securing car to open trailer

[bivenator]

I going to haul my car about 600 miles on an open trailer. This is my first time to haul the car and I am concerned with the tie down procedure and material used. Suggestions and pointers are greatly appreciated.
Scott

[andycook]

I purchased some "over the tire" tie down straps for when I trailer anything. Seems to put less stress on the suspension, and you don't risk "unhooking" if you hit a major bump or anything. I think they were about $40 per set (2). Just my 2 cents. Good luck.

[kycarguy 935]

I have hauled a few cars across the country on an open trailer and I use the 10,000 pound car straps. I use 4 2 on the front and 2 on the rear and criss cross them. Never had any problems. Just check them to make sure they are tight after you drive a few miles and load is settled. I was hauling a car on my car carrier truck at the same time and used 4 straps per car.

I ordered the straps out of a catalog from a place in Texas but don't remember the name. Since then I see them at places like Tractor Supply.

Goodluck on your travels.

[Cory M]

911's have factory tie down points in the front and the rear that you can use. You can also go through the wheels. Good idea to stop about 50 miles into it and verify that non of the straps have loosened up.

[2.7RACER]

Remember to move the car forward on the trailer to get sufficient tongue weight to keep the trailer from swaying side to side.
Got trailer brakes?

[ja78911sc]

I hauled my car for the first time last week. I used the front factory tow hooks and on the rear had hooks installed on my shock bolts.

If this is a one time tow and you do not want to spend the money for rear hooks, look behind the rear wheel above the brace for the rear filler panel and you will find slots in the unibody on both sides designed for this purpose.

[bivenator]

no trailer brakes, i'm hauling with a full size dodge and would not expect the brakes to be a problem. am i wrong? thanks for the rechecking tip, that seems to be the consensus. check and recheck

[aftermath]

I watched a race show the other day and they strongly recommend a "over the tire" strap as opposed to synching the car down and compressing the suspension. They say its hard on the suspension and have seen shocks leak fluid from it. I use a strap on each corner, and then 1 or 2 safety chains. Plan ahead of time, the 911 is low and wont clear most ramps without scaping the spoiler ( my 930 can not be done without extra wood ). grab some 2 lengths of 2*6 to extend the ramp, this will help from bottoming out. Make sure you have a spare, a jack and a tire wrench taht fits the lugs on the trailer. I would strongly recommend a dual axle trailer ( much safer ), where I live a dual axle does require trailer brakes.

You truck will pull fine, safety brakes is nice but not necessary for your load, unless its a really large heavy flat deck. If you rent a trailer from uhaul, they have a braking system built in.

[Dantilla]

My normal race car routine is four straps through the wheels to leave the suspension free.

[Soterik]

I use these.... remove a lug nut, and then screw this onto the stud. Works great, I've towed a lot with these, as have quite a few guys I know.

regards,
Eric

http://www.356goodiestore.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/28?osCsid=0cdc2b028295d6fbf27e08ce82c95287

[Grady Clay]

Here is a little part of my “How To Go To Events” White Paper. This paper is too long for the Pelican system. Please e-mail me if you want a draft copy.


“Tie-down system: Envision the trailer on its side bounding down the side or median of the freeway. You want everything to stay in place so you can call a tow truck to right it and load everything into another truck or trailer with no damage to the “T”.
Car tie down; There are two theories; tie the chassis down and compress the suspension and tires or tie the tires and wheels down and let the car float on it’s suspension. I recommend both. Either way, the trailer is basically the same. You want eight to twelve very substantial recessed D-ring pan fittings that are bolted through the steel frame of the trailer, preferably at the intersection of the side rail and a cross member. You need to have twelve high quality (Kinedyne) 2” ratchet straps (3500#+). Have a pair of E-track mounted chocks for the wench to pull the front tires against, this way the “T” is in exactly the same place every time and you don’t have to re-adjust the tie-downs.
Equipment tie-down: Bungee cords are great for keeping things from rattling but the only things you should tie-down with them is your driver’s suit. Heavy things (tool box, roller cabinets, N2 cylinder, generator, air compressor, coolers, tires, tables, etc.) need tie-downs appropriate for their weight. Imagine a toolbox thru the windshield! The easiest to use system is E-track. This is the standard for the cargo industry, there are lots of suppliers, and the price is as low as it can be (isn’t competition wonderful.) The heaviest things use the 2” straps (3500#) like the car tie-downs. Others can use the lighter weight (835#) 1” ratchet straps. I recommend two continuous lengths of E-track down the trailer floor, just inboard of the tires and just outboard of the floor-boxes. These should be bolted thru the trailer frame at every opportunity. On the sides, there should be a strip at about 8-10” off the floor fore and aft of the wheel boxes. There also should be continuous strips at about 36” and 50” above the floor. Same for the front wall. Very heavy things, like nitrogen cylinders, should have a retaining structure bolted thru the floor and frame in addition to multiple restraints to the wall E-track. E-track is available in both steel and aluminum and, if properly installed, will dramatically increase the structural strength of the trailer (not to mention its value and usefulness). Have the E-track welded to form a continuous strip (it comes in 10’ lengths.)
With something called “shoring bars” that fit the side E-track, you can build platforms above the car and above the hood for lightweight things.
How to think about tie-downs is if you have an item that weighs 100# and you have a 20G crash, that is a 2,000# working load. Translate that to a 2500# car and it is 50,000#. Another issue is that you don’t want the entire load at a single point; the straps, trailer or car are not that strong. Also, you don’t know the direction of the load. Hence, have multiple attachments in several directions.
There is no small amount of cost in all the cargo control but it’s worth it.”
© 2006 Grady Clay, Denver, CO


