Pros,
My current spa cover does not have any sort of tie down straps. I need to replace my cover and I see most sites ask about tie down straps. First of all, I am not sure I even need them. If I do, how do I provide the measurements for them?
Thank you for your help.
Shirl – Pittsburgh, PA
Hi Shirl,
Straps located on the side with the handle
Let see if we can set you straight on this topic. Obviously, tie down straps are intended to keep your cover from blowing away. A brand new cover weighs less than 50 pounds and has a large surface area. This can easily allow the wind to pick it up. The Pros have heard many stories of covers being lost in the wind.
Not so obviously, tie down straps server two additional purposes. First, most tie down strap clips are lockable. Many homeowner’s associations require the tops to be able to be locked down for safety reasons. The locking straps prevent children of ALL ages from being able to enter the hot tub, and reduce the homeowner’s liability risk as well as significantly reduce the safety risk of small children being able to get into the water.
Second, the tie down straps are very helpful in tightening the cover itself down to the top lip of the acrylic of the tub. This produces the large benefit of sealing the heat in even better, and further reducing heating bills.
The Pros recommend clear communication with the store you choose to purchase your replacement cover from. 
Questions to ask include:
- * How many straps are standard?
- * Where are the standard strap locations?
- * Can I select where I would like the straps located?
- * What is the length of the strap, measuring from the bottom of the cover to the end of the clip?
- * Does the cover come with both halves of the clip, in case the new clip does not fit into the clip half on my spa cabinet?
The most commonly requested position for the tie down straps is the two sides where the handles are located, as shown in the picture above.
Next, strap location is measured as how far in from the far side, as shown in the second picture. The mistake in this picture is in not measuring to the center of the strap!
7.5″ strap length from the bottom of
the cover to the end of the buckle.
9″ plus strap length from the bottom of
the cover to the start of the buckle.
The strap length is measured from the bottom of the cover to the end of the clip. As shown in the first picture below, the strap length would be 7.5 inches long. The second picture below shows the measurement for a tie down strap that needs to be at least 9 inches long to the start of the buckle.
Happy Tubbing!
Ethel Elliott
