The popular tie down system on semi trailers are E track tie down system, which consists of E Tracks and e track tie downs, E tracks come in with a few different length, such as 2′, 5′ and 10′, and there are two different setups , horizontal and vertical. The E Track tie downs have quite a few varieties, such as rope tie off, D ring with E fitting, cam buckle straps with E Fitting, ratchet straps with E Fitting, wood beam sockets, wheel chocks which usually seen with E Tracks installed on the truck floor for bike or vehicle tie down and there e track cargo bars with e fittings at both ends. But any E Track tie downs need E Track to be installed to work, so the most important thing is to install the E Track properly.
How to setup E Tracks and install them safely? Here are some tips.
Now we’re going to mount the E Track onto the trailer wall, first thing we do is to find the wall studs, this is same for the floor installation. The wall studs are a big channel with a few flat spots to put the plywood on, we will do the same to the E Track and bridge the stud and the E Track, now we need to use screw to hold the E Track in the place, the trick is the same as any other handy jobs. For Safety reason, you’d better use deep threaded screws, put one screw into each hole on the e track, and run the track as possibly far as you can, the will spread the load across long distance and it’s safer. Remember that the there are only about 2 inch to outside wall, so don’t over assert the screws.
When finish setup E Tracks, you will need to test it , just insert a rope tie off into the E Track, drag it all you want, see if there are any weak spots, loose ends or whatever feels not well secured, if there are any problems fix them before you put the system into real use.