different. I ran one across and pulled it down anfter about 2 trips it cut in two. however, you may have a ring you could attach to and pull it down that way.

I have 'D-rings' front and back on my bumpers. What would you all do with that set up?

 

[burrellsjeep]

I have towed with out strapin the body, Just the axles and I have had no issues.

IMO I would not strap the body down.

 

[Spence]

I have 'D-rings' front and back on my bumpers. What would you all do with that set up?

I would still just strap to the axles.

Strapping to any "sprung" part of the truck is a bad idea in my opinion. If you hit a bump hard enough, the suspension will flex, causing slack, and then spring back against the strap causing a high shock load. Unless your straps run more on less vertical you will probably not be able to compress the springs enough prevent this from happening.

 

[ghost]

I would still just strap to the axles.
Strapping to any "sprung" part of the truck is a bad idea in my opinion. If you hit a bump hard enough, the suspension will flex, causing slack, and then spring back against the strap causing a high shock load. Unless your straps run more on less vertical you will probably not be able to compress the springs enough prevent this from happening.

No. I tie to the body for every trip in 6+ years I have had one strap break from the way I attached it and never had it loose a strap from bouncing. The reason you tie to the body is to stop the bouncing.

 

[Roughshod]

Using 2 straps forward and rear, both in an x pattern, yielded this for a friend of mine:

Yes, it sucks that he wrecked, but note that the truck and trailer are still firmly attached to one another, even after a skid on their side. Apparently using four straps on the axles is all you need to retain the rig on the trailer. But then there is the question of body straps...I'm of the opinion that body straps could have prevented this wreck entirely. He had a really flexy suspension on that rig, and without straps to control the body movement it allowed an oscillation to start between the trucks suspension and the trailers suspension, which started the trailer swaying, and pretty quickly it wrecked him. The question to strap down the body or not is entirely dependent on the tow rig, trail rig, and trailer in question, but strictly speaking it is never a bad idea to do it. If you can prevent a bad oscillation from starting in the first place you'll be ahead of the game.

 

[hadfield4wd]

I realized I never posted pics of my setup. This is how I tie down.

Trailer is 22'

I'm going to add 4 more d rings to the trailer so there is no sharing of tie downs for multiple straps. Just a little redundent, but I don't think you can be too safe.

 

[BigClay]

I have now pulled the jeep a few times. I have just been using four straps total, al only on the axles. Next time I will try using six straps because the jeep sways and bounces real bad when I hit bumps, go around a turn etc. So I will just have to see which way I like best.

 

[jeepinmatt]

I've always been a strap down the suspension so tight that it doesn't have suspension sorta guy, but I'm used to dealing with motorcycles, so that has a lot to do with it. Reading this thread has given me a lot of insight, but I think the best solution might be a sort of hybrid. Strap down the axles as if thats the only thing holding the vehicle. Then either strap down the bumpers/body, or cinch the body down to the axles a bit to limit suspension travel.

 

[1stgenxxx]

I just use two straps...one on the front axle and one on the rear. It has worked out pretty well thus far

 

[TheGeneral]

I used to always just use two straps when towing vehicles on a trailer. But for the past few years I have been pulling equipment on a trailer every day for work and you would not beleive how often those nylon straps fail. Now I use two front and rear in a cross pattern and an extra one going straight forward and rear from a center mounting point as a back up. If the suspension is super flexy then I will put the back up strap on the body and pull the bounce out of the springs with it. If Im pulling a one ton rig or something thats especially heavy I ditch the straps and go with chains and ratchet binders.

 

[burrellsjeep]

This guy did a decent job

 

[BigClay]

Ouch, where was that?

 

[moldman05]

Street Rodder magazine Nov 2010 has an article about trailering hot rods. Mac's Custom Tie-Downs reccommends against crossing straps since they may rub where they cross causing wear, also straps are stronger nearly straight and since most accidents are front or rear diangonally placed straps can be weaker. If you lose one strap when they are not crossed there should not be much movement. I've switched from crossed chains,but still pull on frame to reduce bounce and sway.

 

[Rich]

Street Rodder magazine Nov 2010 has an article about trailering hot rods. Mac's Custom Tie-Downs reccommends against crossing straps since they may rub where they cross causing wear, also straps are stronger nearly straight and since most accidents are front or rear diangonally placed straps can be weaker. If you lose one strap when they are not crossed there should not be much movement. I've switched from crossed chains,but still pull on frame to reduce bounce and sway.

DOT > magazine

 

[Spence]

And?

Where does the DOT tell us to cross straps?

I agree with what he posted.

 

[cgm147]

well i had mr dot pull the scales on me the only good thing he had to say was the way i had my truck tied down so ill keep doing the way i always have

 

[hadfield4wd]

My brother recently towed his suburban to alaska with his f250. He didn't listen to me and crossed his straps and also had them on so the hooks were on the bottom of the tie down section of this trailer so the strap was rubbing on the metal. He did have extra straps though which is good because where they were rubbing against the steel it cut straight through the straps. He had them crossed in front and where the straps rubbed against each other the rubbed through as well. I know this is an extreme example however they can and will fail if not properly used.