How to Tie The Ultimate Truckies / Truckers Hitch?

Is this the ultimate Truckies hitch? Another in my ropes series looking at the truckies hitch. This time demonstrating a knot shown to me by Phil Fehring and Alan Upton. This version allows you to tie the knot in the middle of a rope, without having to go around the load rail. The advantages are that you can put multiple hitches on the one long rope and you can also use your excess rope to create a "block and tackle" system to put even more force into the hitch.
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[@stevec3745]

Thanks for the vid Tim, can you please ask the boys at Whites how much we should strain the kink out of the lines of prefab mesh, does over straining reduce the integrity of the fence??

[@SMart7751]

As far as truckers’ Hitch videos go, this has to be one of the best. Good Job!!

[@jezzamarkham5285]

I used to tie up the occasional load with a driver about 49 years ago when i was 16yrs old!! I had no need to tie it again until now. I'm now in a wheelchair and needed to tie an offroad buggy on a trailer. One watch of your video locked the different versions straight back in my head including coiling! Great video, well explained and good for teaching. Thanks Tim. 🙂👍

[@kemshasan8866]

Onya Tim forgot how to do this knot and kept watching half assed versions, when I saw this one I knew this was the best one

[@canbo7643]

PS. Of the 20+ "trucker's hitch"videos I've watched, yours is the best. Good job Tim!

[@CowboybubPercussion]

Bonus, pass the rope through again in the last loop to basically act like a munter’s hitch to lock the tension as you pull, I personally like to use fisherman’s knots to finish off

[@DartmoorPaul]

Bl**dy brilliant ❤ Love it, Tim. Great video especially for people like me who are newbie-knot tiers

[@RandyRTorres]

Wow this is amazing. Very very cool modification to a trucker's hitch. I almost thought I broke my rope but it was the first hitch that gave out. I recommend throwing a half hitch in that one so it doesn't slip

[@ThienTran-ly9fi]

by far the best version of the trucker hitch in use. Thanks from Canada

[@countrycraftsman5110]

Hello from Oregon Tim great video. I have been using a single purchase trucker for 50 years. It has served me well but i will now be at least doubling down thanks to the very simple method you just shown me. THANKS!

[@FarmLearningTim]

Thanks for taking the time to say G’day mate. Hope it serves you well!

[@supercomp7078]

That's the knot I was taught back in the late 70's when I was a delivery driver, I've used it to pull stumps and have never had it break down under load, for a small diameter rope wrap it 3 times

[@wilmot0]

Best video I’ve seen on the truckers hitch with a block and tackle system, brilliant 👍❤️

[@rogerf3622]

Great video. Answers the question of what to do all the extra rope AND make the line tighter. Brilliant.

[@vsvnrg3263]

i wasnt expecting this. i need to remember this one. that first knot, started with the s shape, may have been a knot i had an argument over. 20 years ago, we were tying down motorbikes and a mate made a knot i'd never seen and, i get funny about other people touching my ropes, told him to "bugger off i'll tie it". he stood his ground and said this was the knot he secured truck loads and tarps to trucks that were driving overnight from london to edinburgh. he did it for a living. i really could not argue with that. this is the first time since, that i have seen a knot like it if this is the knot.

[@snells-window]

Thanks Tim, I'll give it a try! As another point to your always starting to anchor your knot on the drivers side; it's good practice when getting out of your car to walk towards and around the back, and when getting into your car to walk around from the front. That way you are always walking towards any oncoming traffic.

[@naomionlynaomi893]

Hey Tim, love the use of multiple loops to get mechanical advantage. My preferred option for the first loop knot is an Alpine Butterfly - easier to tie when you know how, and doesn’t come under if the rope gets slack.Also I would usually finish of with a round turn and 2 half hitches, easier to maintain the tension on the rope vs a clove hitch. Thanks for a great channel,

[@toomuch9762]

You cant do this with an alpine butterfly

[@martijns.9774]

@@toomuch9762 You can, the loop can take a load in both directions relative to the rope it is on. Can also use a directional eight. Advantages are that they don't get undone without load. Disadvantages are probably that they are harder to untie, and that they distribute the force of the pull a bit less than the knot Tim uses, as the loops on Tims knot go around two strands, and do so two times, instead of going around one strand one time. Presumably this weakens the rope to a lesser degree. (Although I don't actually know how well his knot holds under extreme tension, or even what it's called.)

