How does everybody tie their car down to the trailer? Where is the best place to hook from? I have 2 D-rings in the front and 2 in the back.
-
-
what type straps do you have? *NM*
-
Re: 67 vette tie down on trailer
I don't tie to suspension parts or across tires. A link I give you will explain why. On my '66, I could wrap over the front cross member and take a strap to each side at about 30-45 degrees from straight ahead. On the rear, I didn't have the spare tire carrier and so I could hook to the frame.
On my '68, the fan shroud made it hard to get over the cross member, but I could get behind the cross member and loop over the rear A-arm pivot bracket. This is not loading the A-arm or the bushing, but is over welded bracket.
On the rear, I often went up to the cross member behind the seats and in front of the rear end. However, the open trailer I had I could crawl up the center (open center) and it was a high trailer.
Be sure to check out the link, about halfway down the page for "Securing Your Car on the Trailer".
Be sure to use plenty of straps. Two on each end is good and at an angle. Be sure you have real tie-down straps for a car and not the cheap WalMart / K-Mart straps that supposedly are rated at 2000 lb or more.
Remember, is it worth saving $50 or so and risking a $30,000 - $70,000 car?
Trailering Your CorvetteComment
-
Re: 67 vette tie down on trailer
The best place that I have found to tie down is the same place that the transporters used when they delivered your car new. There are oblong slots in the bottom frame just in front of the rear axle kick up. There also slots in the bottom of the frame in the area of the radiatior core support. You can buy tie down straps with the "j" hooks on the end that will work in these slots.
I know it sounds dumb, but be sure to tie down in opposite directions to keep the car from rolling. I have seen several with all the straps pulling in the same direction. Also X the straps on each end. This will keep the car from moving sideways in the trailer. Yes, it does happen. After crossing about 2' of non existant New York highway and landing hard, I ruined a NOS Goodyear Polyglass when car slid sideways into fender well.Dick WhittingtonComment
-
Check the archieves....
for prior threads on this subject and the side issue of 'tire net' tie downs vs. rachet/hook methods to connect to frame/suspension! I'm a firm advocate of the tire net method....Comment
-
Tie down location *TL*
I'm with Dick on using the factory supplied oval openings in the frame. I started using various suspension components, but found them all unsatisfactory for various reasons. I never had a trailer equipped with proper mounting points for the tire nets that Jack prefers, but they should also work.
C2 factory slots for the front are just behind where the bumper mount hardware is fastened to the frame. The position in the front crossmember that Dick describes is for C3. At Hershey I noticed that C4 are on tabs hanging down from the frame member just behind the front suspension components.
Nice to see your comments Dick -- welcome back.
TerryComment
-
Re: Tie down location
Terry,
How about the best tie down spot on a C1? Thoughts on both front and rear please. Thanks.Comment
-
C1 Tie down location *TL*
Sorry Garry, I'm still researching C1 tie down locations. Perhaps someone with experience will post.
TerryComment
-
Re: C1 Tie down location
Thanks Terry. I do hope someone can shed some light on tie down locations for C1's.
GarryComment
-
Tire Nets vs Chassis tie down
Some thoughts on each method.
Tire Nets
Pros
1. Easy to tie car down.
2. U-Haul does it, and they have years of experience.
3. The car floats on its own suspension.
4. Excellent for lightweight cars or cars with frail chassis that could be damaged by the pressures of tie down straps, such as Model T Fords, formula race cars, and so on.
5. It is so easy to throw a net over a tire and clip in the hook, an idiot can do it. (Which is why U-Haul does it with their customers - most are too stupid to tie to a chassis, instead tying to bumpers, door handles, exhaust pipes, splash pans, and so on. The tire net is "idiot proof" from a liability standpoint.)
Cons
1. All forces are on the suspension parts.
2. U-Haul does it, and they restrict trailers to 45 mph.
3. The floating cars use up your shocks.
4. If you trailer 1000 miles, the car suspension has reacted to 1000 miles.
5. You drive it only on and off the trailer, yet you trailer 20,000 miles a year to shows. You may put 50 miles a year on the car driving, but the car has 20,000 miles of suspension wear. In a couple of years, your NOS F41 shocks are junk, your bushings need replacing, and yet you haven't had any fun driving it.
6. You now have a double spring calculation to figure what happens with your load.
7. If the tow vehicle is in an accident, the towed vehicle gets the accident forces applied to the suspension mounting points (bushings, pivots, mounting bolts, so on).
Chassis tiedown:
Pros
1. Suspension moves very little, so suspension parts remain unused mostly.
2. New car transport tie at the chassis and they have a lot more experience than U-Haul.
3. Chassis is stronger than the suspension points, so in an accident, damage to the towed car is minimized.
4. Trailer suspensions are designed with a load in mind, so a load should be securely mounted (solid) so that the trailer suspension works.
5. Racers prefer this way to save the expensive suspension components.
Cons
1. Harder to get to tie down points.
2. Can damage lightweight chassis if too much force is exerted.
3. Causes the springs to be placed in compression for hours or days, depending on the trip length.
There are probably a lot more for each, but this is all I could think of quickly.
Trailering Your CorvetteComment
-
Re: C1 Tie down location Carefull?
I have heard that Xing the straps causes the straps to lose their load rating? The load rating is only forward and backward, when Xing if the car is jerked front or rear the strap rating would not be adaquate?Comment
-
Re: C1 Tie down location Carefull?
Bill,
I have read that as well. Seems that if the car moves forward or backward in a sudden motion the crisscrossed tie downs work better if they are straight from the car to the D-ring. I would also argue that when they are crisscrossed they bear more load if you are hit from the side than if they are straight. I see no upside to the "straight" method if hit broadside but I do see some utility in the Xcrossed method if you are hit from front or back albeit not optimal. WTHKFS!
(who the hell knows for sure)Comment
-
Re: C1 Tie down location Carefull?
The strap load rating won't change, as the load is only along the axis or line of the strap.
This is all vectors.
If you have a 3000 lb strap, and it is straight front to back, it will hold 3000 lbs going inline with the car.
If you exert a force on the side of the car, the strap will exert 0 to counter it. However, as the car moves sideways, the vectors change (angle of the strap) and it begins to exert a force as the angle increases.
Theoretically, since you have straps front and rear, and the chassis is not compressible or expandible, the angle cannot change (think of two triangles that are pinned at one corner together and at the furthest corner on each) and the chassis cannot move sideways.
In reality, the chassis doesn't stretch, but the straps do. And that lets your car move. They stretch because while they may be rated at 3000 lb each, the vectors involved with the angle change can greatly exceed the 3000 lb in the line of the strap.
(Simple example: Tie a strap to the front of your car. 1. Pull on it and see how far you move the car. 2. Tie the other end to something solid and tighten. Walk to the center and push the strap to the side.
Which way can you move the car the easiest?)
Now about criss-crossing: If the strap is 3000 lb, and you place it at a 45 degree angle to the car, the strap can hold 1500 lb front-back and 1500 lb left-right. However, if you have tow on the back, you have 1500 + 1500 so you have the original 3000 lb in front-back and you also have 3000 lb in left-right.
Just remember, you need TWO at each end to angle or criss-cross them and preserve the load rating you want.Comment
-
Re: C1 Tie down location Carefull?
We'll be heading for Carlisle Thursday morning.
This will be my first trip towing a 56 in an enclosed trailer.
I too am very interested in hearing the proper way to tie down a C1.
RobComment
-
Re: C1 Tie down location Carefull?
Rob,
Email me directly and I will tell you how I have been able to trailer my '56 safely all summer long. Right or wrong,it is working fine.
Garry BarnesComment
Comment