How to Extend the Service Life of Ratchet Straps?
Ratchet straps are the essential and important tools to hold the loads in place during transportation. But, tie down straps are the kind of consumable, so how to extend the service life of ratchet straps is very important for the carrier. Today, we are going to talk about some useful tips for you to make your ratchet straps last longer.
Proper Storage of Ratchet Straps
After you transport the loads for a long time and finally arrive at the destination, most drivers unload the cargo and keep the ratchet straps just by throw it at the back of truck bed. In this way, you can find your ratchet tie down strap will easily get damaged and you need to fix or replace by a new strap.
We even hear some users who keep the strap inside the trailer or in the keep in the compartment, the tie down webbing will still get burns, tears, cuts and can not use anymore, this is also because if improper storage of ratchet straps.
One of the easiest way to make your ratchet strap last longer is to roll up the webbing around the ratchet and hold by the rubber band, it is better to keep the well organized strap into a clean, dry and smooth bag which can effectively prevent the polyester webbing from mold and mildew.
Not only for the carrier, but also for the hunters, you need to take off the treestand ladder straps during the off-season and well organize the strap. If keep on leaving the treestand strap on the site, the tie down strap will easily get damaged. So, to ensure the safe use of the ratchet straps during next hunting season, we strongly recommend you to have a read of our tips.
Proper Maintenance to Ratchet Straps
Beside proper storage, you also need to do proper maintenance to your ratchet straps. The ratchet hardware is made of metal and in order to avoid the hardware get rust, you need to lubricate them with the industrial oil to ensure the webbing run smoothly during working.
But, when you are lubricating the oil to the ratchet hardware, pay attention not to spray the oil on the polyester webbing, since the dirt, dust or debris may adhere on the webbing and may cause damage.
When the ratchet straps has been used for a period of time, the webbing will get dirty, and you need to use a clean wet cloth to wipe the dirty or wash the webbing, but you need to dry the ratchet straps before next use or storage.
If you want to wash your ratchet straps, we suggest you to use warm water with soft brush. Do not use any liquid with chemical element, since this may damage the tie down webbing of your ratchet straps.
Keep Ratchet Straps in Cool and Dry Place
One of reason that effect the lifespan of ratchet straps are direct UV rays which most comes from the sunlight. Although the using environment of the tie down straps are always exposed in the sunlight, after use, we still recommend you to store ratchet straps in the cool and dry place.
Always exposed under the sunlight will cause color fading and this will affect the use of ratchet straps. If you found your webbing become discolored, you may need the replacement tie down strap to replace the old one.
Using Ratchet Straps with Corner Protectors
Polyester tie down webbing is the material of ratchet straps and this material has risk to damage during transportation, if you the cargo you tighten has sharp edges. Using corner protectors can effectively prevent the sharp edge harm to the tie down webbing.
We’ve heard many feedbacks from our customers that after they are using the corner protectors, the ratchet straps last longer than before when they do not use the them. Protecting the tie down webbing is not the only function of corner protectors, they can also protect the cargo from been over tightened.
Drying your Ratchet Straps
When you are using the ratchet straps to secure the cargo on the back of flatbed, pickup truck, pickup trailer, you may meet the rainy and snowy and then the ratchet strap will get wet, after you arrive the destination, you need to dry the webbing in order to avoid mold and mildew.
Mold or mildew will weaken the webbing and cause damage to your tie down webbing sooner or later. Drying the webbing will be great for you to last longer the lifespan of ratchet straps.
Inspect Ratchet Straps Before and After Use
To ensure the safe transportation on the road, you should inspect ratchet straps before and after use. This can greatly reduce the risk of replacing a new one, because if check the quality frequently, you may find a very small issue at the beginning with low cost.
Inspect if the ratchet hardware is getting rust, if the webbing is mildew, if the tie down webbing have cut or burns and find the problem before use. Use ratchet straps with potential risk will cause series issue on the road, so inspecting the ratchet strap before and after use is a necessary step.
FAQ about Ratchet Straps You May Interested in
Q: How Long will the Ratchet Strap Last?
A: This depends on how frequently you use them and how you maintain and store them. Generally, our customer feedback to us our ratchet straps can use for 2-4 years.
Q: How often should I Inspect the Ratchet Straps?
A: We always recommend our customer to inspect the tie down strap before and after every use. Even if your straps has been sitting around for a long time, you still need to inspect it before use.
Q: How can I control the Tightness When Securing the Cargo?
A: Well controlling the tightness when tie down the cargo is very important for each carrier, if you over-tighten the cargo, both the ratchet straps and the loads may get damaged, if you secure the cargo in a loose way, the loads may move during transportation. Normally, we suggest our customer to do 1-2 clicks after you remove the slack of webbing.
But this is not a fixed operating for each cargo securement, it is depends on the cargo and the users. If you are not sure whether your cargo has been well secured, you can use another ratchet straps as an extra safety to your cargo.
Q: How Many Ratchet Straps Should I Use to Tie Down the cargo?
A: We always recommend our customer to use at least 4 ratchet straps at 4 different securement point to help the weight transfer. In this way, if during transportation, one of your tie down strap has broken, the other three straps can help to support the cargo and you can find a place that is suitable for park and then you need to retighten the cargo. Using extra tie down strap is not a bad way, but using less tie down strap will cause serious problems.
Q: Is your tie down webbing waterproof?
A: No, our tie down webbing is made of polyester fabric and this material is water resistant, not waterproof, polyester tie down webbing still can absorb the water, but can dry very quickly and the other features of polyester webbing are very great to make the cargo straps.
