Trailer Tie-Down... Which Method to use?

I was brought up on chains and they have never failed me. I went to straps for awhile but there was too much stretch for me. Plus I seemed to have an unusual amount of wear on the straps which made them unsafe IMO. Been back to the chains for several years now and probably won't switch again. As far as connection goes, I chain the axles to the trailer frame.
 
Get the "Four Point Tie Down Kit" from M&R. Much higher quality than most of the straps out there. I've been using a set hard for a long time and they still work like new.

I always strap to the axles. Who cares about body roll. If you strap to the body and don't fully compress the suspension then the body movement will constantly be snatching on your straps.

Don't cross. This increases the angle of the strap which drastically increases the tension required to prevent fore and aft movement and may cause the strap to fail during a minor collision or even an emergency stop. But you're an engineer, you knew that.

Here's a wonderful tidbit that I didn't see anybody mention. Don't wrap your nylon straps around the axle or they will get cut up in short order. The wear sleeves help some, but it's inevitable. To avoid this dilema, get a piece of 3/8" truckers chain and cut off four pieces about 1-1/2 to 2 feet long and put one grab hook on each piece. Use these as your axle straps. Believe me, it makes hook up a whole lot quicker and gives you a tremendous amount of adjustability that you wouldn't have otherwise.
 
ncjeepers said:
.....Here's a wonderful tidbit that I didn't see anybody mention. Don't wrap your nylon straps around the axle or they will get cut up in short order. The wear sleeves help some, but it's inevitable. To avoid this dilema, get a piece of 3/8" truckers chain and cut off four pieces about 1-1/2 to 2 feet long and put one grab hook on each piece. Use these as your axle straps. Believe me, it makes hook up a whole lot quicker and gives you a tremendous amount of adjustability that you wouldn't have otherwise.
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You're a genius! I have seen the straps with the chains on the ends, but never even thought about doing it like you posted.

While on the subject of tiedowns, has anyone used the Macs custom tiedowns?
 
Gotlabs said:
OMG!!! You are going to kill everyone with that setup!!! Straps touching,
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Not everyone...I'll make out ok...:D
Touching straps...sounds kind of dirty.
Gotlabs said:
hooked to pansy sized angle iron up front, axle straps pressing into the sharp metal jobbies on the trac arms,
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I'm not too concerned that the jeep will fall off the back of the trailer, and I agree, the angle iron is not the best setup. That was before my trip to EJS this year, and I barely got the jeep and the trailer axles / new wiring prepped in time.
Gotlabs said:
are the rear straps hooked to the tail light guards?
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In fact, those used to be tail light guards. They are pretty beefy steel (3/8" I think), and welded quite securely to the channel iron on the back. I think I'd be more concerned with a strap breaking than those letting go. However, as with the angle iron up front, that may not a permanent setup. The straps actually do rub on the trailer a bit at the attachment points, so that is more of a concern to me than what I have them hooked to.
Gotlabs said:
Just flaming, but most of it doesn't look right to me. Of course the only thing I've towed a lot was a jon boat.
School me on your set up:popcorn:
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Note that every strap on my rig is brand new. The tranny is in park and the ebrake is engaged. How many times have you seen mostly worn out straps holding a rig on a trailer? This setup worked well for my trip. :popcorn::fuck-you::beer:
 
NC_Mog said:
With crossing straps, you need to keep them from contacting each other. They will wear into each other.
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or inspect your equipment regularly and replace as needed.
 
BlackSheep said:
Not everyone...I'll make out ok...:D
Touching straps...sounds kind of dirty.
I'm not too concerned that the jeep will fall off the back of the trailer, and I agree, the angle iron is not the best setup. That was before my trip to EJS this year, and I barely got the jeep and the trailer axles / new wiring prepped in time.
In fact, those used to be tail light guards. They are pretty beefy steel (3/8" I think), and welded quite securely to the channel iron on the back. I think I'd be more concerned with a strap breaking than those letting go. However, as with the angle iron up front, that may not a permanent setup. The straps actually do rub on the trailer a bit at the attachment points, so that is more of a concern to me than what I have them hooked to.
Note that every strap on my rig is brand new. The tranny is in park and the ebrake is engaged. How many times have you seen mostly worn out straps holding a rig on a trailer? This setup worked well for my trip. :popcorn::fuck-you::beer:
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Cool, thanks. Have you thought about maybe some old fire hose for antichafe protectors?
 
Gotlabs said:
Cool, thanks. Have you thought about maybe some old fire hose for antichafe protectors?
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I do have some chafe (sp?) protectors at the trailer attachment points, but I do need something better. Never thought about fire hose...don't even know where to pick something like that up.
 
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