It’s no secret within the flatbed trucking industry that applying and removing trucking tarps can be a long, frustrating process. It takes time away from your ability to be on the road, so having efficient ways to work with your trucking tarps is incredibly important for all haulers! Bungee straps are perfect tie downs for your trucking tarps, but these flexible bungee cords also have flexible uses!
While bungee straps aren’t recommended for professional and heavy loads, they’re perfect for tying down lightweight cargo. You can safely secure non-professional cargo by anchoring one end of your strap to the inside side or back of your rig, and bringing the bungee around your cargo to pull it tight and anchor the other end around your item(s)!
How Do You Use Bungee Straps?
As with all your trucking equipment, ensuring that your bungee cords are up to your standard and retain a long life span is dependent on proper use and storage. The basic steps when using our adjustable bungee cords are as follows:
- Inspect each bungee cord before use for signs of wear and tear.
- Thread each bungee strap through D-Rings or other tie-down points in your tarp, cargo, or trailer rig.
- Do not overstretch your bungee cords, and do not exceed their recommended working load limit.
- Pull the bungee AWAY from your body when hooking and unhooking them.
- Wear eye protection, like safety glasses, in the event of recoil from the bungee straps.
- Engage in proper and safe bungee cord storage – away from natural/weather elements and in a dry setting.
- Ensure you do not pull your bungee straps too tight. A benefit of working with elastic bungee cords is the natural slack they provide when unexpected stress occurs – like a harsh wind or sudden cargo shift. If your cords are pulled to taunt, you risk either snapping the D-rings or grommets they’re attached to or damaging the bungee cord hooks.
As we mentioned above, our heavy-duty bungee cords are versatile in their uses, so we’ve listed how to use their most common applications below!
Tarping:
When it comes to truck tarping, bungee straps can take some time when tarping or securing your loads. Here’s a helpful guide based on what we’ve seen and heard fellow truckers do:
- Pin each corner of your tarp with a single heavy-duty bungee cord, as well as an elastic cord wherever you see a D-ring or grommet. The amount is dependent on how you want to fasten your tarp. Do not secure this first round of bungee tie downs to your trailer or rig, just to your D-rings and/or grommets.
- Go around your tarp again and secure every other bungee strap.
- Do the third round in the opposite direction to wrap up any remaining cords.
This process allows tension to be evenly distributed between your adjustable bungee cords and eliminates the need to undo and readjust bungee straps or your tarp!
Load Securement:
When comparing bungee straps to traditional chains or winch straps, it’s important to note that bungee cords are not DOT regulated to be used for cargo securement. You should not be using bungee cords for professional or heavy equipment – like vehicles or farm equipment.
However, if you’ve ever been in a situation where you’re transporting oversized items in a vehicle that has a small bed/trunk, you can use bungee cords to hold the trunk or bed closed!
- Hook one end of the bungee cord through the trunk’s latch, while the other end latches underneath the rear bumper.
- Try to do a test drive after attaching your adjustable bungee cord to ensure the load is secure, to avoid the risk of losing any of your cargo while on the road!
There are many ways you can apply bungee cords in your day-to-day life: hook your bungee straps through bags or buckets to prevent spillage during transport, custom and lightweight cord wraps, and make-shift shelves or organizers.
Different Uses of Bungee Straps:
Our adjustable bungee cords are designed around stretch, strength, and having durable adjustment points. Because of this design, they are extremely versatile in their usage!
- These adjustable bungee cords have a hook on each end so they can easily stretch over small objects or secure lightweight cargo and tarps before transporting them.
- They can secure specialized gear such as toolboxes and equipment used for working on vehicles or boats. The bungee cord elastic is also wonderful for bundling items like lumber, kindling, and equipment for easier storage or carrying.
- Secure tools and equipment to the walls of your garage, sheds, or enclosed trailers to keep tripping hazards off the floor and keep your equipment organized and easily accessible!
- The elasticity of our bungee straps is perfect for keeping lids on cans or boxes and holding open doors or gates!
