This folks is why we don't use 2 in nylon straps

YIKES!

The straps, chains, or whatever are a concern, but what about the braking of the entire unit?  Looks like he did a mark on the car in front as well?  Did the trailer brakes work????

I'm a chain guy also, The above photo is a good example of why we all need to do a good job  securing our loads and that is we could easily get killed by our tractor when it joins us in the front seat. In other words we should look at it selfishly .

That Ford has a good set of rear springs...doesn't even sag! 

See it all the time on I44, straps have there place, but not on tractors,, capital Dumass doing this job

Car in front is a write off, truck too. Tractor and trailer look like the only survivors. Sure hope no one was hurt. I zoomed up the picture, car ain't pretty.
Sad really, even ONE chain and binder on the back to the tractor might have prevented it.
Jay

I looked it up. FMCSA regs state minimum of 4 tie downs with a WLL of 5,000 lbs and the total WLL of the tie downs has to equal at least 50% of the load weight. Nothing on what I read about chains VS straps. Technically 4 2" straps would qualify on most of what collectors haul.
AaronSEIA

Thank God for that topper or it would have been in the cab|
Chains and ratchet binders. My 720. Is the. Only thing that gets 2" ratchet straps. Rated at 5,000 lbs

I'm going to disagree with you on this. Chains are more foolproof, but not much safer. Sharp edges don't matter to a chain, they matter a lot to a strap. If you strap the tractor down without putting the strap over any sharp edges, they will hold what they're rated to hold. One thing to consider too, whether using a chain or a strap, is that the straps on each end of the tractor should be rated for the weight of the tractor, because 2 of the chains/straps aren't doing anything when you rear end somebody. That said, If I had the option between using chains or straps, I'll take the chains. I have so many straps around, that when I do haul something, I over secure it anyways, so catastrophic failure isn't likely.

The truck rear-ended the truck in front. That scene wasn't going to play out well, no matter how the tractor was tied down. The tie down chain or strap is only as good as the tie down point. Unless the tie point on the trailer is factory welded, I wonder how strong it would be if it had to hold an impact like that?

I dont see parts of straps in the picture either. if the straps fail the ends would still be attached,  throwing one chain over would not have held any better than the one strap did. I use two chains or two straps on both ends. straps must be tight and attached to fixed points or chains on each end. looping a chain over the draw bar will ruin the chain just not as noticable as it ruins a strap. Ive tied thousands of tons of cargo on aircraft. using both straps and chains. either will hold the load if used properly.

Edited by Dakota Dave - 22 Sep 2017 at 7:34am

WD45Diesel57 wrote: around these parts if you rearend someone your at fault for not paying attention unless you can prove his brake lights were not functional!

Yep!

was the brake set? (not sure if that can even be done on this tractor)

Depending on what happened in front of the truck they will go after the truck for inattentive driving or following to close, unless a dash cam or witnesses prove that he was cut off by the car.

OK, so we see 1 strap, so that means the load was secured that way?