The biggest loads I’ve ever carried in one of my personal vehicles have been an entire Willys Jeep frame and an entire car. Ok, that second one is stretching the definition of “car” (it was a Changli), but that thing weighed over 700 pounds! Here’s how I typically tie down my cargo in my pickup trucks, and I’d love to hear how you tie down yours.
I recently wrote a story about how pickup trucks here in LA often drive around with sketchily-secured loads. It’s honestly frightening sometimes, and hugely different from how things are in Australia (where the rules on securing loads are strict).
Anyway, today I started moving from my condo to my new house in the LA ‘burbs, and to prepare my 1989 Chevy K1500, I bought a dual-layer net and some eye-bolts/washers/nuts. The truck is set up pretty much exactly the same way as my Jeep J10 (shown below) in that it’s got eye bolts fastened to the truck bed stake pockets.
Here’s a look:
I’ve basically got the elastic two-layer netting hooked to an eye bolt on each corner of the bed, plus I’ve got the netting secured in the middle at both the front and rear (a bungie cord is holding the front-middle to a zip-tie threaded through two already existing holes at the front of the box):
For large, heavy loads, I’d still want to add some ratchet straps since this netting isn’t really going to handle lots of force, but for just general stuff that I have piled up in the bed, it should be fine.
I’m curious what your tie-down strategy is. Do you secure loads in your SUV/sedan as well, or only in your open truck bed? What tips do you have to share?
Small children, they are remarkably flexible and stronger than they pretend, also they think it a game.
“Well hello kids, did you have good day out with Uncle Nic”
“yeah, it was so much fun we ….
” where would you like this champagne ? and do you have a vase for these?”
“but mum, it was such a fun day, it had big metal stuff and cars and steam engines and we rode in the back and Charlie nearly got squished”
“alright all right, I know you had fun today but now it is grown up time, of to bed the lot of you”
“Thank you Nic, I need a day to myself, it is so reassuring that the little darlings are safe with you.”
If gravity is good enough to keep us from spinning off into space, its good enough to keep stuff in the bed of my truck. /s
I have sliding anchor points along the top edge of the bed and four forged eye-bolts at each corner at the bed floor. I also have a hard roll-up tonneau. Small light stuff under the tonneau of course. For larger stuff, get ratchet straps. I use the lower eye bolts to cinch it down so it doesn’t get thrown upward with bumps, and then the upper tie-down spots get used to keep stuff from moving side/side and front/back. I also have a nice waterproof cloth tarp I can throw over stuff as needed. Works great for mulch, dirt, firewood, etc. That stays in the garage rafters.
The truck ratchet straps never leave the truck for any reason
Things I want to stay in place? I ratchet strap the crap out of it to where I can shake the entire vehicle no matter which way I shake the thing.
And if it’s small pieces liable to blow away like mulch? Tarp between the mulch and the straps.
My go to bed tie-downs are silk scarves because they work equally well as gags. I have used handcuff, too, but they can leave marks on the bedposts. In a pinch, I once used zip ties, but those can cut off circulation and . . . ooooh, you meant a truck bed. Haha, yeah just kidding, I use strap-ons in my truck – wait, I mean ratchet straps through the bed tie down loops! Yeah, that’s it. Never mind.
I had to move my daughter’s old disassembled bedframe, and figured I’d take the opportunity to put something sizable in my (well, mostly my wife’s) new R1S for the first time (instead of using my old Sienna). I very carefully used ratchet straps (and some rope) to secure everything in the back, using the anchors there. Then when I was on the way someone cut me off and I slammed on the brakes, and it turned out that I hadn’t been so careful after all: one of the pieces slid forward between the front seats and smashed right into the center screen, shattering it (and spraying glass dust everywhere).
So now my wife says that the proper way to secure things in the back of the Rivian is to put them in the Sienna instead :-/