Strapping your Loads down!

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Trucklover

Trucklover

BNSF SD70MAC's
Hey Guys,

Im making this post to show off some new straps i got in the mail from a member over at the Gauge forums. He made these straps on his own and were working together on coming up with some lengths and prices for these straps. Still a work in progress here, but hopefully soon he will be selling these :D

These straps could be used on trucks, flatcars, gondolas, pretty much all light loads on anything you can put a load in/on. I had a Ford Aeromax and a 48' Spread Axle Aluminum Flatbed Trailer loaded with some construction materials that had been loaded some time ago, i had just glued the loads to the trailer deck, and this was the perfect thing for the test on these straps.

Well i got to gluing them on, and i think personally they look great and look pretty dang realistic. Combat has made some for me in Black and Yellow, the 2 most common colors ive seen used to tie down loads on trucks. Here are some pics of what i did with my trailer/load and the straps

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I used CA glue to glue one side down, and then when it dried after a few seconds i stretched it over to the other side of the trailer over the load and glued over on the other side.

I found it was easiest if some excess was left on either side of the gluing point like shown here:

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This made it easier to get it tight because you could pull the end, and your fingers wouldnt get stuck and dry to the trailer with the strap LOL. After both sides were dry, i simply took some flush cutters and snipped off the excess on either side of the trailer so the straps were flush with the bottom of the trailer deck.

Anyways, just thought i would share a cool new product thats coming soon :D
 
Nice. I read in an MR article about using flat stereo speaker cable to model the straps. Although this sounds like it might be better.
 
Very nice job on the trailer load, Josh. Next time you're at Office Depot, check out a product called 1/8" Artist crape tape. It's flexible, thin and hold like iron once it's on. They have several different colors including black and yellow. It's also good for covering seam in roads and buildings. You get 924 feet for about 5 bucks. My roll has lasted me about two years.
 


You can also use pin striping tape for straps. It stretches & you don't have to worry about anything falling off of your cars or trucks. I glue it on both ends w/CA. You can put 2 pcs. on top of each other if you want the thick straps.
 
Beats what I've been using, flat dental floss painted yellow.
However my loads do smell minty fresh! :D
 
Here is another truck i did with the straps i had left. This one is a Boley International 4900 bobtail flatbed.

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UP2CSX said:
Very nice job on the trailer load, Josh. Next time you're at Office Depot, check out a product called 1/8" Artist crape tape. It's flexible, thin and hold like iron once it's on. They have several different colors including black and yellow. It's also good for covering seam in roads and buildings. You get 924 feet for about 5 bucks. My roll has lasted me about two years.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jim :D

The issue with the tape is well, its tape lol. These straps are actually cloth type fiber like the real thing. Ive seen that tape before and to me, the tape looks too much like shinny plastic which isnt even close to the real thing LOL :D
 
Josh, you must not have seen the right tape, probably drafting tape. Artist's crepe tape is deat flat and I think it's made of some kind of thin paper or cloth. I'll have do a load and show you how it looks as soon as my new camera arrives. My nine year old finally gave up the ghost. :(
 


Josh! You're not properly securing the loads! Being a truck guy like you are, I thought you'd know to put a single twist in the straps on the vertical portions, to avoid the wind buffeting it loose...
 
I have used Monocote, the model aircraft covering material, to make my straps. You can either use the heat activated glue that is already on the Monocote or use CA. I recommend CA. You then shrink the film with heat. On airplanes I use an electric iron to shrink it as well as to activate the glue. For the straps I use a table knife heated up with a lighter. The straps come out nice and tight. The Monocote comes in many colors. If you can get a bunch of guys together on a roll you will each get enough to last you a lifetime. You can also simulate the ratchets on the ends by wrapping it around a piece of wire. I leave the monocote a bit loose so that it is easier to work with. When it is positioned properly and the glue is dry I shrink it tight.
 
of course a good salesman can sell ice to Eskimos. but in m y book it is considered unethical since ice is readily available for the Eskimos as it is, and that salesman would be doing nothing but exploiting clue-lessness or inability to think . same here. i can think of many many things i could make those out without loosing to much "prototypicality" (and perhaps even gaining).

but then again they do sell "HO scaled lumber" at 12$ for 20 pieces. and somebody even buys this... actually i think this is very good since IMO stupidity should hurt.
 
Seconding the correct way to secure the load, there should be 2 straps within the first 4' of the load according to current DOT regulations. This is to reduce the risk of load shift into the rear of the cab in the event of sudden braking. Some states require the rear to be strapped the same way. Nit picky I know, but I have a transportation background as well and tend to spot these things on others layouts, hehe.
 
Everytime you cross a state line the laws change, same thing up here province to province. It should be one set of rules coast to coast to coast.
The laws can be as simple as number of straps per load to position and number of axles or length.
I seem to remember years back getting fined in one state for driving on a Sunday!
 
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