Don't know when they were used but my 1992 Cobra has aluminum "straps". They're fairly stout strips bent to provide clearance from the fuselage (and padded). They're bolted to and pivoting on the dolly at the lower end. At the upper end, there's a plastic bushing that slides over the front fuselage carry-through pin and is held in place by a clip inserted in a hole drilled in the end of the pin.

I had thought they were fairly common but I mostly see the webbing straps now.

They're more expensive to make. And they can be a little more work to align when derigging. But after pushing my previous glider's fuselage out of the dolly when it jammed rolling it into the trailer and once discovering that the dolly had slid part way out from under the fuselage while trailering, I would install these on any new trailer, not that I anticipate getting a new trailer.

Chip Bearden
JB