How to...

When it comes to lifting and lashing, there are a lot of vital components needed to complete each job safely.

At The Ratchet Shop, we understand the importance of safety when transporting or fastening heavy loads. That’s why we’ve written this handy guide to chain components so you can tell each part apart, reducing error and ensuring you have the right equipment for the job.

If you’re unsure which chain or hook type your project needs, read on to find out.

If you regularly transport goods, you’ll know that ratchet straps, or ‘tie-downs’, are one of the most important pieces of kit that money can buy. Be it for long-distance cargo transportation or for securing furniture when moving house, ratchet straps prove to be an essential tool time and time again. In fact, ratchet straps make fastening and securing loads such a breeze that we couldn’t imagine life without them. Shockingly, though, not everyone takes care of their tie-downs despite knowing how crucial they are for health and safety measures in the transportation of large goods.

Using a cam buckle is an alternative to using a ratchet strap. Cam buckles are specifically designed with a smaller application in mind, and for securing goods which are more fragile. Because it is only possible to tighten a cam buckle as much as your strength allows, there is less risk of damaging the goods due to over tightening.

Wheel chokers are normally used on recovery vehicles to assist with tying down vehicles to the trailer without damaging alloy wheels. The soft polyester strap is strong enough to take a load of up to 1 tonne, and the polyester eyes replace the old style D-rings to prevent scratching.

Heavy dweld on hooksuty weld on hooks are designed for axial loading and allow fixed anchor points to be added where required, for example on farm machinery, spreader beams, and so on. Each weld on hook is supplied with full welding instructions, which must be followed.