Clamshell Tie-Down Secures Big Pickup Loads

Clamshell Tie-Down Secures Big Pickup Loads PICKUPS Accessories 27-3-18 Hubert Smith recently came up with a secure new way to tie down big loads in the bed of his pickup. "I bought a new utility tractor and I had to drive to Louisville, Kentucky, to pick it up. I didn't want to hook up my gooseneck trailer but I wasn't sure how I would tie it down in the bed of my pickup," says Smith, who came up with what he calls a "clamshell tie-down" that makes it easy to anchor big loads to the gooseneck ball in the pickup. It consists of a couple pieces of 1/2-in. thick plate steel that fit on either side of the ball hitch and hook together with a lynch pin. There's a heavy chain hook on either end of the clamshell to hook to chains or ropes that tie the load down. "You can turn it any direction. It'll hold anything the ball hitch can hold. Takes just a second to put on or off," notes Smith, who farms near Altamont, Ill. "It's the first really substantial way I know of to tie down a big load in the pickup." Sells for $88 plus $15 S&H. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hubert Smith, 5730 N US Hwy 40E, Altamont, Ill. 62411 (ph 618 483-5081).

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