Trucker's hitch

Trucker's hitch
Trucker's hitch with alpine butterfly loop
NamesTrucker's hitch, dolly knot, Wakos transport knot,[1] lorry driver's hitch,[2] harvester's hitch,[2] hay knot,[3] sheepshank cinch,[3] trucker's dolly,[4] wagoner's hitch,[4] power cinch,[5] rope tackle[6]
CategoryHitch
Relatedversatackle knot, sheepshank
Typical useMaking a rope very tight, such as to secure an object to a vehicle
CaveatCan produce excessive wear on rope, especially if tied repeatedly in the same spot[6]
ABoK#1514, #2124, #2125, #2126
Instructions[1]
For the Ylvis song, see Trucker's Hitch.

The trucker's hitch is a compound knot commonly used for securing loads on trucks[7] or trailers. The general arrangement, using loops and turns in the rope itself to form a crude block and tackle, has long been used to tension lines and is known by multiple names.[2][3] Knot author Geoffrey Budworth claims the knot can be traced back to the days when carters and hawkers used horse-drawn conveyances to move their wares from place to place.[8]

  1. ^ Lofty Wiseman, The Sas Survival Handbook
  2. ^ a b c Des Pawson (2002), Pocket Guide to Knots & Splices, Edison, NJ: Chartwell Books, Inc., p. 142
  3. ^ a b c Cyrus Lawrence Day (1986), The Art of Knotting and Splicing (4th ed.), Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, p. 116
  4. ^ a b Gordon Perry (2006), Knots, North Vancouver: Quantum Publishing, pp. 134–135
  5. ^ Cliff Jacobson (1977), Wilderness Canoeing & Camping, Dutton, p. 118, ...there seems to be no widely accepted name for this hitch, so I took the liberty of naming it the power-cinch
  6. ^ a b Riley, Howard W. (January 1912). "Knots, Hitches, and Splices". The Cornell Reading-Courses. Rural Engineering Series No. 1. 1 (8). Ithaca, NY: New York State College of Agriculture at Cornell University: 1428. Retrieved 2011-11-08. As collected in Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, 136th Session, 1913, Vol. 19, No. 29, Part 5.
  7. ^ Heavy Vehicle Road Code, New Zealand, 2016{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  8. ^ Geoffrey Budworth (1999), The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Knots, London: Hermes House, pp. 224–225