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Old 12-02-2016, 04:07 AM   #1
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StrapTek system...

I did a search on the forum and came up with Zero results when typing in the search work "Straptek", so I'm going to pose the question here.

When I bought my new T.H. last month, I also purchased from etrailer, a Blue Ox Sway Pro weight distribution hitch. So far, getting the spring bars up and into position has been a royal pain in the bottom/rear section of my body. I do realize that once the trailer is down on the coupler and latched, that it is necessary to raise both the trailer and the rear end of my truck in order to facilitate and make easier, the spring bar hook up.....but it's still a pain and I was looking for something easier. So, fast forward to the Straptek system. This system replaces the chains and pull up pieces that come with the Blue Ox, with a heavy duty winch with a 3300 lb working load strap with a 10,000 lb breaking capacity. It allows you to "winch" up the spring bars to the correct position for the tongue weight that you have. To release, and this is the important part for me, you simply put a wrench on the hex nut that is on the winch, push down on it and release the catch while controlling the wrench. If you need to reposition the wrench, you simply release the catch and allow it to hold the remaining spring bar tension until you reposition you wrench.

The Blue Ox has a cam system that once you raise the spring bars into position, it "cams" it over the centerline of the pull up device and holds it there with a locking pin. The problem lies in the fact that when releasing it, you have to pull the wrench in the same direction that the spring bar is getting ready to pull....with a lot of force. With the Straptek, it seems to be a lot more of a controlled release without the dangers of the thing getting away from you......

So.....as I stated at the start of my post, I did a search here and found nothing.....has anyone on here used the Straptek system. I'm going to install mine this weekend and see how it goes.
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Old 12-02-2016, 06:40 AM   #2
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Re: StrapTek system...

Quote:
Originally Posted by xrated View Post
I did a search on the forum and came up with Zero results when typing in the search work "Straptek", so I'm going to pose the question here.



When I bought my new T.H. last month, I also purchased from etrailer, a Blue Ox Sway Pro weight distribution hitch. So far, getting the spring bars up and into position has been a royal pain in the bottom/rear section of my body. I do realize that once the trailer is down on the coupler and latched, that it is necessary to raise both the trailer and the rear end of my truck in order to facilitate and make easier, the spring bar hook up.....but it's still a pain and I was looking for something easier. So, fast forward to the Straptek system. This system replaces the chains and pull up pieces that come with the Blue Ox, with a heavy duty winch with a 3300 lb working load strap with a 10,000 lb breaking capacity. It allows you to "winch" up the spring bars to the correct position for the tongue weight that you have. To release, and this is the important part for me, you simply put a wrench on the hex nut that is on the winch, push down on it and release the catch while controlling the wrench. If you need to reposition the wrench, you simply release the catch and allow it to hold the remaining spring bar tension until you reposition you wrench.



The Blue Ox has a cam system that once you raise the spring bars into position, it "cams" it over the centerline of the pull up device and holds it there with a locking pin. The problem lies in the fact that when releasing it, you have to pull the wrench in the same direction that the spring bar is getting ready to pull....with a lot of force. With the Straptek, it seems to be a lot more of a controlled release without the dangers of the thing getting away from you......



So.....as I stated at the start of my post, I did a search here and found nothing.....has anyone on here used the Straptek system. I'm going to install mine this weekend and see how it goes.


I have a Equalizer system and I use the electric jack to raise trailer and vehicle, and then bars slide in easily. Best upgrade for trailers that don't come with them.


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Old 12-02-2016, 06:57 AM   #3
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Re: StrapTek system...

I agree, and mine has a 3500lb electric jack, but it is still very difficult to get the 3 1/2 chain links showing when trying to do the pull up. In almost every time that I have hooked up, which is 6 or 7 times since I bought the trailer, I have to hook up with 4 1/2 links showing when I'm done pulling it up. Then, I go back and release one side while the other side is holding the load, and try to get my 3 1/2 link position. Once that is done, then I release the other side and try to get it to the 3 1/2 position. When I'm using the electric tongue jack, it is really straining to get enough height to make the pull up as easy as possible. The trailer has 1360 lbs of tongue weight and I'm using the 1500 lb spring bars from Blue Ox.
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Old 12-02-2016, 09:27 AM   #4
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Re: StrapTek system...

