How to Measure Webbing Width and Strap Length Before You Order

Yellow webbing with a diagram showing where to measure width and length

Half the strap questions we field start after the strap arrived — "it doesn't reach," "there's too much left over," "the webbing is wider than my slot." All of it is preventable with a tape measure and three checks before you order.

Check one: webbing width

Width is measured flat across the webbing, and it has to clear everything it passes through: the ratchet's drum, an E-track fitting's slot, the throat of a winch. The common widths run 1" (light duty), 2" (the workhorse), and 3"–4" (heavy haul). If you are matching existing gear, measure the webbing you own, not the hook — hardware is often wider than the strap it carries. Width also drives strength; the strap-choosing guide pairs widths to load classes.

Check two: the path, not the gap

Strap length is the length of webbing, hook to hook — and the mistake is measuring the straight-line distance between anchor points instead of the path the strap actually travels: up the trailer side, over the load, down the far side, with working slack for the ratchet to take up. Run your tape along that whole route. Over-the-load jobs on flatbeds are why 27 feet became the standard flatbed length, and why "just barely reaches" is the worst length a strap can be: a ratchet needs a tail to tension against, and a strap fighting for its last inch never tensions right.

Check three: understand what the pieces add

A ratchet strap is two parts. The fixed end (the short piece sewn to the ratchet) adds roughly three feet of reach on our builds. The long end threads the drum and does the adjusting. When you order a custom build, the length you enter is the long working length — the builder handles the fixed-end allowance and the sewn fold-overs at the hardware, so what you specify is what you get in usable reach. That is also why a "20-foot strap" from two different makers can measure differently: some count hardware and fixed ends, some do not. We publish it plainly so there is no guessing.

Sizing rules of thumb

  • Pickup beds and small trailers: 10–15 feet covers nearly everything.
  • Flatbed over-the-load work: 27 feet standard; go longer for tall or wide loads.
  • Wheel and axle lashing: short and direct — usually 8–12 feet with the right hook.
  • When torn between two lengths, take the longer one. Excess rolls up; missing feet do not appear.

Then order it to the number

The whole point of the custom strap builder is that the length is yours: enter the measurement you took, pick the width and hooks, and we sew it to that spec. No rounding to whatever a package decided. If the measurements have you second-guessing the whole setup, the Help Me Choose tool works from your trailer and load instead.

Always rig within the rated Working Load Limit. Inspect straps and chain before each use and remove them from service if cut, gouged, excessively worn, corroded, or deformed.

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