Recommendations for Chain and Binders or Other Tie Downs for Tractor Transport.

[Trustable]

Hi all, I have closed on a house about 2.5 hours north from me and will need to transport the l2501 up there along with smaller outdoor tools/equipment. For the tractor, is there a recommended brand or storefront for chains/binders? I’ve looked online and there is a lot of options that range from I can’t afford that to that’s to cheap to hold a cup of coffee down. I’ve never towed equipment before and will be renting a 16 ft toy hauler/deck trailer. I’ve only done building supplies with straps. For context I’ll be towing with either the ranger or a Penske E550. Either way the combined weight is under the capacity. I would prefer to tow it with the Penske just to have much more room for error.

 

[Tughill Tom]

Here's a good place to start your journey Ratchet, E-Track, and Cargo Tie Down Straps - US Cargo Control
Good Luck.

 

[McMXi]

Hi all, I have closed on a house about 2.5 hours north from me and will need to transport the l2501 up there along with smaller outdoor tools/equipment. For the tractor, is there a recommended brand or storefront for chains/binders? I’ve looked online and there is a lot of options that range from I can’t afford that to that’s to cheap to hold a cup of coffee down. I’ve never towed equipment before and will be renting a 16 door toy hauler/deck trailer. I’ve only done building supplies with straps. For context I’ll be towing with either the ranger or a Penske E550. Either way the combined weight is under the capacity. I would prefer to tow it with the Penske just to have much more room for error.

You could buy some quality ratchet straps to haul that tractor. Chains and binders are nice to have, but if you don't plan on hauling stuff fairly regularly I would think that straps would be the better choice since they could come in handy for other things.

I have a bunch of chains and binders but also have four really high quality ratchet straps that a friend in the US Coast Guard gave me many years ago. He used to fly around in a C-130 and he gave me a set of four of the straps that they used to secure equipment inside the aircraft. I've hauled many things a lot heavier than your L2501 using those straps and they've worked well. But I generally like/prefer chains and binders for most hauling because of the durability when exposed to a lot of use/abuse.

I recently bought a couple of ratcheting binders from this company because I wanted/needed more than just the four Peerless that I have. They specialize in trucking type equipment and the binders I bought are very well made.

https://www.myteeproducts.com/general-cargo-control/g70-chains-binders.html

 

[dirtydeed]

I get most of my stuff from Mytee Products. Website is here:

https://www.myteeproducts.com/?msclkid=03d5c94f11d71a47a31ca05be6c37dd6

There are two types of binders that I use and like

1) Peerless Quick Binders - these are pictured on the right
2) Ancra EZ Binders - pictured on the left. these are all that I use now. They are much faster to use.

Shop around to find them at better prices. Black friday is coming soon.

 

[McMXi]

I get most of my stuff from Mytee Products. Website is here:

https://www.myteeproducts.com/?msclkid=03d5c94f11d71a47a31ca05be6c37dd6

There are two types of binders that I use and like

View attachment 165522


1) Peerless Quick Binders - these are pictured on the right
2) Ancra EZ Binders - pictured on the left. these are all that I use now. They are much faster to use.

Shop around to find them at better prices. Black friday is coming soon.

Yep, those are the same ones I have. I bought the four Peerless binders a few years ago at a local heavy equipment dealer, but took your advice and bought the Easy Ratchet binders through Mytee Product's website.

 

[dirtydeed]

Yep, those are the same ones I have. I bought the four Peerless binders a few years ago at a local heavy equipment dealer, but took your advice and bought the Easy Ratchet binders through Mytee Product's website.

I realize that the EZ Binders have gotten pretty salty lately, so, they aren't for everyone. I just know that when I was digging fairly regularly, I didn't want to mess with regular binders at the end of a long hot day.

The peerless are pretty decent (easy to use) and can be found at a pretty good price occasionally.

 

[Shawn T. W]

One thing you will find with chains and binders are that while a 1/4" grade 70 is more than adequate, lighter weight, and easier to handle ... Bumping up to 5/16" is CHEAPER! My guess is the 1/4" doesn't have a lot of demand, and 5/16" is very common ...

Most truck stops have 2" ratchet straps rated for 3,000+ Lbs which would be fine for your trip, think about where your going to hook both ends, and get the proper ends on the straps.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

2" wide HD ratchet straps will work fine and dandy.
5 (4 for the tractor 1 for the loader, (6 if you have a BH))
Home depot or lowes has them.

 

[Trustable]

Thanks everybody! looks like either straps or chains will work, I’ll do some price comparisons between similar rated chain and straps to see what would serve me better right now. Ideally I would have both but not sure that’s needed yet. I don’t plan to transport a whole lot so as of right now straps seem to be the better option based on what you all say. My only other thing would be if you can use those chain binders as a winch if needed.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

My only other thing would be if you can use those chain binders as a winch if needed.

Simple answer, Nope, they don't work very well for that!

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I get most of my stuff from Mytee Products. Website is here:

https://www.myteeproducts.com/?msclkid=03d5c94f11d71a47a31ca05be6c37dd6

There are two types of binders that I use and like

View attachment 165522


1) Peerless Quick Binders - these are pictured on the right
2) Ancra EZ Binders - pictured on the left. these are all that I use now. They are much faster to use.

Shop around to find them at better prices. Black friday is coming soon.