That sounds like a good product. I never heard of it before you mentioned it.
But, using my experience and the want to know not just guess. I tried this current trailer in 3 different link positions and towed around, than to a scale. The tightest was back breaker and had the bars a bent. Both things no good. The other 2 easier link positions showed a 100 lbs front axle weight difference from each. And no change in steering or stopping. Actually handling of the truck while pulling my trailer is not any difference than without except stopping at freeway type speeds, it is longer. It is slower to take off from stop to freeway speeds but that is not what I am talking about.
So, after all that said. Maybe you are pulling the bars up more than needed. You may not know until you try.
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Old 12-02-2016, 09:58 AM   #5
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Re: StrapTek system...

I just finished installing them about 5 minutes ago and..............OMG.....it is sooo much easier to do than with the Blux Ox pull ups. I was using a 1/2 drive ratchet wrench with the 1 1/8" socket for the winch and talk about smooth....not effortless, but overall a lot easier than the B.O. system. I will probably start using my extended handle length 1/2" drive ratchet instead of the regular one for a little extra leverage, that will make it a little easier on "the old man" in me! I haven't obviously towed with it yet, but overall, I'm well pleased. The Straptek system even has a slotted adjustment so that you can rotate the winch head assembly to make sure that the strap is winding up on the spool evenly and not off to one side or the other.
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Old 12-02-2016, 11:19 AM   #6
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Re: StrapTek system...

With the straps how to know how high to raise and to make sure each side is the same?
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Old 12-02-2016, 01:46 PM   #7
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Re: StrapTek system...

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With the straps how to know how high to raise and to make sure each side is the same?
I hooked the trailer up with the Blue Ox pull ups one last time before I started this job. I got them up with 3 1/2 chain lengths showing, like B.O. suggests, and the length that I've been using. I then took a measurement from the top of the spring bars to the bottom of the "A" frame where the pull ups are mounted. That distance was 4 3/4". When I put the new Straptek winch type pull ups on the A frame, I ratcheted them up so that the same (or very close to it) measurement was achieved and then took a white paint stick and marked the strap at Top Dead Center. I will probably cut a small piece of wood about 4 5/8" long and when I ratchet up the spring bars, use the small piece of wood as a "go"/"no go" gauge. My wife came out after I got done and I showed her how it works and she was impressed at how easy it was compared to the original setup.

Oh, and by the way, with this system, all I had to do was lower the trailer onto the ball where it was just fully seated and not starting to push the back end of the truck down, ratchet them up as described above, then retract the tongue jack fully and that's it. No raising the trailer and truck with the tongue jack and struggling to get the correct chain link in the slot of the pull up.
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Old 12-02-2016, 01:56 PM   #8
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Re: StrapTek system...

Had several TTs before 5ers and found raising the truck/trailer makes the Equalizer 4 point go on EASY. Realized an electric jack raises the tongue higher than the standard crank jack in addition to being a lot easier on the body. SSOOooo ~~I screwed a piece of 2x10 to the top and bottom of two side by side 4x4s to drop the jack foot on. I could really get that jack high and the bars slid in nice. It is still a lot easier hitching my 5er today though.............
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Old 12-29-2016, 02:22 PM   #9
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New to the forum and had no idea there was a Keystone RV Forum. COOL! I did read xrated's post about Straptek and wanted to say that I was probably the first person to buy one when it first cam out. It just made sense.
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Old 12-29-2016, 03:28 PM   #10
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Originally Posted by Still go once View Post
New to the forum and had no idea there was a Keystone RV Forum. COOL! I did read xrated's post about Straptek and wanted to say that I was probably the first person to buy one when it first cam out. It just made sense.
Welcome to the Keystone forum....our little piece of the interwebs. Lot's of good/great info on this site and personally, being a newbie to RV's, I've already learned a lot here.

So, are you still liking the StrapTek system? I just recently had to hook up my T.H. and move it out of the way while the crew put up the carport that I ordered.....and I still smile when I hook it up with the StapTek instead of the Blue Ox. pull up system.
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Old 12-29-2016, 04:30 PM   #11
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God helps us to forget the miserable stuff like chains and snap-up hooks, my ex wife
whatever her name was. Anyway, Straptek is very easy to use. The part that amazes me "still" is the sway control. Here's a tip; keep the hooks pulled up to the bottom of the winch. If it hits the bottom of the winch that's OK. I had a Sway Pro years ago but sorry to say it didn't control as well as I had hoped. You will not be disappointed with Straptek.
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Old 12-29-2016, 05:29 PM   #12
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Strap Tek

