Winter Road Salt and Cargo Hardware: How to Inspect Ratchets, Hooks and Chains for Corrosion

Road salt corrosion on ratchet straps refers to the physical oxidation that happens in winter when snow and frost stick to the heavy-duty tie-down used to secure cargo. During winter seasons, a lot of trucks and trailer tires get affected by snow, which causes corrosion, and the best way to remove it is to spray using rock salt and liquid de-icers. Leaving this equipment unattended can lead to trailer breakdown while you are driving at high speed during transit.

Road salt corrosion can cause heavy rust that eats deep holes into metal and ruins the essential parts that hold your load safe and strong. In this blog, we will be explaining ways that can be used to inspect ratchets, hooks, and chains to prevent corrosion.

When we talk about the hardware affected by salt roads, we will be referring to parts that are made of steel.

How can winter affect these parts? 

When steel hardware is manufactured, the manufacturers cover it with a strong layer of metal to protect it from winter chemicals that can eat away at the protective shield.

By the time the protective shield is gone, the metals will be left naked, which allows them to be exposed to rust.

This causes 3 dangerous problems

Some moving parts get stuck

• When these parts get affected by rust, it forms a buildup in the moving joints, locking the handles and latches and cutting the movement. 

Slipping gears 

• The gear teeth become weak as soon as rust affects them, which makes the thigh straps loosen up during the move. 

Metal breaks easily 

• If the metal is damaged to a greater extent, it becomes thin, creating deep holes, which makes the load loosen up because the strength has been reduced by rust.

Here is a simple guide on road salt corrosion ratchet straps hardware guide, which allows you to know when and where to inspect your winter cargo gear for salt damage and rust.

Ratchet handles 

• Look at the teeth on the wheel: They need to be sharp to lock tight. If they are rusted and smooth, the strap can snap open.

• You have to test the movement of the handles by opening and closing to see if they are moving smoothly. If it's not, or is stiff, it's due to white snow crests. This simply means they are not safe to use at that moment.

• Check for deep rust at the sides of the flat metals, and if you come across peeling rust, just know that part is weak and can break easily. 

Hooks 

• You have to look around and check if there are hooks that are being affected by rust. Without wasting your time, remove them all; they get affected because they cause the movement of the cargo.  

• If rust keeps it stuck open or stuck closed, the hook can easily slip off the trailer and drop your load.

Transport chains 

• Check where links touch, especially inside the loops; salt gathers there and eats away the metal where you cannot easily see it.

• When the chains start to change shape and have some marks, it's telling you to wash the rust so that they remain in good condition to help the cargo sit in one position until the final destination.

• You have to touch the chains to see how rust has damaged them. If you feel some roughness on them, it's telling you that it is rotting and it can break quickly.

Throw away the gears as soon as you notice these problems:-

• When road salt has been eaten deep into steel, leaving it with small craters and causing the metal to peel off in thick, rough chunks of rust and dried road salt that build up on the surface of the metal hardware. 

• When the sharp points of the locking wheel have been affected by rust, leaving them flat and dull, if they are no longer sharp, they cannot hold the locking latch, leading tight straps to loosen up.

• If parts are frozen, it generally means they can not move or hold the straps inside the truck.

• Cracked and bent metal can happen because, on the way, drivers face a lot of sharp corners, which allows the cargo to shift, leading to accidents or falls.

The bottom line is that taking care of hooks, chains, and straps doesn't take a lot of time, but it needs to be done to prevent accidents, protect your cargo and ensure you reach your destination. Taking a few minutes of your time to run a quick inspection of your gear before leaving protects everyone on the highway. 

There are a lot of road salt corrosion ratchet straps hardware questions. Brampton Straps is here to help you know how to wash your gear with fresh water. We are the leading dry van products supplier in Canada. Our experts can explain the safety measures you might need to know and answer all your questions.

FAQ’s

1. What are the protective measures I should take to prevent gear from winter road salt?

After the journey, you have to wash them with clean water to remove the crust and spray them to avoid the formation of rust.

2. How to stop road salt rust from sticking on your tires?

You should get your equipment ready before winter and apply some sprays to block salt and fix the broken parts.

3. Which are the best cleaning products that I can wash with to remove rust from salt roads?

You should use 2 types of cleaning products; first, use a salt neutraliser to remove the rust that sticks to the metal. A commercial rust remover is used to remove the metal rust that has already formed.

4. How many hours does it take to remove the rust and rinse it after washing the metals?

The time taken can not be the same because of the type of rust and the cleaning method you choose.