6 Tarp Strap Vs Bungee Cords For Farm Use That Old Farmers Know

You’ve got a tarp flapping in the wind and a gate that won’t stay shut. You reach into the milk crate in the back of the truck and pull out… what? For a job that simple, the choice between a black rubber tarp strap and a colorful bungee cord seems trivial, but old-timers know the difference is everything. Choosing the right one isn’t just about convenience; it’s about safety, effectiveness, and preventing a simple task from turning into a major headache.

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Understanding Rubber vs. Elastic Core Strength

A tarp strap and a bungee cord are fundamentally different tools because they’re made of different materials. Tarp straps are typically made from vulcanized rubber, sometimes from old tires. They have a limited, powerful stretch and incredible resistance to sunlight and weather. Think of them as raw, brute force.

Bungee cords, on the other hand, have a core of many small elastic strands wrapped in a woven fabric sheath. This gives them a much longer, more forgiving stretch, but it’s also their weakness. That fabric sheath can fray, and UV rays will eventually break down the elastic strands inside, often with no outward warning before they snap.

The takeaway is simple. Use rubber tarp straps for holding things down with high tension. Use bungee cords for holding things together with light, flexible tension. They are not interchangeable, and confusing their roles can lead to damaged equipment or a failed tie-down.

Tarp Straps for Securing Haystack Covers

When you throw a heavy canvas or poly tarp over a winter’s supply of hay, you need it to stay put. Wind is your enemy, and its greatest weapon is "lift," which it creates by making the tarp flap. A flapping tarp will eventually tear itself to shreds on a corner or grommet.

This is a job exclusively for rubber tarp straps. Their short, powerful stretch allows you to pull the tarp taut and eliminate all the slack. Once tensioned, a rubber strap doesn’t give, effectively pinning the cover to the haystack and denying the wind any purchase. You can run them through the grommets and hook them to anchor points or to each other underneath the stack.

A bungee cord would be a disaster here. Its long, gentle stretch would allow the tarp to billow and lift with every gust of wind. This constant movement would not only wear out the bungee cord but would also work the grommets on the tarp, eventually ripping them out and letting moisture seep into your valuable hay.

Bungee Cords for Quick, Temporary Gate Latches

You’re carrying two buckets of feed and need to get through a pasture gate. Fumbling with a heavy chain and clip is a pain. This is where the bungee cord shines as a perfect temporary latch for interior gates that don’t hold high-pressure livestock.

Simply hook one end of a bungee to the gate post and stretch it over to a screw or hook on the gate itself. It’s a one-handed operation that’s fast and efficient. The bungee provides just enough tension to keep a curious goat or a few chickens from nosing the gate open, but it has the give and flexibility needed for a high-traffic area.

Trying to use a rubber tarp strap for this would be pure frustration. You’d have to wrestle it into place every single time, and its high tension would put unnecessary strain on the gate hinges and posts. The thick S-hooks on a tarp strap are also clunky compared to the more nimble hooks on most bungees. For quick access and low security, the bungee is the clear winner.

Use Rubber Straps to Bundle Lumber and Posts

Whether you’re bringing home a dozen T-posts or a stack of 2x6s from the lumber yard, you need that bundle to act as a single, solid unit. If the individual pieces can shift and slide against each other, the load is unstable and dangerous.

Rubber tarp straps are the tool for creating this compression. Wrap two or three straps tightly around the bundle, and they will cinch down with incredible force, effectively binding the loose items into a solid block. They won’t stretch or give, meaning that bundle will stay tight whether you’re carrying it by hand or strapping it onto a trailer.

A bungee cord simply cannot provide this level of compression. It would hold the posts or boards together loosely, but they could still easily slide back and forth. This is particularly dangerous if you’re transporting them in a truck bed, as a sudden stop could cause the entire bundle to shift forward or come apart.

Securing Equipment with Tarp Straps for Transport

That rototiller in the back of your truck needs to be absolutely immobile. The same goes for fuel cans, a push mower, or a small generator on a trailer. Any item with significant weight becomes a dangerous projectile if it comes loose during transport.

This is a non-negotiable job for rubber tarp straps, or better yet, ratchet straps. The rubber’s high tension and non-slip surface grips the equipment and the truck bed, preventing any bouncing or sliding. You need to eliminate all movement, and the powerful, unforgiving hold of a rubber strap is the minimum requirement for the job.

Never, ever use a bungee cord to secure heavy equipment. A hard bump or a sudden swerve can cause the bungee to stretch to its limit, allowing the load to shift violently. Once momentum is involved, a bungee cord stands no chance. It’s the fastest way to damage your equipment, dent your truck, or cause a serious accident on the road.

Bungees for Flexible Temporary Electric Fencing

When you’re setting up a temporary paddock with step-in posts and poly-wire for rotational grazing, you need a gate that’s as easy to move as the fence itself. Bungee cords are the perfect solution for creating a simple, effective electric fence gate.

You can buy specialized bungee gates, or just use a standard bungee cord. Hook one end to your gate-post insulator and the other to the poly-wire line you are using as the gate. The bungee keeps the line taut and electrified but is flexible enough to be unhooked and dropped with one hand. It also has some give if an animal bumps into it, reducing the chance of breaking an insulator.

A rubber tarp strap is far too rigid for this purpose. It has no give, making it difficult to hook and unhook. Furthermore, if an animal challenged it, the sudden, high force would likely snap the plastic insulator right off the post. The flexibility of the bungee is its key advantage here.

Hanging Feed Buckets and Tools with Bungee Cords

Keeping a barn or shed organized means getting things off the floor. Feed buckets, extension cords, and long-handled tools are prime candidates for hanging, and bungee cords are an incredibly versatile way to do it.

Loop a bungee through the handle of a feed bucket and hang it from a stall rail or a nail. Wrap one around a bundle of shovels and rakes and hang the whole lot from a single hook. The elastic nature of the bungee cord allows it to conform to odd shapes and be used in countless configurations for light-duty organization.

Tarp straps are just too clumsy and powerful for these small tasks. Their stiff S-hooks often don’t fit through the handles of buckets or the holes in tools. Using a high-tension rubber strap to hang an empty 5-gallon bucket is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut—it’s the wrong tool for the job.

Why a Farmer’s Truck Should Always Carry Both

By now, the pattern is clear: these two tools serve entirely different purposes. A tarp strap is for high-tension, static loads that must not move. A bungee cord is for low-tension, flexible applications where convenience and give are more important than raw strength.

Thinking of them as "light-duty" vs. "heavy-duty" versions of the same thing is a dangerous mistake. Using a bungee to hold down a heavy load is a major safety risk. Using a tarp strap for a flexible job, like a temporary gate latch, is inefficient and frustrating. They are two distinct tools in a farmer’s arsenal, each with a specific and important role.

The sign of a prepared farmer is a crate or a bucket in the truck bed with a healthy assortment of both. You should have various lengths of black rubber straps for serious work and a tangle of colorful bungees for all the quick, light jobs that pop up throughout the day. Having the right tool at your fingertips saves time, protects your equipment, and keeps you safe.

Ultimately, knowing when to reach for a rubber strap versus a bungee cord is a small piece of farm wisdom that pays big dividends. It’s about understanding your materials, respecting the forces of wind and momentum, and choosing the right tool for the task at hand. Get it right, and your loads stay secure, your tarps stay intact, and your day goes a whole lot smoother.