I have had a Featherlite 20 ft enclosed trailer for 13 years hauling mostly C2's. Great trailer and I have always winched the cars in and out since there is no escape door. This has not been a problem on C2's with no low front spoiler. I now have several C3 and C6 with much lower front nose pieces and the winch cable wants to rub the front spoilers. It is only a matter of time before something is damaged. I can stand on the cable as it is pulling or releasing but this is an accident waiting to happen. I think most of the contact comes at the bottom of the ramp as the car is loaded/unloaded. At home I am usually doing this as a one person procedure. This is what makes me nervous about buying a drive on trailer with escape door, not much room for error side to side driving on by yourself. Thanks in advance for recommendations.
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Re: Trailer Woes
How about installing a small cable pulley so the pulley stays low to the ground. Also maybe adding some 2X10 on your ramp or even inside your trailer to get the car up a little, might help in the loading/unloading as well.
Just my .02
Mike -
Re: Trailer Woes
Dave =
I always load and unload by myself. What I did was once I had the car on the trailer at home and could do some testing, I put small pieces of pinstripe tape along the line where the driver side tire should be. When I am driving onto the trailer, I have the door open about 6 inches and lean out the window and I can see the driver front tire as I am driving up the ramps and onto the trailer. Gets me nearly perfect every time.
I also did some tongue weight testing and moved the car back and forth until I had the weight of the car positioned where the tongue was not too heavy or light, thus making the trailer do all the lifting work, and not putting it all on the truck suspension. To locate the car forward and aft, then I put another piece of tape at an X in the center line of the front and rear axle that I could also see from the side so I am positioned correctly front to back. With a big truck and big trailer, that may not be such a big deal. With my setup, I dont want a 700lb tongue weight.
On different Corvettes: The 427 I move about 6 inches further to the rear than the 1981.
Hope this helps.
Brad HillhouseComment
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Re: Trailer Woes
From my experience, the Tongue weight should be 9- 15 say ten percent of the trailer and Corvette weight.
ScottComment
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Re: Trailer Woes
If you drive up onto the ramp to the point that you can still exit the car, (far enough back that the ramp cables don't interfere with opening the door) then the front of the car should be high enough so that the low spoilers etc. don't get close to the winch cable. Now you can attach the winch to the car. Snug up winch cable. Next place the car in neutral and winch into the trailer.
Same procedure in reverse when unloading.... winch the car out so that it is still on the ramp door. Reach into the car and place in gear/park. Disconnect the winch and get into the car to complete the unload, backing the car off the ramp door.
Note: the orange wood inserts in the photo "bridge" the hinge area so there is a fairly smooth transition across the hinge opening. Don't forget to remove the inserts prior to closing the ramp door.
I use the "claw" hooks on the rear tiedown straps (wrapped in tape to protect the frame paint) and place them into the frame "transport" holes. After the car position has been "optimized" for load position, tighten those straps against the winch tension. Now you have a predetermined location for next time as you don't loosen the rear straps, but rather let the car roll back some when unloading and unhook the "claws" from the frame. Now the next time you load winch the car partially into the trailer and attach the "claws" in the frame holes. (This can be done from the side of the car so you don't need to crawl under the car to attach. Now winch the car into the trailer until the rear straps are tight and then attach the front straps and tighten. The car is now at the proper "balance" location. The rear straps become "dedicated" and should not need adjustment. I have a couple of rear strap sets for different cars that I trailer.
Photos are NOT in order of procedure.. but are labeled in the lower right corner.....Comment
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Re: Trailer Woes
Thanks Michael
I think the issue would be how to remove cable from pulley as car progresses into the trailer.Comment
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Thanks Stephen
Maybe stopping the car on the ramp during unload vs letting go all the way down off the ramp is the solution. I too use the j hooks for the rear tie down. I do not have a transition issue on the ramp requiring wood blocks. Wonder if ramp extensions from Racedeck (or whoever) would also lower the approach angle?Comment
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Thanks to all who provided opinionsComment
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Re: Trailer Woes
I also load my cars by myself with a winch, Race Ramps offers a trailer door extension ramp, I use a pair of them with my 26ft Featherlite, allows me to load C6, C7, even my 32 and 40 street rods which have my desired appropriate rake, with no issues. sometimes I stand at the front of the car on the cable if you will with the ball of my foot (this will hold the cable down on the trailer door) and ride the cable in with the car, my winch remote has a cable long enough to reach off the trailer ramp if necessary.Comment
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Roy
Thanks much for the C6 verification. Sounds like you "surf" on your cable like I do. I need to find a remote for my Superwinch as my remote cord doesnt reach to the back of my trailer.
And it sounds as if the Race Ramp extensions in your opinion also are beneficial in cutting down the ramp angle?Comment
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Re: Trailer Woes
I just bought a wireless remote for my winch on Ebay. About $17.
I would NOT stand on the cable while under tension. In fact you should never even stand near a cable while under tension. If the cable breaks it rapidly becomes a whip that can cause severe injury to anyone in its path. This is a general rule in the construction industry.
I extended my control wire by purchasing an 50 ft extension cord from Lowes, cutting the plugs off, and wiring back into the control handle and the plug at the winch...….Comment
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The advantage of the ramps is it raises the nose of the car before it gets to the trailer door.Comment
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I will log your advice into my memory bank and be more cautious in the future. Although when my weight will deflect the cable as easily as it does and with the cable size I use capable of lifting 9,000 lbs vertically, I doubt the rolling weight of my car and me even starts to stress the cable. i do check it regularly for fraying and damage.Comment
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Another way you can reduce the angle of approach when loading is to while the trailer is connected to your tow vehicle, jack up the trailer some which will lower the angle at the rear of the trailer.Comment
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Now here's a REAL trailer woe.....In the heat of preparing for PV judging, haste made for this terrible trouble!!! Not mine, but I captured this photograph several years ago in NJ at a Regional. The owner untied the car, while in neutral, then moved the trailer, boom out went the car........equals serious woe! This post is as a reminder, stay cool and calm during loading and unloading your precious Corvettes! No injuries occured and only minor damage to the exhaust pipes and a few scratches to the frame, and very lucky to have gone on and passed the PV, IIRC.
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