How do you store your tie-downs and ratchets?

[Jere]

I keep them in a storage container/drawer that fits in half of the spare tire well.

 

[thaxboyd]

The long straps get coiled around the hook and rubber-banded into a bundle. The downside to this is the rubber band hardens and breaks eventually, and I find my ratchet strap in a tangled pile.

The ratchet part itself has a short enough ******** it to not be a mess.

I take my kids old bike inner-tubes and cut into 1" peices and use these as the rubber bands.

 

[MP&C]

I normally use mine in the enclosed trailer. I had picked up an old metal cabinet at an auction for about $5. As some spots of the rear corners of the sides and bottom were slightly rusty, the rear panel was removed, cut off about half of the depth along the sides, and made a new back wall with a "hook" to accomodate hanging in the trailer. I leave the cabinet unattached, as this is the wife's trailer she uses for picking up furniture. Never know where a tall item needs to go, so having the cabinet moveable has come in handy more than once. Rarely does it slide more than an inch or so...

Along the same lines of in-trailer storage.....

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

I currently have a large pile haphazardly thrown in my truck tool box. No organization at all but I do like the tool bag idea. I think I'll steal it this coming weekend.

 

[sherlocktk]

I use a tarp bungie cord (the 6 inch ones with the ball on the end of it) inside of a power tool canvas type bag that many others have mentinoed. The strap wraps around itself, then the bungie keeps it nice. The bungee doubles as a anti strap blow around device as you can secure it to itself once tensioned.

 

[NUTTSGT]

My smaller 1" straps are rolled up and stuck in the pocket of the truck door. The ones for the car trailer are rolled up and stuck in tongue box.

 

[BUGTHUG]

OK heres my trailer winch set up with the belts inside

 

[volaredon]

that ammo can seems like just the ticket; I have tried the roll up/put behind the seat and the milk crate and the "just throw em in the bed" so they are there but nothing seems to work, I've had to go buy another set too many times to count; seems I am always buying 2 things around here because I can never find the many I have bought already when I need them; screwdrivers and tie downs

 

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Okay, I didn't think such a simple (to me) topic would get this long!
Great list of ideas...and honesty (GarageEnvy, you cracked me up). I like the CrownRoyal bag idea, along with Velcro straps or the ball bungee cords to wrap them up. I was originally thinking of the towel rack idea, hanging them, but now there's a lot of ways to do it! Decisions decisions...

 

[fiaroadster]

Got tired of the tangles. 1/2 scd 40 pvc rack holds straps and bungees alike .Big straps are in ziplock bags ,1 per bag.

 

[Chandos]

Plastic kitty 40# litter bin with lid and handle. Keeps a bunch of them weatherproof and handy. Usually just throw the bucket in the truck if I think I'll need 'em.

 

[junk]

I always thought socks would make great storage bags for ratchet straps. Every strap gets it's own sock and then all the socks get thrown in a bag or toolbox. Would keep them from getting tangled and a pack of socks is dirt cheap.

My dad winds his up and it takes forever. I currently do the throw them all in a toolbox and they are a tangled mess.

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

Five gallon bucket. Can make fishing them out a bit annoying, but it beats rolling each one back up every time I'm done with it.

 

[FJRick]

I win:

http://www.tie-down-storage.com/index.html

Ditto on the Strap Sacks!!! I've been using these for around 3yrs and they're awesome They work great for storing and when using them to keep the loose ends from flapping around. They're super easy to use too!

 

[miketyler]

I have a plastic tackle box with clear transluscent lid I use. I think it was intended as being plastic worm storage but has four long compartments and four shorter compartments. I roll the straps up neatly and put each one in the long space and the shorter ratchet with hook rolled up the same way in the shorter compartments. They stay in my truck and the box fits neatly behind the rear seat back.

 

[Responder]

1" straps get rolled up and then put in a smaller "parachute bag parts organizer". HD used to sell them but have not seen them in a long time. Six individual compartments so they fit nicely. 2" straps get rolled and then taped with the end of the tape folded over so that it is easy to find in the dark and cold and put in a zippered canvas bag.

 

[Wanna Ride]

Along the same lines of in-trailer storage.....

Brilliant simplicity.

 

[nerdplanet]

i roll them and then i keep them rolled with elastic bands ..

 

[The Boss]

Mine are in a recycling bin with the come-a-long. When I need them I just grab the bin.

 

[1953mercury]

I pull them until both ends are the same length, roll them up, then use the smaller 6" loop type bungees with the ball on the end to hold them together. Some are behind the seat in the trucks or in a box in the shop. Mike

 

[SpeedCoach]

I've started using the gear tie (sold at Home Depot, made in USA). Used to do the zip tie thing, but never seemed to keep extras in truck and then would forget to tidy them up when I'd get home - which led to knots/tangles.

 

[toymn6366]

this is getting out of hand when i read a thread then have to go do something about it.i bought this cases at a thrift store not sure what one was used for just liked it the other one i took a paper ring binder out of it. i used a bike tube for rubberbands now got to go buy a paint pen to make cases.

 

[SlowPoke-Canada]

You could do what a bunch of my fishing buddies do for large lures. A milk crate, duffel bag or cooler bag and sections of abs pipe or downspout tube. I like the milk crate and downspout method because it airs out quickly.

 

[mcmlvif100]

You could do what a bunch of my fishing buddies do for large lures. A milk crate, duffel bag or cooler bag and sections of abs pipe or downspout tube. I like the milk crate and downspout method because it airs out quickly.

Elegant solution. Can see number of applications. Thanks for posting.

