Storing Ratchet Straps for Quick Deployment

Warning: This is a REALLY trivial "homemade tool."

Showing up to rig a load with a tangle of ratchet straps makes you no friends. For the longest time, I would wrap up each strap and secure it with 3M Painter's tape. This works fairly well. The tape gently kept each strap coiled up yet a light tug and the tape would fall away. Sometimes the tape would fall away even without that light tug. Not good. Of course, the tape goes in the trash.

I just figured out a better way that is free and reusable.

If you are interested, please see
https://rick.sparber.org/RatchetStrapStorageBands.pdf

Your comments are welcome. All of us are smarter than any one of us.


Thanks,

Rick

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Thanks rgsparber! We've added your Ratchet Strap Storage Bands to our Storage and Organization category,
as well as to your builder page: rgsparber's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

<div id="blocks"> <div class="block b1 pngfix"> <div class="bimg"> <div> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-ratchet-strap-storage-bands"> <img src="/uploads/230775/homemade-ratchet-strap-storage-bands.jpeg"/> </a> </div> </div> <div class="head pngfix"></div> <div class="left pngfix"></div> <div class="right pngfix"></div> <div class="blockover b1 pngfix"> <div class="title"> <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/homemade-ratchet-strap-storage-bands">Ratchet Strap Storage Bands</a> <span> by <a href="https://www.homemadetools.net/builder/rgsparber">rgsparber</a></span> </div> <div class="tags">tags: <a href='https://www.homemadetools.net/tag/storage'>storage</a> </div> </div> </div> </div>
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Hey Marv,

I put a pun in this article just for you. Did you see it?

Rick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rgsparber

Hey Marv,

I put a pun in this article just for you. Did you see it?

Rick

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I saw the footnote but I must be extra dense this morning (not a new thing at my age). I'm afraid that I need an explanation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mklotz

I saw the footnote but I must be extra dense this morning (not a new thing at my age). I'm afraid that I need an explanation.

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Marv,

OK, I know it is a real stretch (oops, another bad pun), but I wrote:

"On what must sound like an unrelated tangent, I was putting on my socks this morning and my heel tore through."

The force that tore my sock was tangential.

Rick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rgsparber

Marv,

OK, I know it is a real stretch (oops, another bad pun), but I wrote:

"On what must sound like an unrelated tangent, I was putting on my socks this morning and my heel tore through."

The force that tore my sock was tangential.

Rick

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That was so bad I'm going to drive over there and give you a good sock.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mklotz

That was so bad I'm going to drive over there and give you a good sock.

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Sock it to me?

You should wear those when you golf*; you already have a hole-in-one.

--
*Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose. - Winston Churchill

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mklotz

You should wear those when you golf*; you already have a hole-in-one.

--
*Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose. - Winston Churchill

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If you are going to ridicule golf, there is no better than Robin Williams.

Rick

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mklotz

You should wear those when you golf*; you already have a hole-in-one.

--
*Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an ever smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose. - Winston Churchill

---

If you are going to ridicule golf, there is no better than Robin Williams.

Rick

Let’s all put forward our ideas for using socks. 1. Protecting your block plane (special socks sold by Lie Neilson). 2 Storing charged batteries to prevent discharge in transit.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Philip Davies

Let’s all put forward our ideas for using socks. 1. Protecting your block plane (special socks sold by Lie Neilson). 2 Storing charged batteries to prevent discharge in transit.

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Fitted dust cover for the objective lens of a telescope.

Belt-hung (from slits made with sharp knife) holster for various tools or airgun pellets.

Wear one over a latex glove and paint awkward shapes directly with your hand.

Load with bar of soap and use as a sap (no, I was never incarcerated; just read a lot)

Arrrghyle socks can be used to enhance your pirate costume.


and then there's this...

Attachment 34007

There is also inner tubes cut to rings, velcro straps, tie straps, etc. I like that the socks can cover the whole strap though.

I like the sock idea. I'm a pack rat to. I save that stretchy tape like stuff that doctors use to hold a temporary bandage in place. There is no adhesive, it just sticks to itself when rapped around. Similar to velcro. It's easy to undo and is reusable. Have not tried to buy a roll of my own. Just another idea for storing ratchet straps.

Attachment 34067
I have tried bicycle tubes, rubber bands, etc. They all ozone or crack over time. I have found these mini-bungee cords are easy to use and are incredibly quick. They also don't seem to deteriorate like the bigger, longer bungees do. Maybe there is a material difference. They can be found just about anywhere. They are used to tension a tarp around the metal frame in outdoor tents.

I forgot to mention the greatest benefit of the short bungee cords is once the ratchet straps are deployed and holding cargo. We have all been frustrated of what to do with the long, excess, unused strap and stopping it from flying in the breeze. You simply wrap it up in your hand and bungee the bundle to anything available like the ratchet mechanism or onto one of the straps in tension. That can not be done with the sock idea since they have to be slipped over the loose bundle and everything is tied down.

Many thanks to Rich for this thread and all his others that have come before. Your presentation is always the highest quality and inspiring.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Saltfever

I forgot to mention the greatest benefit of the short bungee cords is once the ratchet straps are deployed and holding cargo. We have all been frustrated of what to do with the long, excess, unused strap and stopping it from flying in the breeze. You simply wrap it up in your hand and bungee the bundle to anything available like the ratchet mechanism or onto one of the straps in tension. That can not be done with the sock idea since they have to be slipped over the loose bundle and everything is tied down.

Many thanks to Rich for this thread and all his others that have come before. Your presentation is always the highest quality and inspiring.

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Saltfever,

Come to think of it, I have hassled with the excess strap. Your short bungee cords do a nice job of solving the problem. Now, what other solutions exist?

Thanks for the kind words. May you remain healthy.

Rick
PS: After thinking about this for a while, I think I have a workable solution that uses the cut-up sock. The article has been updated: https://rick.sparber.org/RatchetStrapStorageBands.pdf

I cut the top off of 16-20 ounce PET plastic water bottles and slide my straps into them. They fit nicely into the pockets (4 on each side) in the small rear doors of my extended cab Tacoma.

Socks are a good idea.

I like the idea of using cut bottles or retired socks for strap storage. It's time to try that. If you have a truck with a somewhat heavy rubber bed liner, tucking the unused part of the strap under the liner after you have tightened everything down helps keep it from flapping around and getting damaged. It works surprisingly well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rgsparber

If you are going to ridicule golf, there is no better than Robin Williams.

Rick

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Since I'm not interested in punishment, I'll leave the rest of this thread to you guys. I normally use cheap ziplock bags, except when they get taken off a load and thrown in a bucket. Then I get to spend a few quiet (not really) hours untangling them again. I use the square cat litter tubs to hold the bagged tie downs. They can rid the in the back of the pickup, or in the cab if I'm not hauling passengers in it. Like the idea bungeeing the loose ends. I've found some miniature bungee cords at Walmart, among other places. Harbor Freight, too: https://www.harborfreight.com/set-of...rds-93672.html

Bill

Just before you make the last few clicks to snug up the ratchet, fold up the excess strap and slide that under the working part of the strap. Then when you tighten the load, the excess strap is held in place by the tensioned strap.