I finally switched from hauling freight with a ratchet strap to using load bars, and I need to know which side you're on for a messy delivery route.

Used to swear by ratchet straps because they were cheap and adjustable, but after a box of ceramic tiles slid loose and shattered on a sharp turn last Tuesday near the industrial park, I swapped to load bars which hold solid, but now I'm fighting with finding the right fit for every truck bed and losing time securing smaller loads.

3 comments

3 Comments

piperwhite18d ago

Last spring I was hauling roofing supplies through a construction zone near Elm Street and hit a patch of gravel that sent my ratchet strap load into a wobble. Switched to load bars for the big flat stuff and kept a couple of cheap cam buckle straps for the odd shaped things like ladders and pipe. Took me about three weeks to figure out that combo, but now I load the bars first for the heavy boxes and use the straps to lock down anything that doesn't sit flat. Your mileage may vary, but that split system saved me from losing another load and I don't fight with fit nearly as much.

drew9651mo ago

Honestly, I think you're overreacting to one bad turn. I've hauled with ratchet straps for eight years through the worst backroads in the Midwest and never had a single load shift because I take the extra two minutes to double-check the tension. Load bars are way too rigid for anything but a perfect square box, and half the time you're fighting with those stupid expanding ends that slip on a wet truck bed. You lose more time messing with fit than you'd ever gain from some minor stability boost, and for small stuff like toolboxes or pipe you still have to use straps anyway. Ngl, you traded a reliable workhorse for a finicky solution that only works in perfect conditions.

ellis.hayden1mo ago

Gotta be honest drew, I've been that guy double checking straps for way too long only to find out my tension was actually giving them a nice little nap instead of holding anything down lol. Load bars definitely have their moments where you question life choices, especially when you're trying to shove one into a wet bed and it just laughs at you. But man, straps are like having a buddy who's reliable 99% of the time but then randomly decides to let your toolbox fly off into a ditch because you hit one good pothole. I guess we're all just picking our poison, and I'll take the rigid pain in the ass over the strap that fakes me out when I'm not paying attention.