View Full Version : Knot for securing loads
emptybucketman
14th September 2007, 01:40 PM
There is a knot that is commonly used to secure loads on trailers/utes and trucks where the ends of the rope can be pulled to tighten the tension. Does anyone know the name of the knot and how to tie it?
bitingmidge
14th September 2007, 01:50 PM
It's a truckie's hitch
https://www.vicscouts.asn.au/Scouts/Docs/TruckiesHitch.pdf
http://www.pnc.com.au/~wells/Knots.html (down the page a bit)
It's easier to be shown than to have to work it out, but have a go.
Cheers,
P
:D
Kaiser Soze
14th September 2007, 02:02 PM
....Sheep Shank?
emptybucketman
14th September 2007, 02:19 PM
Yep..that's it, the truckies hitch...now to give it a go!!
silentC
14th September 2007, 02:21 PM
Yep truckie's hitch is the one you want. Midge's first link is the one I use.
keithvan
14th September 2007, 04:22 PM
Its called a half hitch, if you double it up, its a double half hitch.
It was very popular before the web type ropes came into use.
bitingmidge
14th September 2007, 05:03 PM
Sorry keithvan, a half hitch (or a double half hitch) is what some would use to tie the other end before tensioning the line.
http://www.iwillknot.com/half-hitch/
For me, I always use a bowline, as it can be undone no matter how much tension has been on it.
http://www.iwillknot.com/bowline/
Cheers,
P
:D
outback
14th September 2007, 05:20 PM
Whilst a truckis hitch has been around since rope rails, and secured brazillions of loads succesfully, it is not the most goodest knot which can be used.
The mostest correct knot is a running bowline on the bight.
bitingmidge
14th September 2007, 05:36 PM
True, oh King! Now find a pic of one!
P
:D
outback
14th September 2007, 07:09 PM
See Attached, sorry the flash wasn't working too well. :q
Waldo
15th September 2007, 11:50 AM
G'day Emptybucketman,
A trukies hitch like everyone else has said, another knot and simple but very effective on the opposite side is a clove hitch, bowline like Bittingmidge said works just as well.
http://www.inquiry.net/outdoor/skills/b-p/knots.htm
Oh the many hours spent at night learning how to tie knots from my Dad who was a scout in the days when scouts were scouts and carried knives and did real scout things. I could never get my head around how to do a sheep shank.
All I can remember now is a clove hitch, bowline, reef knot and a truckies hitch. Wish i could remeber all the rest of the ones he tried in vain to teach me. :(
mic-d
15th September 2007, 12:18 PM
I like the truckies hitch, but for some reason I just can't teach a certain person how to do it.:roll: But as an alternative for someone knotingly challenged, if you make a make a loop in the rope with a figure of eight knot, in the same place as you would do the hitch, then pass the working end through that you have created the same effect as the truckies hitch.
Cheers
Michael
batcat
15th September 2007, 01:17 PM
video of the knot i use
YouTube - How to tie a Trucker's Hitch=
Dan
16th September 2007, 02:15 PM
The truckies hitch in Midge's first link is different to the one in batcat's movie (it's not just the number of times the top loop is twisted either). Which one is the real one?
And where does that leave you if you (like me) tie it like Midge's link but twist the top loop three times like batcat's vid?:?:D
Carry Pine
16th September 2007, 10:47 PM
I think what 'emptybucketman' needs is the truckies knot (or hay hitch) as described in bitingmidge's 2nd link (scroll down page).
In the video we see a more stable loop, sometime people put more than the half hitch shown in bitingmidge's link because the half hitch has a tendancy to slip out and you end up on your BTM.
For anyone over 50, my dad taught me this knot when we tied down rolls of coir? matting -used to cover cricket pitches, in a trailer.
Carry Pine
bitingmidge
16th September 2007, 11:10 PM
The knot in my first link, is the one I use.
It's completely stable once the load is applied, but needs a little tension on it while tightening. If it's going to let go, it will be in the first tightening move.
The advantage of that one, is that it can be undone. Once you do the double loop with twist business, and you've driven a few thousand k's in the rain, the loop may be very difficult if not impossible to undo.
If you really don't have the confidence (and I'm not the only one to have relied on them for hundreds of thousands of kilometres), use the bowline-on the-bight method, as the bowline also will always undo once the tension is off it.
The easy way to tie a truckies knot is not easy to describe, maybe I'll do a movie one day! It really only takes a few seconds.
Cheers,
P:D
emptybucketman
18th September 2007, 10:46 PM
:2tsup: Many thanks. I've been practising the truckies hitch, clover hitch and bow line.
Since we're on the topic of knots, what's a good knot for securing the sash cord to the weight for a double hung sash window?
Tools
19th September 2007, 07:45 PM
figure of eight knot is the go.
Tools
Terrian
20th September 2007, 10:28 PM
It's a truckie's hitch
https://www.vicscouts.asn.au/Scouts/Docs/TruckiesHitch.pdf
I double twirl the loop rather than a single twirl, need to be carefull when applying the load as the 'knot' can slip, resulting in sore knees or elbows :-)
Gypsy
1st February 2008, 06:27 PM
Just showed someone your video and I think he felt Christmas had arrived. Been trying to learn that knot for years.