Frequently Asked Questions

What reflective clothing do I need to wear whilst working at the roadside ?

The Safety at Street Works & Road Works Code of Practice stipulates that anybody working where the speed limit is above 50mph, whether it be single or dual carriageway, must wear a sleeved garment - either 3/4 or long sleeves (Class 3).
On other roads a Class 2 waistcoat may be sufficient, but it is a grey area, a PPE Risk Assessment should settle the issue, eg working on blind bends may call for a higher spec garment than working in a quiet back street.

What is the difference between Class 1, 2 and 3 garments ?

The simple answer is the quantity of fluorescent background material (for daytime conspicuity) which can be seen; i.e. is not covered by badges or retro-reflective material, and the quantity of visible retro-reflective material (for night-time conspicuity). Class 3 offers the highest level of conspicuity.

These are the minimum areas of visible material for each class:
Class 3: Background Material 0.80m²; Retroreflective Material 0.20m².
Class 2: Background Material 0.50m²; Retroreflective Material 0.13m².
Class 1: Background Material 0.14m²; Retroreflective Material 0.10m².

Why don't you sell waterproof clothing with the plastic prismatic tape ?

We manufacture our garments using Dartex, a stretch fabric which remains supple when at low temperatures.
Prismatic tapes are made with a rigid PVC backing (i.e. non stretch) therefore you have a clash of stretch and non stretch materials.
Under stress, microscopic holes form, which eventually become larger and cause leakage.
The Scotchlite™ 3M™ tape we use stretches with the fabric and does not suffer the same stress problems.

Scotchlite™ 3M™ glassbead tape meets all the requirements of EN471, and has recently be selected by police authorities on their new clothing, replacing prismatic tapes.

Have you anything to stop my winch rope bunching up on the end of the drum ?

This is usually caused by winching cars by their Towing Eye. this is not good practice as these are usually off-centre, also they have been know to break !
The best solution is to use a Pulling On Strap (sometimes called a Strap Brother or Centre Pull Strap). These loop over each wishbone and have a central ring for attaching a winch rope.
BEWARE: some Car Manufacturers do not recommend winching their cars in this manner (usually when the wishbones/suspension units are made from aluminium or alloy materials). In such cases you have no option but to use the Towing Eye along with Mondial "Safety" strap, which helps to avoid losing the vehicle should the towing eye break (please phone for details).

Other options include fitting a Cable Tensioner to the winch (these are specific to the make and model of winch), and checking that the correct diameter rope is fitted to you winch. Don't rely on what is on the winch, contact us with the Make & Model and we can advise you of the correct rope size.

The Test Certificate for my 10mm diameter winch rope says it has a Safe Working Load of 1,423kg, but I have a 3,500kg winch. Is this the right rope ?

Yes, this is a technicality in the way we have to certificate Wire Ropes.
We certificate all our winch ropes under LOLER regulations, which allows a 5:1 Factor of Safety for Lifting operations.
For normal winching operations it is recommended that you use a rope with a Minimum Break Load of 2 times the Winch capacity.
For a 3,500kg winch that would be 7,000kg - the Minimum Break Load of a 10mm diameter rope is 7,115kg (1,423kg x 5).

The silver clip on my hook is missing/broken, do you have a replacement ?

The "clip" in question is the latch. Each manufacturer uses different latch kits, so unless your hook has the manufacturer's name on it, matching is almost impossible.
We do keep a range of generic latch kits that fit a wide range of hooks, for more details download our information sheet, or see Cardno-Online HERE.
The soon to be enforced EN1677 part 2 stipulates that a safety latch must be capable of withstanding a side load of 25% of the hook capacity. So, for a 2 ton capacity hook the latch must withstand a 0.5ton side load. Weissenfels have already addressed the standard and produce a hook with a noticeably superior safety latch, however a better option is to buy a winch rope with an auto lock hook which does not require a latch kit.

The 5 tonne straps I bought from you are also marked 2.5 tonnes, what does this mean ?

We make, and test, all our lashing straps to BS 5759:1987.
To meet this standard the lashing assembly is rated at 1/2 the minimum breaking capacity of the assembly, so a 5 tonne system has a Rated Assembly Strength of 2.5 tonnes (sometimes refered to as RAS or LC - Lashing Capacity).

I need some straps for my transporter recovery truck, what do you recommend ?

We would advise different systems depending on how many lashing points there are and their position, or alternatively suggest the fitting of additional lashing points to enable using one of our Transporter Strap sets.
Originally devised by North Sea Ferries, the system is now widely used in car transportation and comprises of a 'floating' wheel strap (or chocker strap) attached to a ratchet and strap with hooks on either end.
This system is excellent for lashing down as it virtually stops any movement whatsoever.
We do a variety of sets with different hooks or wheel straps, each set contains four ratchets ends, four 4m straps & four wheel straps (click here for the range).
Word of warning: damage can still occur whatever system is used if not fitted correctly.

What is the Mondial Adjustable Winch Restraint strap for ?

