Ratchet Chain Binder 5/16"-3/8" — Load Binder, 5,400 lb WLL

A ratchet chain binder takes the slack out of Grade 70 transport chain and holds it there. The gear-and-pawl mechanism tightens in small, controlled increments instead of the single hard pull a lever binder needs, so there is no stored-energy snapback to manage during tensioning or release. This one fits 5/16" and 3/8" chain and carries a 5,400 lb Working Load Limit, stamped and proof tested on the body.

It is the lighter of the two ratchet binders we stock. At 9.4 lbs it is about two pounds under our 7,100 lb model, which matters when you are carrying four or six of them down the deck and back. Take this one when the freight does not need the higher rating; take the 7,100 lb binder when it does. Both fit the same chain.

Hook both ends to the chain with the hooks backed out partway so there is room to take up slack, then ratchet the handle back and forth until the chain is taut. Stop as soon as it is tight. FMCSA rules require cargo of 10,000 lbs or more to be tied down at a minimum of four corners, so plan on at least four binders for loads that size. Chain settles into the load's corners over the first miles, so recheck tension within the first 50 miles and again at routine stops.