Once your aluminum trailer is loaded, and before you’ve locked the doors or closed up the ramp, it’s time to anchor your cargo to the trailer.
Why? Start with the most obvious reason to keep your cargo anchored during transit. Secured cargo stays where it’s placed. On an open trailer, this makes the difference between your items arriving safely, and causing a disaster on the road. In an enclosed trailer, unsecured cargo will bang around and sustain damage, delivering an unpleasant mess waiting to spill out when you open the doors. Don’t risk ruining your cargo! Keep items upright, organized, separated, and out of each other’s way by securing those items to anchor points in the trailer.
It’s also important not to have the weight of your cargo shifting during travel. An unevenly loaded trailer can cause instability on the road, and if items are unsecured inside the trailer, they’re sure to redistribute themselves. Don’t get a dangerous surprise on the road with a fishtailing trailer - secure your cargo in place to keep the load distributed evenly.
When you choose an aluminum cargo or utility trailer from ALCOM, anchor points are a given, not to mention a must-have! Each trailer model comes standard with anchor points matched to the trailer’s purpose and size, but you can always up your anchor game by choosing custom options when ordering your trailer.
Learn more about anchor points and get ready to confidently secure your cargo for your next ALCOM adventure!
To connect cargo to trailer, you need something to secure the cargo to, and something to secure it with. ALCOM manufactures and installs the “secure to” portion of this equation, and you bring the “secure with” portion by choosing cargo straps, bungee cords, and the like. You might want to save buying tie down straps for last, once you’ve determined what you’re hauling, which trailer you’re loading it in, and which anchor points you’ll be using!
A few terms you want to get familiar with are ratchet straps, bungee cords and hooks, and cam straps. Depending on what you’re hauling - like motorcycles or ATVs - there are even specially designed tie down straps available for your gear.
Now, what will you attach those straps, hooks, and cords to? Let’s talk about D-rings. Because they’re shaped like a capital D, with one flat side, these handy little rings can sit flush against a surface (like a trailer deck!) while providing a sturdy anchor point for a strap, cord, chain or rope to pass through. They’re a time-tested cargo classic, and when it comes to D-rings, there is no shortage of options available for your ALCOM trailer.
You can get D-rings designed for light duty, heavy duty, or somewhere in between. Get them mounted directly to, or recessed-mounted in, your trailer deck - or they can work together with one of our track options.
Need your anchor points to be here one day, and over there at the other end of the trailer the next? No problem. Add recessed sliding track to the trailer deck and get sliding D-rings installed in the track. Aluminum airline track (or L-track) can be installed in trailer walls or decking; aluminum or steel E-track is also available for heavier applications and can be mounted to the trailer’s walls or deck.
Heavy cargo on board? Upgrade your D-rings from 5000-lb. recessed heavy-duty type to the extra-tough stainless steel or zinc 6000-lb. recessed swivel type. Add powder coating to your slide track package or D-rings for the ultimate in long lasting performance and style.
Hauling motorcycles? You can choose recessed flip-up motorcycle wheel chocks with heavy-duty recessed or surface-mounted D-rings, or get a stainless steel tube style wheel chock.
For winter adventures, get ski tie-down bars for your snowmobiles to securely hold your sleds during transit.
Contractors, we have ladder racks to spare - add them to the roof of your trailer and easily access them with a ladder to the roof and our catwalk system. Plus, each ladder rack features pre-installed D-rings.
On open trailers, a rub rail with stake pockets around the trailer deck’s perimeter also enables anchor points. Use the stake pockets to affix anchor points and keep your cargo under control.
No matter what you’re hauling, ALCOM’s tie down options will help you keep moving forward.
Use the cabinets in your enclosed aluminum trailer to help secure items. Having cabinets available is a versatile option, since you can use them for anything from clothing to camera gear, ski boots to tool boxes. Coat hooks, wardrobe cabinets, clothing rods, and base or overhead units are available.
Most of our enclosed trailers can be outfitted with cabinets to help you keep everything organized on the road. Read more about cabinet options or take a walk-through of some of our favorite cabinet features!
If you have a knack for construction, or have the budget to hire a pro, your cargo trailer can become a fully custom mobile tool shed. Or a custom food truck, backcountry adventure base camp, dog grooming business on wheels, or - well, you get the idea! The possibilities are unlimited if you choose a custom solution for your trailer. Add hooks, D-rings, partitions, cabinets and more. The only limit is your imagination (and maybe your budget!).
Once you’ve chosen the right ALCOM aluminum trailer for you, let your local dealer help you choose the best combination of anchor points and tie-down solutions to keep your cargo organized and secured.
With six manufacturing sites across the continental USA, and a huge network of dealers across the United States and Canada, ALCOM has the trailer for you and the organization solutions you need. No matter where you are, there’s a dealer near you - and we’re ready to help you find your ideal aluminum trailer!
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