[@toomuch9762]

@@martijns.9774 no you cant. You will not have the second hitching loop to continue on off an alpine 🤦‍♂️

[@martijns.9774]

@@toomuch9762 Sure you do. Rope comes up from over the truck. Make a butterfly on the side as high up as possible. Loop sticks out to the side. Remaining end goes down, pull a bight around the load rail exactly as he does, hang that little bight through the butterfly loop, take the bottom end of the rope that didn't go around the load rail, put a bight of that up through the previous loop, etcetera. It really is the exact same thing. The only difference is the knot used to make the first loop. He uses something I don't know the name of, but an alpine butterfly or directional eight both are able to carry load parallel to the standing rope. Directional eight would be the somewhat cleaner option for a purely parallel load.

[@toomuch9762]

@@martijns.9774 not going to pull as good as all his loops are facing downward. The butterfly will be facing sideways with the pull going downwards. I see what you’re saying but this way is just easier especially for untying

[@nschm873]

An interesting variation of a trucker's hitch. The "Bee Hive Hitch," a name I just learned, that you start with is like one step away from making a Dragon Loop Knot. Just pull on the standing line a little to see which loop starts to get smaller. Then take the other loop and push it through the "shrinking" loop. Do that on the side of the knot where the tail of the two turns resides. That will capture the tail between those two loops. Also, if you make the Dragon Loop, you don't need to make the awning/crossover of the second turn. It is not needed in the Dragon. This fixed loop knot won't fall apart if tension is released and is pretty easy to untie. Breaking the back of the knot is done by pulling the two loops apart giving you back the bee hive version. So you probably only need the bee hive version for extreme loads. If that is the case you are probably putting the initial standing loop through multiple separate turns, not just the one shown here. And the force you are creating is counted as one for the initial line plus two for each additional pulley added. So 1 plus 6 (for the three pulleys) minus whatever additional friction all tha extra rope is causing.

[@zfolwick]

As it stands (I just used this, with S-hooks to reduce friction), to hoist roof 8'x8'x6" rafter panels I'd built on the ground. To raise it up to the top of the barn I'm building I attached 3 ropes: one to hoist the left side, one for the right, and one in the middle for safety if either one snapped. I hoisted them as far as I could, then removed the hitch and moved it further up the line. Took me about 45 minutes to hoist it about 15 feet up.

[@brianthesnail3815]

Hi Tim. I commented on your other video but this one is quite close to the way my father taught me. Yes very useful if you have a really long rope that you are going to pass back and forth over and over the top of a long truck trailer maybe half a dozen times. Do this a few times along the length of the truck. I was a very low weight child but my father would send me out to load bales on big tractors and trailers on my own and bring them back over rough ground. I could get a rope really tight and yet with the pulley effect its possible to snap a rope. Bales never fell off though.

[@zfolwick]

This is an awesome new take on a great knot!

[@MarkBourne1958]

Used this hitch in the RAAF over in Butterworth MSIA back in the early 80's. Good to see you passing it on.

[@pjfmachine]

Hi Mark. Thank you for your service. Interesting that the RAAF, were also teaching it. As mentioned I have 2 out of 4 brothers in the ADF Army. They are 16 years apart, but they both tie that knot. Regards Phil

[@gognaz]

Hello from Butterworth, Penang :) Good knowledge

[@garrycrawford8548]

A good old RAF MT Dolly knot there!...keep them knots coming, handy to know various restraining techniques

[@tylerbridgeman757]

I wish that I knew what I know now when I was younger . This is a must watch. I just recently saw a KZbin short and this dude was towing a boat that was loosely tied and had to brake hard suddenly, and the boat went through the owners truck that was towing it. Luckily nobody got hurt, but the boat and truck were considered TOTALLED!

[@811stever]

Great instruction, and easy to listen to... Thank You!

[@starforged]

This is the way I have tied this knot and never had a problem. Great video. I buy a lot of wire but I use it to make things like tomato stands, hooks, bucks and other things.

[@anthonypaynter828]

Love that idea of taking up the excess rope & making it even more secure at the same time. Also saves my wife's eyes from me throwing the excess rope over the car until all the excess rope is used up! Good one.

