Buckles Sometimes Break

[eastbound]

therein lies the true advantage one-strappers enjoy:

since sold in pairs for two-strappers, the one-strapper always has an extra, in case of breakage or loss!

i have held my board thru the sunroof on short rides to local water--cuz i hate racking up period

always use what's known as the creek method when posssible:

head rests off--subaru forester frt pass seat fully fwd, fully reclined, rear seats flipped down, board slides in and can be locked in car--no lifty no racky no shoulder pain

[PonoBill]

I would agree with 1, 2 and 5.  But, 3 and 4 are not issues unique to the single strap approach. 

Well, I still have one good strap left...

3. single strap vs double strap--two straps across a board provide the same stability for half the tightening pressure spread over twice the area.

4. yeah, okay, maybe, but it's easier to twist double straps. I don't really know, I use ropes.

[stoneaxe]

@Stoneax
“If you pull the strap tight and then wind the excess once around the buckle and then around the rack a few times before tucking in the end it takes most of the strain off the buckle and won't come off even if the buckle loosened or broke.”

I am having trouble visualizing how this takes the strain of the buckle and would hold if the buckle broke.  I probably just need more coffee.   

Could you post a photo of that technique?

Thanks!

I'll try and remember this weekend if I get out.

[PonoBill]

I'm not sure about taking the strain off, but using the strap to lock the buckle and hold it if it should slip or fail is kind of standard technique.

[Bean]

A couple of half hitches with the working end, after exiting the buckle, can certainly save the day if the buckle slips.  But, if it breaks at the base like mine did, the extra knot will not help since it would be on the other side of the buckle. 

[stoneaxe]

It does compress the buckle so some strain on the lock hinge is relieved and if you pull it tight while wrapping and tucking the excess it transfers some of it to the straps. There is no way the strap can come off while driving. I think my racks would rip off before the straps.

[eastbound]

nuther reason i hate racking up, is the sometimes resulting need to fuss with straps, boards, bags on the side of the highway--in the attempt to quiet loud sattling noise

when forced to rack up, in addition to careful twisting of straps, i carefully secure the excess stap length--with this (in case i prove able to actually load a pic!)

[PonoBill]

A couple of half hitches with the working end, after exiting the buckle, can certainly save the day if the buckle slips.  But, if it breaks at the base like mine did, the extra knot will not help since it would be on the other side of the buckle.

What most people do who don't completely trust their buckles is do a half hitch below and then two above. The one below prevents slipping, the ones above keep the strap together if the buckle breaks. Boyum has all kinds of ancient shitty straps in the back of his truck. I assume the buckles are junk and treat them accordingly. We drive each other crazy tieing stuff down. And then Gregg (covesurfer) complains about everything we did. "It's too tight! It's too loose. They're wiggling all over, what the fuck! Are you trying to crush my rail?" Gritty bunch.

The best motorcycle tiedown straps I ever had included a loop in the strap to run the hook end over the bars and back to the loop so you could snug the front end down without having a hook anywhere near the paint, cables or wires. They also had loops on each side of the buckle. I didn't know what they were for until I saw a display in the bike shop that had instructions--the loops were a safety to run the loose end through in case the buckle broke. Belt and suspenders. Of course, by the time I finish tieing a motorcycle to a trailer, it looks like a macrame project. I have too many miles and too many problems hauling motorcycles to trust any set of straps. They disappeared from the market--probably no one figured out what all the loops were for. Great straps. I have one left, which is semi-useless without its twin.

[Bean]

The irony here is that if you take the tension off the cam with a knot, the web will slip through the buckle.  In that case, you would primarily be relying on the knot.  Of course at that point you might be better off with rope since web is not good for tying a reliable knot.  Which brings us to the possiblility that you just might be better off using a good quality rope.

[PonoBill]

I haven't seen anyone actually take the strain off the buckle with half-hitches, so I'm not sure what Bob does. Even if he somehow managed to, the half hitch below keeps the strap from sliding through the cam.

[stoneaxe]

Maybe taking the strain off is the wrong choice of words but it does hold the buckle tight and transfer some amount of it to the straps. It may have prevented it from pulling apart as shown in Bean's pic. It is a 1/2 hitch (or two) then finished with what is basically a cleat hitch....though done with weaving and tucking instead of overlapping twists.

[Bean]

I give up, I'm going to West Marine to buy 24 feet of 1/2" double braid...

[stoneaxe]

Best answer truthfully, I tied 24' onto the center of both my racks on my truck. I only use the straps now when I have to...ropes are much better.

[Dusk Patrol]

always use what's known as the creek method when possible:

head rests off--subaru forester frt pass seat fully fwd, fully reclined, rear seats flipped down, board slides in and can be locked in car--no lifty no racky no shoulder pain

I had a Toyota Sequoia ...the rear window rolls down, so you could do the seat thing and just have your board sticking out the back, like some retro Ford Country Squire or Buick Estate Wagon...

Great feature.

[stoneaxe]

I took pictures of both how I wrap my kanu-locks after locking and how I tie my ropes on my truck.


It does take some strain off the buckle and it might prevent it from pulling out the way Beans did. It also forces a good check of the lock. You wrap it back up and around the back, down again over itself and under the rack. The cleat hitch is really just two or three half hitches, then tuck the excess back under. I've never had it come undone.


Ropes are still more betterer.... I have lots of excess there because I have enough rope to easily tie two boards doubles up as shown or split the ropes and carry as many as 6 boards at once. When I split the ropes I add locking straps on the front.