A ubiquitous tool for electric and grip departments are ratchet straps. We use them all the time. They are amazingly strong.
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| Some of my rated straps 1" and 1-1/2" width |
I have a lot of them around mostly from when I used to work as a key grip years ago. I have the usual 1" wide along with some 1-1/2" and some beefy 2" straps. Most of my straps have hooks on the ends, but some of my straps are the endless style. Sometimes, the endless style is better for rigging.
There is has been a precipitous decline in the quality of ratchet straps from when I first got in this business. Years ago, most ratchet straps appeared to be made with tubular nylon with heavy duty mechanisms. Now days, I often see ratchet straps that don't even use nylon, much less tubular nylon. It seems like some kind of flimsy polyester. The mechanisms seem insubstantial.
A long time ago, I was key grip on a commercial where I had several menace arms working, some of them 20 feet long. One of the clients asked me if these were safe. I said yes, but started thinking more about it.
From a rigging class, I learned best practices about rigging. Using rated equipment and knowing the working loads, are best practices.
Menace arms are dependent upon a ratchet strap holding it. Therefore it is essential to be using rated ratchet straps.
(I'll sometimes see ratchet straps with wild claims like it is good to hold 1800 pounds for example. This is probably a breaking strength. Best practices is to use a 4-5 ratio to the breaking strength. The 1800 pound strap at 5-to-1 ratio would have a working load of 360 pounds. There are more things to consider, too; what is the condition of the strap [New, old, damaged? If damaged in anyway throw it away.] and is the strap is being used in a way that could compromise it's strength in anyway. Other factors mean that the working load should be reduced further.)
I found a company that custom made ratchet straps that came with a load rating. Most of my straps are rated. If I'm rigging a menace arm, I will only use a rated strap.
A couple of rigging tricks:
On cars, process trailers, etc., give straps that are open to the wind a twist or two. This will keep them from vibrating wildly in the wind.
(I was working on a IRL Racing commercial at Homestead Racetrack in Florida years ago. The key grip showed me this trick. Just a twist or two works even on race cars.)
It's easy to coil the loose slack and keep your rig looking professional. Roll the loose end towards the ratchet. About 2-3 inches is a good inner diameter. Pull a loop from just before the end (next to the ratchet) through the roll. Then pull the roll through that loop. Your done!
Some links:
How to coil the loose end of a ratchet strap:
Something I had never thought about; does adding a twist or two to the strap to prevent wind noise weaken the strap? Find out in this great video:
An observation from the video; I'm not surprised that all the ratchet straps in this video fail at the ratchet. It is because of the small turning radius. An small turning radius reduces the breaking strength. If the wrap around the ratchet strap was of a larger diameter, the breaking strength should be significantly increased. Something to keep in mind when using ropes. For example, using speedrail as a pulley will reduce the breaking strength. It is better to use a properly sized pulley.
I got my rated ratchet straps custom-made from Strapworks. They were the only company I found (years ago) that had rated ratchets.
https://www.strapworks.com/1-inch-red-padded-ratchet-buckle