You know with all these great reviews and remarks, I'm going to have to have to add this to my must buy list for 2017. Sounds like a great system that makes hooking up even easier. I'll let you know when I get them and try them out.
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Old 12-29-2016, 06:07 PM   #13
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Yea but $160+? That's a lot of money after spending over $500 for the BO. How much do these straps really control sway? They do look easier than the chains.
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Old 12-30-2016, 03:54 AM   #14
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In my opinion, and I'm certainly NO expert in this area, but the StrapTek straps perform the same exact function that the original B.O. chain system pull ups do.....only using straps rather than chains. So what's the difference (other than the StrapTek being miles ahead of the original in doing the pull up and the release) between the two. The chains are not rigid and neither are the straps, in regard to any side to side movement of the chain or strap when hooked up to the spring bars. If, after hooking up the trailer and tensioning the spring bars, you take your foot and push on the spring bars sideways, you will get a slight amount of side to side movement....and that happens with either method. So I guess, in my eyes, they are very close to being identical. Bottom line in my opinion, and again, I'm no expert, but the strap system just does the same thing the chains do, only much easier for hooking up and unhooking. The sway, or maybe I should say the anti-sway is more a function of the hitch itself, especially if you use the StrapTek to pull the spring bars up to the original amount of tension that the B.O. pull up system did.
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Old 12-30-2016, 05:17 AM   #15
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With chains the manufacture recommends no less than 5 links between the hook and the spring bar. This length can be 7 to 9 inches. The hook, in the pulled up position, is above the top of the frame rail. Straptek is mounted on the side of the frame and reduces that pendulum length by 5 inches. With the strap hook winched up to the bottom of the winch that length is reduced to 3 inches. What the chains are trying to do is keep the spring bars from moving fore and aft but at 7 to 9 inches this doesn't work well. If you were to hook up your trailer with the hitch and turned 90 degrees( jack knife) and measured the fore and aft movement you would find that the bars move no more than 2 inches. The 3 inch pendulum length that Straptek achieves is as short as you can get. Thus controlling the sway by restricting that bar movement. WOW! is that clear as mud? As I mentioned, I've had them for three years now and have studied them intensely out of not understanding how it works. So you forget how easy it is to use because the sway control is so mind consuming.
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Old 12-30-2016, 06:53 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Still go once View Post
With chains the manufacture recommends no less than 5 links between the hook and the spring bar. This length can be 7 to 9 inches. The hook, in the pulled up position, is above the top of the frame rail. Straptek is mounted on the side of the frame and reduces that pendulum length by 5 inches. With the strap hook winched up to the bottom of the winch that length is reduced to 3 inches. What the chains are trying to do is keep the spring bars from moving fore and aft but at 7 to 9 inches this doesn't work well. If you were to hook up your trailer with the hitch and turned 90 degrees( jack knife) and measured the fore and aft movement you would find that the bars move no more than 2 inches. The 3 inch pendulum length that Straptek achieves is as short as you can get. Thus controlling the sway by restricting that bar movement. WOW! is that clear as mud? As I mentioned, I've had them for three years now and have studied them intensely out of not understanding how it works. So you forget how easy it is to use because the sway control is so mind consuming.
I'm not 100% sure I understand everything you said, but the cliff notes tell me that the StrapTek system is good at helping reduce/almost eliminate sway........is that about it in a nutshell?
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Old 12-30-2016, 12:50 PM   #17
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In a nutshell, Absolutely! I never became prolific when it comes to writing but the last few years have taught me a lot about hitches and how they do or don't work. I have educated opinions about every hitch manufactured. I could bore you to death.
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Old 12-30-2016, 01:07 PM   #18
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In a nutshell,I could bore you to death.
Please don't, my first wife already took care of that!
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Old 12-30-2016, 01:15 PM   #19
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Hey, xrated
What are you towing?
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Old 12-30-2016, 01:51 PM   #20
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Hey, xrated
What are you towing?
It's in my signature, but here is the info....
2011 F250 Crew Cab 4x4 6.7 Diesel
2017 Keystone Fuzion Impact 303......it's a 34 1/2' long Toy Hauler. I'm using a Blue Ox Sway pro 1500, as the tongue weight on the Impact is listed at 1360 lbs.....obviously the StrapTek system too.
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