I have the binders pictured on the right for my 2501.

They work great, but as pointed out above, I think I would go with straps for a “one time” move.

I transport mine on a “quasi-frequent basis” so I chose to switch to chains and binders, but in all honesty I never had a problem/concerns with using straps; and straps are more “versatile” and less likely to damage or scratch things.


Also since you are new to hauling, make sure you have enough “tongue weight” when you transport it.

Personally, I tend to keep my ’tongue weight” on the heavier side of the equation. Too little is a bad thing.

 

[JasonW]

I prefer chains over straps for equipment. But a one time trip/use is different.

One issue is the straps may be rated for the load but the abrasion resistance and lack of tie town points on the tractor and implements.
I wouldn’t run a ratchet strap over the grill guard or over the 3pt and expect it to last/hold up.

I've seen more than one tractor being hauled down the highway with one 2” strap over the floorboard. Even MX sized machines. I’ve also seen people hauling skid steers with nothing at all so there’s that…

And of course different states have different rules about tie downs.

 

[jimh406]

Fwiw, I recently trailered my Polaris Ranger a few days. I found ratchet straps loosened up. Not completely, but a click or two. These were two inch straps.

I think I’d go chains and binders. Sometimes you can find them used on FB Marketplace. Otherwis, check straps fairly often.

 

[chim]

Regardless of what method you go with, weight distribution is important. I had one experience where the trailer started swaying that I don't want to repeat.

 

[Shawn T. W]

If you go with binders, get the ratcheting kind, not the snap chin buster style!

 

[JasonW]

Something else you mentioned that you never towed equipment before, have you towed a trailer before? Or towed with a box truck? Little to no visibility with a short trailer behind one of those.

Do you just have to transport the tractor itself? Any implements? An L series with a FEL on a 16’ trailer won’t leave too much room for weight distribution. I definitely wouldn’t tow it with a Ford Ranger, even the new ones.

Im all for DIY but have you considered having the tractor moved/delivered? Such as a flat bed tow truck?

 

[McMXi]

Fwiw, I recently trailered my Polaris Ranger a few days. I found ratchet straps loosened up. Not completely, but a click or two. These were two inch straps.

I think I’d go chains and binders. Sometimes you can find them used on FB Marketplace. Otherwis, check straps fairly often.

Obviously I have no idea how you secured the Ranger, and I'm not implying that you secured it incorrectly, but I will say that properly securing a vehicle with a suspension system is a whole different animal compared to our tractors that don't have any sprung mass. Tractors are relatively easy to secure with their solid axles and such.

When I hauled the M-1078 over to Idaho a month or so back, I paid a lot of attention to how I chained it down. Admittedly it was easy to secure due to the solid axles and substantial tires with thick side walls, but I did chain it down in the morning when it was cold so that any expansion of the air in the tires would only serve to tighten the chains. Everything was solid as a rock when I stopped in Sand Point and did a quick walk around. Towing a 17,000 lb vehicle that wants to move around on the trailer would make for a very bad day.

As others have said, towing/hauling is a big deal and it really sucks when you get it wrong. Weight distribution, properly secured loads, the ability to stop the load etc. are all critical parts of a safe and enjoyable towing experience.

 

[jimh406]

Tractors are relatively easy to secure with their solid axles and such.

If you look into how to secure a Polaris Ranger, they have designated tie down points and aren't hard to secure either. I don't see how the suspension would be causing the straps to loosen a click or two over and over. Seems like the most likely case is the straps stretched.

Doing a quick search yielded this, but there are other similar posts that say the same thing.

• Expected stretch: Polyester straps are designed with a certain amount of elasticity to absorb shock and hold cargo securely without damaging it. By law, the maximum elongation of a strap is 7% of its total length, with most straps having a lower, acceptable stretch of around 4%.

My point is chains don't typically stretch as much although they can stretch. So if I was securing something that weighed 4 or more times as much (my midsize Ranger is barely over 1000 lbs), I'd go with chains. YMMV.

 

[Trustable]

Something else you mentioned that you never towed equipment before, have you towed a trailer before? Or towed with a box truck? Little to no visibility with a short trailer behind one of those.

Do you just have to transport the tractor itself? Any implements? An L series with a FEL on a 16’ trailer won’t leave too much room for weight distribution. I definitely wouldn’t tow it with a Ford Ranger, even the new ones.

Im all for DIY but have you considered having the tractor moved/delivered? Such as a flat bed tow truck?

I have towed with the ranger before, but mostly building stuff, so pallets of flooring, sheet goods, and small stuff like a riding mower. I have also towed behind a box truck, a car about equal weight and length to the tractor.

essentially no matter what I will have to do two trips, one with the smaller equipment I have plus a box blade and homemade ballast drum, and another with the tractor and loader. I took a measure of the tractor from bucket to the end of the blade, it came out to around 14 feet, so it would fit but I’d rather take the box blade off.

I have considered hiring it out, I also have family much more experienced with towing than I am that will at least help load it and make sure it’s safe - preferably they could tow it as well.

Regardless I wanted to inquire about the tie downs as I feel even if I get a family member to tow it with one of their trailers, it’s good to have around.

 

[Botamon]

My recommendation would be ratchet straps - but get the ones with the chain ends. Much handier to hook around things - and they will not get abraded or cut by sharp edges. I've used these for years now and with the chain ends they don't wear out.