So is the final knot using a slipped half hitch followed by another half hitch with the bight tied around one of the lines traveling to the second anchor or both? Any advantages one way or the other?
The core knot on which the two eyes are hanged is a Clove hitch. I have seen that the Clove hitch can jam badly under high load, while the Girth hitch can not (1), so, for a double loop Trucker s hitch, I would prefer a communicating double (=two eyes) loop made from a Girth hitch, rather than a Clove hitch, as ABoK#1148.
Do not pay attention to what penetrates the central core, see how it is made. When the central core is made of / based on a Clove hitch, it can jam, either this Clove hitch encircles 2 legs of one eye, or 4 legs of two eyes ( or three legs of two eyes, when the one leg of the one eye is a direct continuation of the one leg of the other eye, i.e. the two eyes are communicating directly, as in the pictures of the double Trucker s hitch I show ).
My link is to a test on the Clove hitch, in comparison to the Girth hitch, as a core around the roots of the legs of eyes, be them 2 ( one eye ), or 3 / 4 ( two eyes ).
What I am proposing is to replace the Clove hitch-based double nipping turn of ABoK#1148, with a Girth hitch-based one.
The 1148 is loaded differently than a simple clove hitch, and does not jam.
I have shown a double loop based on the ABoK#1148, which is NOT a double loop, of course - and that is why I had used the quotation marks in my original reference. The ABoK#1148 is a TIB method / knot to shorten the rope. The double loop I had presented (1) is genuine double loop with communicating eyes, which I had proposed as a Trucker s hitch double loop, to address the problem of the excessive wear at the tip of the eye of the Trucker s hitch single loop.
I know very well that the Clove hitch at the core of the ABoK#1148 jams, because I have tested it. I have presented a case where the difference regarding jamming between a Clove hitch and a Girth hitch, as core nipping/ anchoring structures on which the roots of the eye legs are attached, is explained in detail. The Clove hitch seems an innocent knot, but it can be self-locked and so accumulate a great amount of tensile forces, via a ratchet - like shrinking mechanism, until it becomes rock solid, and unable to be released / untied any more.
Now, one can read whatever he wishes out of my posts, and he can misunderstand or pretend he misunderstood anything he wishes, just to fabricate an one-liner “wisdom”. I do not misunderstand this, neither I pretend I misunderstand this !
In both versions, the first returning eye leg, of the first of the two loops, as well as the second returning eye leg, of the second of the two loops, can penetrate the hitch entering into it by the one or the other side ( 4 combinations ) .That may affect easiness of untying, too.
When the Clove hitch jams, it is not difficult, it is impossible to untie it…This never happens with the Girth hitch, which can not accumulate the tensile forces within it, as the Clove hitch does.
My favourite way to tie the Trucker’s Hitch at present - after lots of experimenting - is to employ the Versatackle variation as follows:
Slipped Buntline as the anchor.
Alpine Butterfly x 2 as the loop.
There is tremendous satisfaction when you exert a bit of force when tightening down and you feel the rope becoming as taut as a banjo string and remaining like that when you relax the pull.
And having to be careful at times not to over tighten because the load might be damaged.
Brilliant system, guys! 
It is called “simple machine”, and it offers what is called “mechanical advantage” (1). More specifically, it is but a rope-made block and tackle mechanism (2). The new “knotting” thing here is the way one secures the tail by placing it in between two tensioned opposed bights - the rims of the two collars of those bights meet the penetrating tail at the right angle, the right angle, so they bite hard into it, so they are able to immobilize it. Simple, but most effective !
This has been such a great reading thread and has made me consider sheave options for an infinite length rope. My vote goes to the Bowline With a Bight ABoK #1150. It is also now, my favorite double loop knot. Thanks for that!
The knot mentioned on page 2 of this thread:
…the slipped OH with the loop half-hitched above…/…The OH&HHL…/…In Geoffrey Budworth’s book, I found this loop and he calls it a overhand knot and half hitch…
This is the ABoK #1021 leader loop and is my all-time favorite mid-line loop. But strangely enough, I have the opposite opinion, finding the half-hitch lock not too bad to untie after loading. In fact, that’s my preferred method of loading this knot (on the HH Lock, instead of the overhand). Up to now, this has been my go-to knot for a trucker’s hitch. See image below:
What happened to the OP?
I’m pretty sure he’s still here. He just thinned out some of his contributions after this post:
http://igkt.net/sm/index.php?topic=4673.0.msg30240#msg30240
It’s a real shame about that.
My apologies for bringing this dead horse back up, but I would greatly appreciate your esteemed opinions of the method these fellows use to tie a truckie hitch. I have been through the entire thread and don’t think this has been covered.
Frankly, I’ve enough doubt about the surety of the particular
mid-line eye used by the method these two videos show
(sorry, I didn’t discern a difference between them except
perhaps in the exact position of the anchoring working end
from the eye)
that I prefer to use a non-capsizable eye --e.g., with the
cases shown above, they could tie a full (twin-eye) bowline,
and maybe even gain a little lessening of frictional damage
at this sheave point (the haul line passing through two vs.
one eye)!?
I usually just tie a slip-knot of either an overhand or fig.8.
I also usually tie off the end to the rope and not to
the anchor. Then, again, had the end been run up through
that rope-sheave a 2nd pass, one would have a sort of
versatackle mechanics & self-locking (which might prove
to be more of a tightening & loosening bother than it’s worth).
–dl*
Hawk1832, thanks for reviving this thread, and thanks for the videos.
I’m a huge fan of your method of tying the truckers hitch. It’s TIB (tyeable in the bight) so it’s possible to tye a series in a long rope to secure a load (as I’ve seen done on trucks in Sao Paulo). And, it’s incredibly easy to untie, as once de-tensioned, the “sheave” knot will fall apart with little effort, and the working end need not be taken back through the loop to untie.
