Secure a Strap Tail
Dealing with the loose webbing left over once a tie-down is cinched, so it can't flap, chafe, or foul the load in transit.
Wind Up Ratchet Straps in Seconds With a Drill and Two Nails
Technique: Wind Straps With a Drill
The Problem
A ratchet strap thrown loose into a truck box works itself into a knot by the next stop. Hand-rolling each one is slow enough that it stops happening around the fourth strap, and a strap left loose picks up grit that ends up in the ratchet mechanism.
The Technique
- Open the drill chuck and set two nails in it side by side, leaving a gap between their shanks a little wider than the strap's thickness. Tighten the chuck on both.
- Feed the free end of the strap up through the gap between the nails.
- Hold the strap under light tension with your free hand and squeeze the trigger slowly.
- Let the coil build against the chuck, guiding the strap so it stacks rather than spirals along the nails.
- Stop at the hardware, slide the coil off the ends of the nails, and tuck the loose end through the coil.
Pro tip: Two sticks or two long bolts do the same job. What matters is a pair of parallel shanks with a slot between them — that's what catches the strap end and turns the chuck's rotation into a wound coil.
Safety note: Run the drill at its lowest speed setting and keep the hand feeding the strap well back from the chuck. Webbing that snags at speed pulls fingers toward the nails fast, and the nail points are exposed the whole time.
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