 

[cyamaha2007]

I have some portables(hooks on both ends) That i use almost daily. They get ratcheted to a 6inch i.d. pvc pipe thats 1ft long. I can hook 4 on one piece of pipe. I shove the tails inside the pipe or wrap it around it. I just couldnt stand tangled up straps or the time to roll them up. It takes a little more room but makes life easy. This also works great with bungee cords.

 

[Pathfinder]

Just ordered ten strap sacks. What a great idea.

John Minton

 

[FraserBluePine]

I hadn't seen the sacks before... Seems like a simple enough idea... Thinking about ordering one or two for patterns then sewing a few of my own, I know I already have extra material to make them... But before I came across this forum I was researching options last fall and came across these... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ratchet-Str...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c517addb1&vxp=mtr

I still need to order some because when I tried to last fall they were backordered... unfortunately they only work with the "giant" straps... but at least it's a start. I keep our big straps in a separate soft tool tote bag... last fall I finally tackled the rat's nest of ratchet straps in my husband's truck and wound them all up individually and used some elastic band with a plastic hook on the end to secure them... Actually worked quite well.. Just wish I could find more of the little elastic bands, they were a weird item in the safeway (grocery store) clearance bin...

Has anyone used the Wrap A Doodle Doo's? A little pricey, but so are those straps...

 

[Tim The Tool Man]

After reading through the first few pages of this thread a couple months ago, I ended up shoving mine in an old tool bag and putting it under the passenger seat of my truck. It holds like 16 straps. Thanks for the ideas!

 

[mitusa]

Roll the straps around the hook and lay flat in the bottom of a milk crate and the ratchet hangs around the top. They are rolled so when thrown over a load the red line on them are exposed so the hook is facing the trailer or truck eliminating any twists. An old flat bed driver taught me that trick when I was helping him roll up his straps

I couldn't sleep so I was reading this thread this morning......noticed a lot of good ideas and the post above, to which charles added:

And they will sit there and flap in the breeze like crazy no matter how tight they are. If you put a twist in them, they won't flap and flop around.

Charles

I don't think spareparts understood his response; to clarify,

If you're hauling something (maybe something tall) that requires the strap be tightened with a lot of the strap exposed to the wind, if you will put a few twists into the exposed strap, it will not flop and flap like one not twisted. HTHs

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I couldn't sleep so I was reading this thread this morning......

You too?!

 

[chep58]

Rolled up tightly and put in a 5 gallon bucket bungee corded to the truck bed wall. With the top on it's water proof .

 

[DaleK]

Didn't read through to see if anyone mentioned this but these guys http://www.homehardware.ca/en/rec/i...-Cord-Holder/_/N-ntjxf/No-96/R-I3628970?Num=0 are just the right size to wrap 2" straps around.

 

[Larwyn]

I gave all mine away, they looked like a good idea but were more trouble and less useful than a good length of rope if you know a few basic knots. And rope is quite easy to coil and store away in a bag, bucket or on a peg. When rope is not enough I drag out the chain and binders.

 

[noslocars]

I have mine coiled up and put in an ice cream bucket that fits under the seat of my truck. Works for me and keeps them from getting tangled up in a big mess.

 

[fflintstone]

I usually have several tangled up in the passenger footwell of each vehicle. And some in a milk crate in the shop.

 

[V-10 Killer]

One thing I've found for keeping 1" straps organized in the storage compartment of my truck is One-Wrap velcro tape. It's hook on one side, loop on the other, no adhesive back. I just cut it to length and use it for keeping straps, cords, hoses, etc... wrapped up neatly. It's easy and re-usable. I even got some that's 1/4" wide and comes in pre-cut ~6" long lengths.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004AFUJZC/?tag=atomicindus08-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I97FJ2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Journaler]

I put mine in one of these:
http://www.artpromos.com/detail.asp?ID=11684&deptid=414&RPP=16&sort_by=sortorder#.UUi5P7-LRWY

The ratcheting part goes in the main compartment, the straps get wrapped around the hook, and put into the smaller compartment. The smallness keeps them from untangling. I also put a few pairs of cheap gloves in the main compartment, as most times I'm strapping furniture/plywood etc, and will toss out the gloves to whoever is around to help me move stuff around.

Oh yeah, they were free (leftover marketing promo bags). Can't beat free!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

... I ended up shoving mine in an old tool bag and putting it under the passenger seat of my truck. It holds like 16 straps. Thanks for the ideas!

Oh man. I HAVE a spare one of these too. Like I needed another thing to be obsessive-compulsive over!

 

[cvcman]

hanging on my wall from rubber coated bicycle hooks

 

[metalmagpie]

A lot of you guys say you roll up your straps. Although it was mentioned briefly in a response above, it is very important to do one thing because it cuts the amount of rolling way down. The ratchet has a fixed-length short ******** one end, and a long ******** the other end. Before you start rolling, pull the long strap so that both ends of it are the same length. Now when you roll it up you are doing the minimum amount of work.

I use blue painter's tape. It comes off easily, leaves no residue. I bring it along when I'm using the straps on a trailer. The loose ends I roll up and secure with blue masking tape. It's strong enough to hold, while being easily removed with no sticky goo left.

I have kept my ratcheting straps (and fabric hoist slings, same problem) in milk crates, which are light, strong and don't rust and let rainwater run through if accidentally left out in the weather. I keep one six footer loose in the back of my SUV which is fitted with 4 tiedown loops, factory. I use that strap ALL THE TIME.

I like the idea of storing them in drawers with partitions. I'm going to look into that.

metalmagpie