The “sheave knot” is a Bell Ringer’s Knot (ABoK #172) with an added nipping turn as in the fashion of an Awning Knot (ABoK #83) or a Rigger’s Hitch (ABoK # 1735)
When I first encountered this knot I shared Dan Lehman’s skepticism and fear of the “sheave” knot capsizing, but I’ve grown to trust it through experience. This knot is used exclusively by Cirque du Soleil’s tent technicians to support the side walls of their big top tents. The side wall (and hence this hitch) must withstand high winds, and flogging due to wind gusts. In the event of extreme weather, the tent walls must be able to be dropped swiftly to avoid catastrophic damage. Any other “sheave” knot would jam, requiring crucial extra time to untie the (inevitably) jammed knot. Not to mention extra time taken to run the working end back through the sheave loop. While dropping the side walls of the Big Top for extreme weather is very rare, the walls are taken down regularly for the purposes of moving the show. The speed and utility of this jamless, TIB, and exceedingly easy to untie one-handed hitch are matchless.
Knot have many names, and many stories behind names… The origin of the videos depicting this knot are intriguing and amusing to me, because among the circus tent technicians this version of this knot is called an “Australian Trucker’s Hitch”
cheers
andy
i’ve also been very skeptical of such ‘loose’ ties;
but have seen this on plenty of trucks and find the Cirque du Soleil’s tent technicians reference very enlightening.
In both these we have possible rain swelling of nylon and wind vibrations testing the theories!
But, i also manufacture and use this knot differently..
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Arborist call any such 3/1 pull config a Zrig, any pulley system etc. a jig, in our world Zrig can have adjustable Prusic instead of fixed position eye.
Have used this system for tiedowns, pulling stuck vehicles free from mud, lifting engines, pulling down massive trees some leaning in wrong direction and had to guide against their lean, pulling stuck transmission etc. Also as a 3/1 pulling another or even a 5/1(=15/1), pre-tighten another larger line used for rigging for less drop /impact on line when takes load etc. Have also pulled Trucker’s Hitch with a 2 ton truck, to lift limbs from over screened enclosures over pools, skylights etc., where we couldn’t lower and no one could get a crane in. So used existing tree architecture as fixed boom and 2 ton truck pulling into 3/1 rig like this to make large lifts. i always said the last direction to drop something is up!
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one of Xarax’s Noose w/HH’s comes closest to what i found for my purposes and theories:
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http://mytreelessons.com/images/xarax_overhand_hh.png
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i had switched from Butterfly to this somewhere along the way, as found Bfly sometimes hard to untie after pulling w/truck, and not best angle of pull on eye.
i find this to be also simply a Bfly with unlinked rings;
another viewable mechanic is can see as a Zeppelin with one side reversed to meet/ form eye.
For me this is easier like Zepp untie, than Bfly, less picking the lock.
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Bfly is very good knot use for many things, even jug sling for me etc. but think eye should pull perpendicular if at all.
i first did this as an upgrade to noose instead of Bfly in Trucker’s and also pinata hanging, simply thru the HH around eye as fix w/o teardown.
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Eventually evolved to fortifying the highest loading side; i guess as Xarax suggests.
Now simply a fig.10 noose w/HH construction; but still i think Bfly and Zepp forms also discernible.
Unties easier than Bfly i think, easier to adjust eye, more correct proper pull angle on eye.
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http://mytreelessons.com/images/z10-truckers-hitch-eye.png
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Going up over a load and back down with 3/1 is a 6/1 potential less the frictions, angles.
i don’t look at friction as foe, but rather buffer.
Harder to take line ‘purchase’ thru friction buffer, but then once you have purchase friction buffer also helps hold it.
So, if send momentary peak force thru line, that can’t really hold, might trick more purchase that frictions holds for you.
2 ways to send peak force ‘wave’ thru line is to impact bodyWeight or snatch hard with effort.
The faster the better; 2 matching trucks , 1 that weighs half as much going 2x as fast has 2x the force, so hit into jig hard and confidentally!
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Also, sharply bending line to sweat or swig more purchase, then let frictions help hold.
Should then look at jig side might be 2x tension of offside, so stretch and vibrate line to equalize line on both sides of load, and pull jig again!
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IF pull end of jig, have 3xEffort potential up to bodyweight hang. Can add 3xEffort to that by pulling other anchor.
But if put that same pull inside system at rite point get 4xEffort +3xBodyWeight, can impact with either/both.
Impact hits can come at same time to hit hardest against load, or sequentially to get something moving and keep moving etc.
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If really want to tighten for tiedown, make ropes iron bar tight by above methods. Then make shallow bends. The tighter the line, the more line resists bend; the more leveraged return in line tension!
THanks for your interesting responses about these videos. THe reference to the circus technicians use of these knots was fascinating.
I once saw on an arborist site a photo of a truckers hitch with a loop like KC’s Z10 example without the HH. THe fellow then pulled the working end through the loop to form a second loop and did that again to form a third loop. CAn someone tell me what effect this would have on the mechanical advantge.
Same pattern of mechanical pulls, change in loop is kinda like change in color..
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The 3:1 mechanical advantage; is in the 3 legs of line pulling on one side of ‘jig’,
feeding to 1 line of output pull to equal/opposite side of jig.
The loop variation is just a different way to make the ring position for the rope to seat in.
Same as if we didn’t make any knot and put a Prusik cord(making jig adjustable) in place instead.
This doesn’t change the 3:1 architecture/mechanic; only the loop type chosen in the structure for the same output mechanic.
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‘z10’ structure can also be seen as a Butterfly with unlinked rings, and 1 side fortified to fig.10 base.
Now I get it. Thanks KC.