Shorter "Stratchits"?

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Hey all - I've got a particular load handling situation that could benefit from a better strap. I'm looking for something like the Frontrunner Stratchits, in that I need a real cargo strap (cam lock, etc.) but would benefit from a small amount of stretch to take up the slack when tightened. The only difference is that I need it to be shorter than the Front Runner's 22" minimum length. Anybody got ideas?

I want to rework how I secure the cargo in the rear of my van - occasionally I need to carry heavy gear in the bed area behind the rear seat. My rule is that anything I wouldn't throw at my daughter's head needs to get tied down, so I've got a Safari-Straps cargo net for that rear area. This works well, but it secures by looping short cam-lock straps from the corners of the net, so I have to loop through an eye-bolt and then back to a tab on the net. Getting this threaded through and adequately tightened down every time is a little bit of a hassle. I tried looping the cam-lock strap to a carabiner to at least eliminate the re-threading part of the issue (so I can just clip it and tighten the strap), but getting things perfectly tight is tough since I can only yank on the strap so hard and the cam-lock doesn't tighten up on its own. If there were a little bit of elasticity there, I could get the strap tight enough to safely contain the gear in case of an accident, and the "bungee" effect would take up a little bit of slack to just keep the gear secure against shifting, etc. I don't want to use a short "pure-bungee" in this situation because I need it to not over-stretch or fail in an accident.

I looked at trying to use the Stratchits for this purpose, but even at their shortest, I'd have trouble finding a way to rig from the corners of the cargo net to my tie-down points that didn't offer too much slack.

Worst case, I suppose I could buy some heavy-duty elastic and sew it down to a strap myself, but I thought I'd see if someone knew of another option. Thanks!

EDIT: Apparently Front Runner also makes Stratchit "Shorties". 18.5" minimum length, which is still longer than I can use, but maybe helpful to someone else.
 
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krick3tt

Adventurer
These come in so many lengths it is amazing.

There has to be something you can use. I have them from 6 inch to 36 inch for tying down cargo to my RR.
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Yeah, but like I said, I'm hesitant use something that's purely elastic to secure a cargo net that's holding back heavy items from hitting family in an accident.

Those rubber ones will snap if over stretched, and they're not rated to any particular load, (as in they don't tell you at all) so it's hard to know how much/how little it would take to over-stretch them. I need something that has some stretch, but that has a firm load-holding beyond that point so I know it'll keep things secure.

The advantage of the stratchits is that they have a marked WLL.
 

Curmudgeon

Adventurer
Check out the Perfect Bungee Adjustable Bungee. They're not rubber, but they're elastic, and they're adjustable in 6" increments. Incredibly tough and very strong. Sun doesn't seem to affect them. I discovered them a couple of years ago and bought a couple. After getting them and using them, I promptly ordered a bunch more.
 

Herbie

Rendezvous Conspirator
Will Roc straps work ?
Maybe! Will look at those.

How 'bout just use rope?

All the same problems as a cam-strap. Running from my tie-downs to the corners of the cargo net, I have maybe 12" - in that length, it's very hard to get a lashing in place that's both tensioned, and secure-enough to prevent heavy objects from being tossed. Plus it would need to be untied every time I wanted to get the cargo out.
 

mep1811

Gentleman Adventurer
The Tembo Tusk Buffalo straps are very strong.


 

Superduty

Adventurer
I'm a big fan of the https://www.rollercam.com/ the roller allowed you to tighten them a bit more than regular cam straps.

Can you use these to hold the majority of the weight and then a Bungie of some sort to keep it in place.

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk
 

troutbum1

New member
Check out www.roperatchet.com as a possible option. You can shorten the rope to as little as needed. Another option is to look at NRS river supply on their straps & buckles. Similar to the rollercam listed above. I've used these for years in a variety of sizes.
 

bluejeep

just a guy
I've used a product from cargonets.com, there is a rope laced thru the outer spaces of the net, it can be attached via caribiners (included) to tiedown points, and tightened to hold the net and covered contents securely. Works best when the load is somewhat even in height, and the net needs to be smaller/shorter than the load overall. I lucked out and got a net that was on sale because either someone ordered and never got, or it didn't meet their standard size or something, don't remember.

Also, I am a big proponent of Roller Cam products, they tighten and that's it, no movement at all. Comes in different lengths starting at 1' I believe. With the (relatively) newer design options, you can get a good variety of end designs to fit specific needs / configurations.
 

hg1027

Member
Maybe a combination of the bungee for keeping things from moving, and a rope/strap an inch or two longer for if the bungee breaks?

Day to day, you want to avoid rattling and sliding around, which the bungees do. Once the impact has happened and the bungee has broken you're really just worried about not flying around.
 

Willsfree

Active member
Bungee cords are a no no...they can snap back and take out your eye...
I had heard and ignored this fact until I got my sunglasses cracked by one.
Threw all of them away and bought Rok Straps for the motorcycle; https://rokstraps.com/
I use cam straps on my van roof rack to hold two kayaks, full time year round.
I'm going to switch out to the roller cam straps to get a smoother cinch adjustment.
 

greg.potter

Adventurer
Bungee cords are a no no...they can snap back and take out your eye...

You need to be VERY careful using bungee cords. Three or four years ago I had one snap back and hit me in my left eye. I lost sight in that eye for a couple of weeks - it could have been much worse. This is a lesson that you really don't want to have to learn on your own!
 

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