Winch Bars: Tips for the Flatbedder

If you haul flatbed loads as part or all of your trucking career, you know that a winch bar is essential to tightening your straps and reducing the slack in your chains. However, if you are entering the field of flatbed trucking, you may not know that there are actually three varieties of winch bars.

The Strap Variety

The style of winch bar used to secure straps has a straight bar and an angled end. When inserted into the webbing winch's ratchet, the angled winch bar allows you to tighten your straps. The angled winch bar is the most common type of winch bar; however, if you are using ratchet straps or chain binders, you need an additional winch bar(s).

The Chain Variety

For reducing the slack in chain binders, you need a different type of winch bar. This type of winch bar contains a slot where you can insert the rod of a chain binder and tighten. In many cases, the tightening end of a chain binder winch bar is on the opposing end of a webbing strap winch bar.

The Ratchet Strap Variety

For ratchet straps, you need an addition type of winch bar: the ratchet strap type. The ratcheting winch bar allows you to tighten ratchet straps for those unusual loads where webbing straps alone may not be sufficent or the trailer does not have webbing winches.

With the combination and ratchet strap winch bars, you will be well prepared to take on whatever loads flatbed trucking throws at you. Flatbed trucking can be a rewarding career if you enjoy a variety of challenges including over-dimension and multi-part loads that require strapping, tarping, and chaining.