[@philipmyers7687]

If you wrap around the last hitch twice instead of feeding the working end through and then straight to the clove hitch, you will give yourself basically a black wall hitch that will keep the line from loosing tension as you finish off with securing knots (I.e. clove and half hitch as shown).

[@southern_merican]

I am more than thankful for you making this video, i might never buy another ratchet strap ! Lol

[@FarmLearningTim]

Haha take a look at my ratchet strap videos next!!!

[@iusoloman1527]

Nice,.. I usually have a lot of excess rope. Definitely have to learn this pulley system.

[@philfehring9611]

I'm told that initial part of that knot, where you wrap the two wraps around the loop is called a "Bee Hive". Its the knot they teach in the Army here, according to two brothers that where in the Army. Regards Phil.

[@pjfmachine]

I've noticed in my travels, that knot is popular with Truckies in the West Australia & Northern Territory. Apologies for saying Bull Dust on this channel. But that red dust, you might see on the show "Outback Truckers". Your ropes get covered in it. It can lock up some of the conventional knot methods. Joy of that Bee Hive, once its slack, you just shake it, and it falls apart, saving time at un-loading. Best regards Phil.

[@jimbo1231969]

Thanks for the great video. Just one point to clarify, however: 3 loops gives you (not "triple the pull strength" as stated, but rather a 2^2 = ) four (4) times -- i.e. quadruple the tension. Use the number of pulleys as the exponent to two (2) to obtain your multiplier. Thus, zero (0) loops results in a multiplier of (2^0 = ) one (1); one loop gives you (2^1 = ) two (2) (i.e. double the tension); two (2) loops gives (2^2 = ) four (4) times the tension; three loops would give (2^3 = ) eight (8) times the tension; and so on. The easy way to think of it is that every time you add a pulley, you double what you had before you added that pulley. One can then more easily see how you can break your rope (or crush your load) when you get excessive with the loop-count..

[@FarmLearningTim]

Cheers mate.

[@jimbo1231969]

@@FarmLearningTim My apologies. Not only did I get it wrong by somehow having two (2) loops in my brain instead of three (3), I just now read comments from 11 months ago, where this was already pointed out. You were kind to not call me a knucklehead. I really look forward to visiting Australia once air travel is back to normal. ... or maybe I'll go by train... ;)

[@fireant128]

Great knot thanks for showing it in detail have seen it done but did not know how to tie it 👍🏼

[@FSU1HEMI1]

Best knot I've seen

[@JBullock54]

Great video, Tim! I’ve learned a lot from your channel. Something I have to mention is that I have never seen that method on the clove hitch before, until I started watching your videos. Before I got into tying loads, I would always flip the rope over the front when tying the clove hitch, which was used for other applications. It totally makes sense why you would come around the back when tying loads, though

[@TheMadMagician87]

Okay, this is similar to Whyknot's video on the truckies hitch, but with some clever use of a longer rope for more mechanical advantage. Good stuff, thanks for sharing!

[@bigviper64]

This method might be used to pull a heavy object out of a ditch or to LIFT an object up into a tree etc. Thank You for showing us this method of the Truckie Hitch.

[@kurtschmidt5746]

Huh. I like your 2nd wrap around the Bell Ringer's Knot. Really slick. Thank you. For your anchor, on the driver's side, might I suggest a Spar Hitch?

[@ropejunki2067]

Well I wished I'd seen this video before your other on truckie hitches because you covered my comment. Excellent video mate!

[@FarmLearningTim]

Cheers mate.

[@kevinroberts2014]

Hi again from the UK, where we ,or mostly all have gone to ratchet straps and lost the knowledge of tieing down loads with ropes , but I always do what's known as a cat's paw shown me first by a farm merchant lorry driver. Also notice your tie bar ,so easy for your rope to slide round,as we only have under body hooks which make the rope snag the flatbed

[@paulbork7647]

Minor point, but a pulley doubles the force, so absent friction considerations, your three loops have 8 time the force, not three. One loop doubles the force, two doubles the double or four times the force and three doubles the four time force to eight times the force. => One notes that you need to pull the rope much farther to get this increased force. = > One can also use another method for the first loop, such as a slip knot or bowline. Thanks for a good video.

[@ectyka]

“Nawice and Toyt!” 💪🏽😎

[@craigwillis3372]

Great video Tim.....the fencing team from Albury are great !! Thanks again mate !!

