Knot of the Week: Adapting the Diamond Hitch for a Truck Bed Tie Down

In our previous two knots in our Knot of the Week series, we showed you how to tie a Diamond Hitch and Artilleryman’s Loop. Today we’re going to show you how to combine these two knots for use as a tie down in a truck bed.

There were some comments in our Diamond Hitch article asking for a method to be able to use it with only four lashing points rather than the six our article required. Utilizing the Artilleryman’s Loop and some extra paracord, we’ll show you how to make this happen!

Diamond Hitch » Hitches

(Strength: 3/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)

Please refer to our Knot of the Week introduction post for a description of what these ratings mean.

The first thing you’ll need to do to utilize a Diamond Hitch as a tie down in a truck bed, is to create the two missing mid-point lashing loops required to make it work. This can be done one of two ways.

One way is to take a line all the way through each of the four existing tie down points, making a box. After creating the box, tie in one mid-point Artilleryman’s Loop on the bight within each of the long sides.

Another option would be to simply have two sections of paracord, or other rope, strung between each long side of the truck bed tie downs with an Artilleryman’s Loop at the mid-point. It’s important to note that while we used paracord in the video and photos, stronger and thicker rope might need to be used depending on the load that’s being tied down.

Uses:

• Securing a load
• Tie down for a roof rack, truck bed or pack animal

Tying Instructions:

1. Once you create your additional midpoints using the Artilleryman’s loop, attach the standing end of your line to one of the fixed midpoints.
2. Use the working end to span across the load and to the opposite midpoint.
3. Route the working end through the second midpoint and back to the original midpoint.
4. Wrap or pass the working end through this original midpoint.
5. Grasp the double line created over your load and twist the two lines six times or so, creating a diamond pattern in the center.
6. Ensuring to keep the diamond pattern, run your working end to the closest corner of your tie-down points.
7. Wrap or pass the working end through this corner point and through the backside of the center diamond before passing it down to the opposite corner.
8. Wrap or pass the working end through the opposite corner and down through the top of the center diamond and out to the bottom-most corner.
9. Wrap or pass the working end through this corner point and back through the backside of the center diamond before passing it to the last corner.
10. At this point take a few seconds to adjust the lines and tighten them up.
11. Pull tension at the last corner and secure the working end to the midpoint you started at, which completes the Diamond Hitch.
12. Optionally we’ve used the Taut-Line Hitch to secure the working end so if the load shifts you can adjust the tension.

Video and Photos