6 Best Hand Truck Straps For Securing Hay Bales That Old-Timers Trust
Secure hay bales with straps old-timers trust. We review the 6 best ratchet and cam buckle straps designed for heavy loads and reliable, everyday farm use.
We’ve all been there: you’re halfway between the truck and the barn, hit a small bump, and watch your perfectly stacked hay bale tumble off the hand truck. Suddenly, a simple chore becomes a frustrating mess of broken twine and scattered flakes. The right strap isn’t just a convenience; it’s the difference between a smooth job and a wasted afternoon.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, this site earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you!
Stop Spilling Bales: Choosing the Right Hay Strap
Moving hay with a hand truck is a game of stability. A square bale is an awkward, top-heavy load that wants to shift and fall at the first opportunity. A good strap is your third hand, pinning the bale securely to the frame of the dolly.
The choice comes down to a few key factors. You’ve got your buckle type—ratchet for brute force, cam for speed. You have strap material—weather-resistant polyester or simple, stretchy rubber. And you have width, which determines how the pressure is spread across the bale.
Don’t fall into the trap of using old bungee cords. They stretch, they slip, and the hooks can snap back dangerously. A proper strap is designed for tension and security, providing a solid, non-elastic hold that a bungee cord simply can’t match. A dedicated strap is an investment in safety and efficiency.
Secure your gear with the HORUSDY 31-Piece Bungee Cord Assortment. This set offers various sizes of durable, elastic cords with scratch-resistant hooks, plus tarp clips for versatile fastening.
Keeper 1" Ratchet Strap: The Classic Workhorse
When you need a bale to stay put, no questions asked, you grab a ratchet strap. The Keeper 1-inch model is a staple in barns everywhere for a reason. Its mechanical advantage lets you crank down and truly compress a loose bale, making it a solid, unified block with your hand truck.
The polyester webbing is tough, resisting abrasion and sun damage better than cheaper materials. You can leave it on the dolly out in the weather without much worry. This is the strap you use when moving heavy, dense bales of alfalfa or navigating a bumpy, uneven path to the loft.
The tradeoff for that power is speed. Threading the strap and working the ratchet takes a moment longer than other options. There’s also a real risk of over-tightening. Too much force can break the bale’s twine or even bend the frame of a lightweight hand truck.
Erickson Cam Buckle Strap: Quick and Secure
For quick trips back and forth, the cam buckle is king. Unlike a ratchet, there’s no cranking involved. You simply pull the loose end of the strap to tighten it, and the spring-loaded cam bites down to hold it in place.
This design makes the Erickson cam buckle strap incredibly fast. Moving a dozen bales from the trailer to the stack? You can secure and release each one in seconds, which adds up over the course of a chore. It provides more than enough tension for a standard, well-tied grass hay bale on level ground.
The limitation is pure physics. A cam buckle’s holding power is dependent on your ability to pull the strap tight by hand. It won’t compress a fluffy bale the way a ratchet can. If your bales are exceptionally heavy or you’re going up a steep incline, you might want the extra security of a ratchet mechanism.
The Fortis HD Rubber Strap: Simple and Tough
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best one. A heavy-duty rubber strap, like those made by Fortis, is the definition of foolproof. It has no moving parts to jam with hay dust or rust over time. You just stretch it, hook it, and go.
These straps are nearly indestructible. Made from EPDM rubber, they withstand sun, rain, and cold without cracking or losing their elasticity. For a quick, "good enough" hold on a standard bale, nothing is faster. It’s the tool you grab when you just need to move one bale from the shed to the pasture.
The main drawback is its lack of adjustability. The tension is what it is. A single-length rubber strap might be too loose for a small bale or dangerously tight for an oversized one. It’s a one-size-fits-most solution that prioritizes speed over precision.
US Cargo Control 2" Lashing Strap: Wide Grip
A standard one-inch strap can sometimes act like a knife, digging into the side of a soft or loosely packed bale. That’s where a wider strap shines. The US Cargo Control 2-inch lashing strap distributes the holding force over a larger surface area.
This wider grip is perfect for preventing damage to your hay. It’s less likely to cut into the flakes or put too much stress on the twine, which is especially important for valuable alfalfa or first-cut hay. The simple lashing buckle works like a cam buckle, offering a good balance of speed and security.
While excellent for its purpose, a two-inch strap can feel like overkill for smaller, tightly-packed bales. The extra material can be a bit bulky to handle and thread through the hand truck frame. Think of this as a specialized tool for protecting the integrity of your most important bales.
The Farmhand Cinch Strap: No-Fuss Security
A cinch strap is elegance in its simplest form. It’s typically a length of webbing with a simple metal buckle that uses friction to hold the strap in place. You feed the strap through, pull it tight, and the angle of the buckle locks it down.
This design is incredibly reliable and fast. There are no springs or gears to fail. It’s a fantastic middle ground, offering more adjustable tension than a rubber strap but being quicker to use than a full ratchet. It’s perfect for securing solid, uniform bales that don’t need to be compressed.
The Farmhand Cinch Strap’s primary role is to hold, not to squeeze. It’s not the right choice for wrangling a loose, "fluffy" bale that needs to be compacted to become stable. For well-made bales on a routine trip, however, its simplicity is hard to beat.
Rhino USA Ratchet Straps: For Heavy Loads
Secure cargo with this 4-pack of heavy-duty 15-foot ratchet straps. Featuring a 2,200-lb break strength and safety-lock S-hooks, these straps ensure reliable transport for motorcycles, appliances, and more.
When you’re dealing with the heaviest, densest bales or moving over seriously rough ground, you want zero doubt about your load. Rhino USA straps are famously overbuilt. Their robust ratchet mechanisms and thick webbing provide a level of security that brings real peace of mind.
Using one of these on a single 50-pound hay bale is like using a sledgehammer to drive a thumbtack, but that’s the point. You know it will not fail. This is the strap to use when a dropped bale would mean rolling down a hill or into a muddy patch. The confidence it provides is its key feature.
Of course, this heavy-duty nature comes with tradeoffs. They are more expensive, heavier, and bulkier than standard straps. The powerful ratchet also makes it very easy to apply too much force, so a gentle hand is needed to avoid damaging your hay or equipment.
Technique & Care: Making Your Straps Last
The best strap in the world is useless if used improperly. Always wrap the strap around both the hay bale and the vertical frame of the hand truck. Securing it only to the bale itself does nothing to prevent the whole load from shifting and tipping over.
A little maintenance goes a long way. After a dusty job, take a moment to blow the dirt out of your ratchet or cam buckle mechanisms. Don’t leave straps lying in the mud or in direct sun for months on end. Periodically inspect the webbing for fraying or cuts, as a weakened strap can fail under load.
Ultimately, the smartest approach is to have a couple of different types on hand. A quick cam buckle or cinch strap for everyday jobs and a beefy ratchet strap for the heavy, awkward loads. Matching the tool to the task is the core principle of efficient farm work.
A dropped bale is more than just an inconvenience; it’s lost time, wasted energy, and potentially ruined feed. Choosing the right strap for your hand truck is a small detail that pays big dividends in safety and efficiency. It’s a simple tool that lets you work smarter, not harder.
