jscherb
Expedition Leader
With the demise of all of the Jeep, 4wd and Offroad magazines in the U.S., maybe we have to turn to Land Rover magazines to find out about new products? I came across this ARB spare tire tie down strap in the most recent issue of Land Rover Monthly:
I guess this isn't technically a Land Rover Idea for a Jeep, but since I found the idea in a Land Rover magazine I'll post it here.
I carry an extra spare on my roof rack on many expeditions and I secure it with a stud that bolts to the rack. A y-strap seems like a simpler way to do it, so I decided to make a similar strap.
I looked for detail photos of the ARB strap but not finding any I found a similar product from Rhino Rack and there were good detail photos on etrailer.com.
Making one takes one ratchet strap (Home Depot, $2.58: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-15-ft-x-1-in-Ratchet-Tie-Down-Strap-with-S-Hook-FH0867/312994491) and one ring (Michaels, $5.19 for a pack of 4 with a 20% off coupon: https://www.michaels.com/product/antique-brass-round-rings-by-artminds-10632125), and two cam buckles (from Harbor Freight Cam Buckle Tie Downs, $6.29 with 30% coupon: https://www.harborfreight.com/set-of-4-6-ft-x-1-inch-combo-tie-downs-47727.html). Total = $14.06 plus tax. Add one more ratchet strap and another can be made because there will be 3 rings and two HF tie downs left over after making the first one, so two for $16.64 or $8.32 each. BTW the Rhino product sells for $50 on etrailer.com (https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Rhino-Rack/RRRSWS.html), so you can make two for $8.32 each and give one to a friend.
The webbing that came with the HF tie downs was thicker than the webbing from the Home Depot ratchet (what can you expect from a $2.58 ratchet strap?), so I used the HF webbing. I also used the hook from the HF straps because they were a little larger. I unsewed the stitching holding the HF straps together to avoid cutting the ends off, this maximized the length of orange webbing available for use.
A sewing machine is required to sew the loops that hold the cam buckles and ratchet to the ring but any sewing machine should be able to sew through the two layers of webbing.
Here's the completed assembly compared to the Rhino version:
The full strap:
Securing a tire to the rack:
You may have noticed one improvement over the Rhino version that can be seen in these photos: I added short lengths of velcro I had in my scrap box to secure the loose ends of the straps. I sewed it so it can slide along the webbing to be positioned where needed. Details of the velcro:
Here's why I did that, this is another photo from the etrailer web site. Seems like the wrapped loose ends would always be working loose at speed.
It's a pretty quick project, an over 80% savings from a commercial version plus it's got the velcro improvement.
Also works nicely if I want to carry a spare on the tongue of the trailer.
I guess this isn't technically a Land Rover Idea for a Jeep, but since I found the idea in a Land Rover magazine I'll post it here.
I carry an extra spare on my roof rack on many expeditions and I secure it with a stud that bolts to the rack. A y-strap seems like a simpler way to do it, so I decided to make a similar strap.
I looked for detail photos of the ARB strap but not finding any I found a similar product from Rhino Rack and there were good detail photos on etrailer.com.
Making one takes one ratchet strap (Home Depot, $2.58: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-15-ft-x-1-in-Ratchet-Tie-Down-Strap-with-S-Hook-FH0867/312994491) and one ring (Michaels, $5.19 for a pack of 4 with a 20% off coupon: https://www.michaels.com/product/antique-brass-round-rings-by-artminds-10632125), and two cam buckles (from Harbor Freight Cam Buckle Tie Downs, $6.29 with 30% coupon: https://www.harborfreight.com/set-of-4-6-ft-x-1-inch-combo-tie-downs-47727.html). Total = $14.06 plus tax. Add one more ratchet strap and another can be made because there will be 3 rings and two HF tie downs left over after making the first one, so two for $16.64 or $8.32 each. BTW the Rhino product sells for $50 on etrailer.com (https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Rhino-Rack/RRRSWS.html), so you can make two for $8.32 each and give one to a friend.
The webbing that came with the HF tie downs was thicker than the webbing from the Home Depot ratchet (what can you expect from a $2.58 ratchet strap?), so I used the HF webbing. I also used the hook from the HF straps because they were a little larger. I unsewed the stitching holding the HF straps together to avoid cutting the ends off, this maximized the length of orange webbing available for use.
A sewing machine is required to sew the loops that hold the cam buckles and ratchet to the ring but any sewing machine should be able to sew through the two layers of webbing.
Here's the completed assembly compared to the Rhino version:
The full strap:
Securing a tire to the rack:
You may have noticed one improvement over the Rhino version that can be seen in these photos: I added short lengths of velcro I had in my scrap box to secure the loose ends of the straps. I sewed it so it can slide along the webbing to be positioned where needed. Details of the velcro:
Here's why I did that, this is another photo from the etrailer web site. Seems like the wrapped loose ends would always be working loose at speed.
It's a pretty quick project, an over 80% savings from a commercial version plus it's got the velcro improvement.
Also works nicely if I want to carry a spare on the tongue of the trailer.
