I always figured the cloud sync was enough, like why pay for extra drives when it says everything is backed up, right? Then I watched a buddy lose half a project to a sync glitch and it flipped my whole view. Now I keep a cheap external drive that backs up on its own schedule, separate from the sync, just in case the cloud decides to eat itself.

Are you sure the axle is the problem though? Honestly I've hooked to the axle for years and never snapped a strap, and half the guys I know do the same thing without any trouble. Tbh a strap snapping near Delaware sounds more like cheap straps or old ones that sat in the sun too long, not where you hooked them. Ngl I've seen guys strap the frame and still lose a car because the body just bounced around on worn out suspension the whole ride. Maybe the old guy at the truck stop was just telling you a story that sounded good, because a $9 strap fix for 8 months of problems sounds way too easy.