[@toddcaskey9984]

Great job as always

[@rogetpaii3565]

That was a very smart idea thanks for that

[@modi138]

Nice job mate . Tell Ellen the same .

[@toomuch9762]

Thats hitch is a monster

[@slcoareschannel1943]

This is brilliant! Thank you so much!!!

[@ashleydavidson8715]

G'day Tim. Will Whites show us around their wire making factory. Love to see it being made 😁

[@christopherwyles8304]

You mention that you’ve effectively created 3 pulleys, which you state therefore gives 3 times the pull strength of a single rope. Actually, since the 3 “pulleys” act directly on each other and each “pulley” is doubling the pull strength, you have actually set up a 2x2x2 compound pulley system. ie: you are increasing the pull strength by a factor of 8. Hence the reason one has to be careful not to snap the rope.

[@pjfmachine]

Your mechanics / physics is correct 8 : 1. If they were pure pulleys. There's friction loses, significant rope on rope

[@christopherwyles8304]

@@pjfmachine Indeed, I agree with you completely. I was trying to get the point across, though, that it’s a lot more than 3:1 and hence the built-in rope breaking potential.

[@TJB270]

⁠@@christopherwyles8304 I’m afraid to try it with synthetic nylon rope. Seems like something you’d wanna use natural fiber rope for, like he was using in the video

[@bowlineobama]

@@pjfmachine I believe it is 9:1, because first loop at the front gives 3:1 and the following are compound system. I counted 9:1 using T method.

[@philfehring9611]

@@bowlineobama There is no way, your getting 3;1. There is only two leg's of rope to each knot.

[@a191015]

Thanks for the video

[@HazimePencil]

I can hear a kookaburra screaming with laughter in the background at the end of this video and that’s awesome.

[@FarmLearningTim]

That’s Ralph. My biggest bloody critic....

[@marksatterfield]

I like that I don't have to cut the rope! What could cause the first loop to fail? Water? Something else? ... Noticed that if the load gets just a little loose, the knot opens up. Is there a way to prevent that?

[@marksatterfield]

I've been using a bowline as the standing knot

[@amandapeters3124]

I’d actually like to hear the answer to the question you posed Tim about when to use soft, medium, high tensile wire. Love your knot tying videos but I have to watch them ten times and then hold my tongue in the exactly right spot to tie them myself at home. You need printable instructions or a slow-mo button on your vids 😂!

[@amandapeters3124]

Tim Thompson OMG I didn’t know that!!! Unfortunately slow-mo (x.25) didn’t help my knot-tying much because I was too busy laughing my guts out 😂😂😂!!!Glad to hear that you enjoying making the videos as much as we enjoy watching them! Keep ‘em coming.

[@anthonypaynter828]

I'm with you Amanda, although several times I must have had my tongue on the wrong side, because I had to replay the vid loads of times before I got it right!

[@garsonprice3441]

KZbin has a keyboard shortcut for slow motion- Hold Shift, hit < key to slow to 75%; again for 50%, again for 25% normal speed. Use > to increase speed.

[@countrywideag-steve275]

good job Tim great vid

[@AH-nw8qg]

Great. Love your knots vids, 👍

[@boggsie62]

When you pull tight does it stay tight without having to pinch the rope while you tie the clove hitch? A true trucker's knot stays tight as soon as you're done pulling slack.

[@refaiabdeen5943]

Cheers Mate

[@chadjarrett4452]

What is the best way to go back and forth over a load using tie down bars along the trailer, preferably not pulling the rope through each time???

[@CPMJunkRemoval]

Hey from Georgia!!

[@S0LO9]

Hey Tim, can you show us how to properly put a long roll length of wire on a wire spinner? Cheers. Keep up the great content.

[@EiderJChavesC2]

Great! Thank you for sharing!

[@kyalsauer1408]

Trying to learn the truckie hitch as I'm going for my HR licence did a lesson in March but unfortunately I failed the load restraint.

[@FarmLearningTim]

Keep goin’ mate

[@kyalsauer1408]

Yeah I'll get some rope tomorrow or Friday and practice

[@gud2go50]

You can tie down my load anytime, Cowboy!😂😂 Just trolling ya a bit! I’m not even gay! Great information my friend from down under. I have been trying to get this truchies hitch down, but it is frustrating when videos shown people tying it with one hand while holding a beer!😖

[@FarmLearningTim]

I’m just gonna back away slowly and not make eye contact…..

