A cam strap and a ratchet strap both hold a load down. They differ in how they get tight. You pull a cam strap by hand and the buckle bites. A ratchet strap has a lever that cranks it tighter than your arm can. Pick by how tight the load needs to be, and how much squeeze it can take.
/CAM STRAPS VS RATCHET STRAPS: THE SHORT VERSION
A cam strap pinches the webbing with a spring-loaded cam when you let go of the tail. It gets as tight as you can pull and no tighter. Use it for bags, cases, boards, anything a strap could crush.
A ratchet strap winds the webbing onto a spool with a lever and locks it there. It goes much tighter. Use it for heavy, rigid loads.
US Cargo Control, which sells both, puts it this way: the choice usually comes down to the working load limit, or how fragile the load is.
/HOW TO USE A CAM BUCKLE STRAP
Feed the tail back through the buckle while you press the thumb release. Pull it to tension. Let go of the release and the cam locks. To undo it, press the release again.
Your hand does the pulling, so there's a ceiling on how tight it gets. US Cargo Control sees that as the reason to use one: you can't over-tension a cam strap and crush what's under it.
A standard cam buckle drags the webbing over a fixed bar, and you lose part of your pull to that friction. Rollercam swaps the bar for a roller. Same motion, less friction, and Rollercam says that means a tighter hold for less effort. The buckle is patented, US Patent 6877189B2.
/HOW A RATCHET STRAP WORKS
You crank the handle to wind the strap tight, then lock the ratchet down in its closed position. US Cargo Control lists ratchet straps in 1, 2, 3 and 4 inch widths, usually on polyester webbing because it stretches so little.
That lever keeps adding tension long after a cam strap would have stopped. It's why a ratchet strap can hold a heavy load, and it's also how one crushes what it's holding. US Cargo Control steers light, fragile loads to cam buckles for that reason.
/WHEN A RATCHET STRAP IS THE RIGHT TOOL
When the weight is past what cam straps are rated for. Rollercam's widest strap, the 1.25 inch, has a 550 lb working load. For comparison, the federal cargo rules give unmarked 2 inch synthetic webbing a working load limit of 2,000 lb, and 4 inch webbing 4,000 lb.
Those same rules, written for commercial trucks, want the tie-downs on a load to add up to at least half its weight. They're written for freight, not a personal truck, but the ratio is a useful check.
The shop doesn't carry ratchet straps. If you need one, buy one with its working load limit printed on the tag.
I don't grab a ratchet strap often. It comes out when something has to stay put no matter what: a load in a trailer, or a move. That's when I want it cranked down tight.
/WHEN A CAM STRAP IS THE RIGHT TOOL
Most bags, cases and boards. They're light enough for a hand-tight strap and easy to damage with a crank. Rollercam pitches its 1 inch strap at roof rack loads and gear in the bed.
On my HDJ81 it's Rollercam all round. The gear on the rear bumper is held with Rollercams, and so is the gear inside. The reason is how easy they go on and come off.
/WORKING LOAD LIMIT: THE WEAKEST LINK SETS IT
Under the federal rule, a tie-down's working load limit is the lowest rating of any part of it, buckle or ratchet included, or the rating of the anchor it's hooked to, whichever is less. A 550 lb strap on a thin tie-down loop is only as strong as the loop.
Rollercam's published numbers by width:
- 0.75 inch: up to 95 lb of holding force. Rollercam gives this one as holding force, not working load.
- 1 inch: 350 lb working load.
- 1.25 inch: 550 lb working load.
/WHAT SIZE CAM STRAP DO YOU NEED?
Pick the width by the load:
- 0.75 inch for small stuff. Rollercam names camp gear and motorcycle gear. Sold in 2-packs and 4-packs, 1 to 6 ft.
- 1 inch for most of the truck. It's the strap Rollercam started with, in nine lengths from 1 to 20 ft.
- 1.25 inch for heavier, bulkier loads. The extra width is extra bulk, so for camp gear the narrower straps pack smaller.
Then the length. Measure the path around the load and back to the anchor, and pick a length with some to spare. A strap that's too short is useless. A long one rolls up.
/CAM STRAPS WITH HOOKS, LOOPS OR CARABINERS
The end decides what the strap can grab:
- A straight end threads through or around whatever you're tying to. There's no hardware on it.
- A loop end is a sewn loop that wraps a fixed anchor: a roof rack bar, a roll cage, a trailer rail. It needs something to wrap. For a bare eyelet or D-ring, use a hook or a carabiner.
- A hook end clips straight onto a tie-down point. It's the fastest way to hold a load. The hooks are steel and will mark paint and powder coat if you let them swing.
- A carabiner end clips to a D-ring or rail and closes behind itself, so it won't bounce off the way an open hook can. These are tie-down carabiners, not climbing hardware.
Rollercam's loop, hook and carabiner straps come as two straps: a short one carries the buckle, the other is the length you pick.
/CAM STRAPS FOR A ROOF RACK
Loop ends around the rack bars, or straight ends threaded through the slats, keep metal off the paint. The 1 inch strap is the one Rollercam names for roof rack loads.
When I had a roof rack, the tent and everything else up there went down with Rollercams, for the same reason: they go on and come off fast.
/TRACTION BOARD TIE-DOWN STRAPS
Traction boards get their own kit. The Rollercam Traction Board Tie-Down Kit holds boards against a rear-mounted spare tire, not a roof or bed. Rollercam made it with Dustin Smith (@calrunr). Four straps: two 31 inch free ends and two 22 inch buckle ends, plus a velcro keeper for the tail. Double up on smaller spokes, or loop through larger ones to put the buckle where you want it. The ends are sewn loops, so nothing works loose on a rough road, and the boards come off in seconds when you're the one stuck.
Tie-down straps hold a load. Pulling a stuck truck is a different job with different gear, covered in Kinetic Recovery Rope vs Tow Strap.
/ROLLERCAM CAM STRAPS IN THE SHOP
Kitting out a truck from nothing? The Rollercam Overland Strap Kit is eighteen Expedition straps in one ripstop bag, 2 to 15 ft, in all three widths, with straight, loop and hook ends, plus a 2-pack of Roperollers. Rollercam lists the working load as 350 lb.
Filling a gap instead? The 1 inch straight end comes in nine lengths, singly or in 4-packs. Every width and end, including the hook, loop and carabiner straps, is in Road.
Kingston
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