The ratchets straps or sometimes just called ratchets consist of hardware ratchet buckles and webbing with hooks , but if we use cam buckle in place of ratchet buckle in the assembly we have cam buckle tie down, it’s as simple as that. Most likely these cam buckle straps are used on pick up trucks or passenger cars for luggage tie down, and small cam buckle(1”) are more popular than big ones(2”). Compare to cam buckle the ratchets are stronger and more widely used, the available sizes of ratchets are 1”,2”,3” and 4”, and the ratchet buckle generally has higher working load limit than the cam buckle, the typical working load limit for 2” tie downs is 3,333lbs, for 3” and 4” which is 5,400lbs, since these tie downs have design factor of 3:1, the maximum breaking strength is 10,000lbs and 16,200lbs.
Until now all we discussed about is the tie downs for flatbed or similar transportation vehicles, we will see there are other kind of trucks, the typical one is box truck, and most of them have E Tracks installed inside the truck, for these rigs we use e track straps. In fact box truck has much bigger share than flatbed truck, the percentage maybe around 80%, of course this is only estimation but you get the idea, and the conclusion is that e tack straps are by far the most popular tie downs. And these straps are not as strong as the one we use on flatbed truck, the working load limit of typical e track straps is 1,000lbs, with minimum breaking strength of 3,000lbs. the low working load limit of e track straps stems from box truck wall provides support for the loads inside the truck, come to think of it, the loads won’t fall off the bed, not going to roll over, it’s much safer than the cargo out there on the flatbeds, therefore low strength tie downs can be used to secure the loads.
In first paragraph we talked about design factor of ratchet tie downs, which is 3:1, so the working load limit is 1/3 of maximum breaking strength for ratchet straps, in the mean time the design factor of grade 70 tie down chains is 4:1, so the chains can support heavier load, and are more resistance to abuse, such as high/low temperature, moisture, while tie down straps usually only work well under normal condition. The most common materials in making tie down webbing are nylon and polyester, which serve different tie down applications. Nylon webbing has better elongation than polyester, so for shock absorption wise nylon is ideal material while polyester usually is used to make tie downs for heavy equipment. Following watch list is essential for making tie down webbing, abrasion, elongation, breaking strength and use environment. When making tie down strap , manufacturer has to follow the recommendation of breaking strength and elongation requirements, when it comes to abrasion and environment, there are much more variations to be considered.













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