This strap is for use on vehicles with aluminium or alloy wishbones/suspension units, where the manufacturers (eg BMW) have advised that using a pulling on strap could cause damage, and advise winching by use of the towing eye. On some occasions the towing eyes have broken, causing the vehicle to roll back down the transporter, at best causing damage to the vehicle, at worst having injured people that have walked behind the vehicle).
The Mondial Adjustable Winch Restraint strap has been designed to be used like a Tow Eye strap, but with a secondary strap that goes around a wishbone.
Click here for more information.

I have bought a Spec Lift recovery truck and I need some straps for it.

There are several different ways to secure a vehicle on a Spec Lift.
A common practice is to use a ratchet & strap around the tread of the tire and the spoon of the spec lift, this is not a good idea since there is nothing to stop the vehicle from sliding from side to side, or prevent the strap from slipping off should the vehicle move sideways.
Identifiying the correct system can be difficult, however we have a gallery of pictures of spec lifts here (coming soon).
If you can see a similar model to yours then contact us for information on the straps you need. If not then please email us (Contact Us) with pictures of you spec lift and contact details so that we can phone you with the best solution.

What is the difference between Grade 8, Grade 80 & Grade 100 chain ?

Grade 80 is a standard of metal alloy used in lifting chain & fittings.
EN818 (the EU standard that covers lifing chain, fittings & slings) has tighter specifications for the quantities of the composite materials that make up the metal alloy for Grade 80 chain, as a result not all Grade 80 chain meet the requirements of EN818. Some manufacturers refer to this chain as 'Grade 8', to help distinguish between the two.
This should not be confused with the abbriviation "G8" often found on fittings, this merely indicates that it is a Grade 80 fitting, and cannot be used to identify products that comply with EN818. All lifting chain & fittings used in the UK should comply with EN818.
Grade 100 chain & fittings conform to EN818, but are about 20-25% stronger than Grade 80, some manufacturers will eventually superceed their Grade 80 products with Grade 100. Crosby, for example, already manufacture some of their Lifting chain components only in Grade 100 (often stamped as G10).

All chain and fittings that we sell are sourced from EU or US suppliers and comply with EN818.

What is the difference between the imported snatchblocks and the McKissick snatchblocks ?

The main difference between the two is quality. As with chain and fittings, the quality of the steel used in the McKissick blocks has a superior wear quality, as a consequence the block will last longer. This also means that McKissick blocks tend to be more compact than the 'imported' ones.

I need some skates for my transporter so that I can move illegally parked cars with the steering on full lock, GoJaks will do the job won't they ?

Not really, Gojaks were not designed for that function but for moving cars around in bodyshops, showrooms and car parks.
Although shown in the American manufacturer's brochure with transporters, we do not recommend them for that use as the castors are too small to get over the tail of the bed.
American car carriers are wider than UK transporters and they tend not to use lashing rings but very small cut outs on the deck to accept 7mm chain, so they do not lose 9 inches on each side to operate them as UK ones do. At best you will buckle the castors and at worst twist the skate frame.
Standard transporter skates with larger castors are a far better option or our re-cycled plastic Easiskate which is great on rough ground as the vehicle weight is dispersed over a wider area thus making winching easier.

I want to buy an A Frame to move cars from the auction to my garage for body repairs.

Legally you cannot do this unless the casualty vehicle is under 750kg or half the kerb weight of the towing vehicle.
Also the casualty needs to be taxed and insured unless it is being taken to, or from an MOT TEST.
Any casualty over the 750kg requires a braking system to operate on the overrun.

I want to stripe my truck with reflective and fluorescent tape but my local sign shop said only the police can use blue reflective checker tape. Is this true ?

This is incorrect, there is no current legislation relating to vehicle marking of this type until the EC104 regulation becomes mandatory (quite a few years away).
For information, the regulation stipulates red reflective for rear, yellow/amber for sides and white for the front.
Most police forces welcome trucks that are highly conspicuous.

The jump start box I bought from the local motor factor has failed after only a few months have you anything more reliable ?

The majority of jump starts at the factor end of the market are designed to start a car on a bad day, not for repeated cranking. Most of them have limited performance in terms of cold cranking and peak amps, tending to utilise batteries of between 12-17 ampere hour.
Our Easistart 26ampH battery pack contains a British monobloc made with extremely thin plates which gives an exceptionally high rate performance and very low self discharge. Designed to start aircraft, the battery will give years of service if properly maintained and charged. We also make a 37ampH pack which offers even more power, and probably the most powerful 12v pack available.
Tip: Always remember that black goes to ground NOT the negative terminal of the battery as the 'dead' battery builds up a resistance between the terminals.

Why are LED lightbars so expensive ?

The LED lightbars and warning lights that we sell all contain LUXOR or equivelent LEDs, these being the brightest and most reliable ones available at the moment. Consequently this is reflected in the price, however they are guarenteed for 5 years against LED failure (should one LED fail then the LED module will be replaced).
Also they have to be CE, e, type approved for use in the UK, and meet strict EMC regulations (Electro Magnetic Compatability), so that they are safe to use around all the other electronic equipment fitted to vehicles.