[@rogierverheyen427]

Great tip!

[@New2chem]

I wish the dolly knot worked with paracord

[@charlesmaunder]

That is an awesome knot. I have been playing with the trucker hitch, trying to maximize mechanical advantage. This looks like the simplest and most effective way to do it. Thanks. Do you know what ratio you end up with?

[@bowlineobama]

This has to be more than 3:1 advantage. It looks like a compound system. I am thinking that it is a 9:1 advantage. If you use T count method, it is 9:1 advantage.

[@larrybaxter7771]

Great video Tim! I really like this method as you can triple your pull strength. Quick question though: do you work with chains/binders much when securing loads? If so, would you mind making a video on how to use them? If not, no worries! Keep up the great videos

[@FarmLearningTim]

I don’t use chains and dogs, but I’ll keep this in mind next time I’m around a friendly machine operator!

[@larrybaxter7771]

@@FarmLearningTim sounds good!

[@charlesbarden2680]

Hey, great videos. Who makes that truck bed? I would like try and find it here in the US. Thanks.

[@FarmLearningTim]

fleettrades.com.au/ Tell em I sent you!

[@Venom-nk8nd]

Thanks🇵🇬🇵🇬🇵🇬

[@markswisher1152]

Thanks

[@bigviper64]

Could we use this hitch to pull a car out of a ditch? If it gives us 3 times the pulling strength, it seems like we could use it this way. Or, to pull a stump out of the ground etc.

[@FarmLearningTim]

There are some great winches available for little cost these days mate. I’d recommend that. Much safer

[@Jaden48108]

Sweet!

[@claytsjohnston1253]

Thanks for this! I don't suppose you have any tips on tying loads down to utes without tie down bars (like a dual cab)?

[@FarmLearningTim]

G’day mate. You can use the same methods just remember that tub points are not rated highly

[@claytsjohnston1253]

@@FarmLearningTim thanks mate

[@tb2704]

Fantastic video, Tim! Really like this idea. Would it be possible to tie a triple shank though? Just curious

[@FarmLearningTim]

Possible but I’ve found the ropes start to bind up

[@tb2704]

@@FarmLearningTim makes sense, thank you

[@SunnybraeCroft]

Old dogs have time to rest, young pups are always chasing their tail.

[@victordiaz4853]

Muy bueno min 1:55

[@ThePaulArnott]

Good hitch system, but may be illegal in some states. Hemp rope is not load rated. Neither are those rails you're tying to.

[@FarmLearningTim]

I’m also prohibited in some states 🤣😂😅

[@StephenStHill-si7en]

Do you sell load rails?

[@carvedwood1953]

If only I could find a truck like that lol.

[@FarmLearningTim]

2000 Hilux

[@carvedwood1953]

@@FarmLearningTim Where do you find a bed like that?

[@MegaRiffraff]

👍🏻

[@johnkranias3458]

Ropes are now illegal in NSW, everything must be strapped down. Not having a go at you but pointing out what's legal and what's not.

[@canbo7643]

FYI: A single fixed pulley gives zero mechanical advantage. It only changes the direction of pulling.

[@Jay-vr8it]

looks like it takes too much rope and uses too much space. wonderful system non the less

[@saratht5124]

Poli sanam

[@bricksanddirt1917]

Math nerd here, you didn't triple your advantage, you multiplied it by 8.

[@bricksanddirt1917]

Not counting friction.

[@FarmLearningTim]

Of which there’s a fraction too much of.....

[@jacquesjacobs6871]

G'day Tim. How do I contact you and whites to propose a little project for a video series? Jacques

[@FarmLearningTim]

Get onto me via my website mate

[@jacquesjacobs6871]

@@FarmLearningTim Cheers mate. 👍

[@4952dob]

This won't work with the crappy blue tie down rope from China; you'll need to buy the good stuff. Here in the UK the blue nylon rope is ubiquitous and totally useless for haulier's hitches. Good vid though, great hitch for hay making.

[@bigears4426]

Ratchet straps killed rope

[@phillipdavis1533]

Passenger side??? Oh yeah, I forgot, y'all drive on the wrong side 😁👍✝️🇱🇷🇱🇷