- These bungee tie downs can also be used as custom wraps to bundle cords, straps, and cargo chains so they can be easily stored, organized, and avoid being knotted or frayed; proper storage of these items improves their longevity!
Tips for Using Bungee Tie-Down Straps:
While our bungee cords can be used in a variety of applications, here are five tips that are useful no matter where or how you plan to use our Mytee bungee straps:
1. Bungee Cords and Straps are NOT the Same
While we have been using the terms interchangeably in the industry and this article, there are some minor differences between them. Bungee straps are a solid piece of rubber with eyes on either end for the insertion of crimped hooks. Bungee cords consist of one or more elastic strands encased in a cotton or polypropylene sheath. This difference is important depending on what you need for hauling or storing supplies. Bungee straps offer more strength, while Bungee cords are better suited in elasticity.
2. Bungee Straps Absorb Shock
If you’re ever in a situation where both cargo control and shock absorption are important and necessary, our bungee straps are perfect for you! The rubber our bungee straps are made of is extremely energy absorbent and recommended as replacements for chain or winch strap. We recommend these heavy-duty bungee straps for flatbed truckers or haulers that travel through environments that have added travel stress, like rough weather conditions and uneven roads.
3. Bungee Shelves, Chairs, and More
Bungee straps have been used in a range of odd and creative tools, including furniture! Lightweight bungee straps can take the place of older, broken, or uncomfortable vinyl to create or fix furniture and chairs that are just as strong. You can also hook a bungee cord across an open shelf to prevent items from falling and crashing to the floor below; all you need to do is put a nail, screw, or hook on either the side of the shelf or wall so the cord has something to latch onto!
4. Bringing Loose Items Together
What’s more frustrating than having a variety of small items or cargo you need to transport? Lacking any feasible way to keep them stable and prevent these smaller items from rolling around the back of your truck or trailer. Bungee cords can help bundle these items together AND tie down these bundles to the floor or walls of your garage, trailer, or trunk/bed.
5. Securing Your Home-on-the-Road
Like most haulers, a truck can feel like a second home when you’re on the road for long periods. Because of this, it’s known for truckers to bring along items like microwaves, coffee pots, crock pots, and trash cans into their sleeper cab. Securing these items to your cab isn’t something most haulers may think about or consider a priority, but you never know when you may suddenly slam on your brakes or hit a nasty pot-hole. Rather than risk your belongings flying off shelves or toppling over, keep your home away from home neat and organized with our adjustable rubber bungee straps!
How Many Bungee Straps Are Needed to Secure Flatbed Cargo Shipment?
Securing your cargo properly is a matter of safety and maintaining a reputation. Losing or damaging cargo if it shifts or falls from your trailer will result in a financial loss at least and bodily harm at worst. To ensure you’re keeping your loads firmly in place during transportation it’s best to follow Part 393 of Federal Regulations, which govern how items are to be blocked, braced, or tied down on flatbeds and enclosed trailers or vans.
However, these laws only apply to straps and chains that have working load limits. According to law, it’s recommended you use at least FOUR tie-down straps or an amount of tie-down straps that equal at least HALF of the cargo’s weight.
Since our bungee cords and straps lack working load limits and are not DOT regulated for cargo securement, the number of bungee cords you need depends on how secure you want your tarp to be while covering your cargo. It is not recommended to use bungee cords for professional or large equipment securement.
Most of our customers tend to use bungee cord elastic for tying down tarps. However, as we demonstrated in this article it’s incredibly useful to have an assortment of bungee cords handy to ensure you always have the right one for the job! With their versatile uses, you can apply a bungee strap to just about any situation, both in and outside the truck!
Mytee Products carries a full selection of bungee straps in different sizes and at great prices! We make sure to keep a full inventory of bungee cords and straps for our customers because we know how much truckers benefit from having an ample supply of bungee cords on deck! If you have any questions about our products and their uses, feel free to contact us!