For your situation, try these threads:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/search.php?action=showresults&searchid=1928450&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

I would never tow a loaded trailer greater than 30% of the tow vehicle without brakes.

Best,
Grady

[bivenator]

wow, lots of good info, will probably go with the over wheel straps and then through the front tow hooks. will look into the rear shock bolt hooks. thanks again for all the replies

[lateapex911]

Assuming the car is about 2800lbs, and the trailer is 1500-2000, you are towing 4k to 5k pounds. When there is a sudden traffic jam are you comfortable stopping the extra thousands of pound s in the same panic distance? Instead of no cars being damaged, you're looking at 4 when trailering. (The tow vehicle, the object car, the towed car and the trailer. ) If it's a light car, and an aluminum trailer, then OK...otherwise, I never tow without good brakes.

Regarding the cross tie down method in the back. Your trailer sees it's greatest forces in braking. If one cross tie strap fails or gets loose, the car with crab a bit sideways, then start to rock back and forth, because the only remaining strap gets "longer" when the car shifts sideways. In other words, the failure mode is bad news. Normal straight back strapping doesn't have the same issues.

Not a fan of those lug things. Why put shear loads on them?

I've heard both sides of the suspension tie down story, bad forthe shocks if you do, and bad if you don't, LOL

But nobody thinks towing in gear is a good idea....scuffs the cylinder walls when dry.

[Cory M]

I use these.... remove a lug nut, and then screw this onto the stud. Works great, I've towed a lot with these, as have quite a few guys I know.

regards,
Eric

http://www.356goodiestore.com/catal...27e08ce82c95287

There are probably a bunch of people using these with no problems but I still seriously question the wisdom in their design. Putting a huge bending load on a little threaded stud is not a good idea. I think it would be much smarter to just run the tie straps through the wheels.

[dfink]

I use axle straps and put them through the wheels the use ratchet straps to the tie down points. I found axel straps a bit hard to locate. Can order them from Speedway motors in Lincoln Ne.

I would not recommend towing without brakes. I have Suburban and you can definatly tell when you don't have the brakes turned on high enough. Feels like you are never going to stop.

I personally like the tie down of the wheels over trying to tighten the suspension tight enough. I have seen so many cars strapped with the suspension that every time they hit a bump the car moves up and down and yanks the tiedown points.

There are about as many opinions on trailering as there are trailers so just use good sense and make sure the car is secure. Also don't take off with the jack stand still down....

[kycarguy 935]

I didn't have my trailer brakes hooked up either and with a Chevy 1 ton loaded car carrier and a spare..... .ahem 454 chevy engine....and 2 Porsche's total. I had no problems with stopping/braking going 2,500 miles.

If you have trailer brakes its a good idea to use them for safety.

[M725ROB]

I've dragged offroad jeeps all over the midwest on a variety of trailers, and with a variety of trucks. With a suspension trailer, the load needs to be strapped down tighter than the capacity of the trailer springs. The load vehicle suspension should not move any appreciable amount on normal road bumps! With axles tied down I've had trailer suspension and load vehicle suspension get into a side to side rhythm from ruts where death or injury was narrowly avoided. On trailers without suspension, strapping the axles or tires is great because it allows the trailer to ride very smoothly. Keep in mind the suspension is loaded for hours on most trips, not weeks. Multi day trips, let loose straps when you stop if it makes you feel better.
Brakes are optional in my opinion with a light car, light trailer, and a REAL truck. Just don't drive like a Jack@ss. Remember what you're doing, and you'll get along fine. However, SWB suvs and the like need all the stability help they can get from trailer brakes and load equalizing bars.

Rob

[Chris Lovell]

Don't tie down from the rear tow loops on the chassis. You can bend the entire body down in the rear. Don't ask how I know. Wheel nets are the way to go.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I've always criss-crossed straps around the the banana arms and front A-arms down to the trailer. only pic I have, sorry.