I've done a good bit of reading on the trailering process, as I've never done this before and its not something I wish to get wrong .
I am borrowing a friends trailer (with brakes) and was able to get my car on it without falling off the side. The doors don't open over the trailer fenders so I was thinking of using the 2 pairs of 2x12's used in the trailering process to progressively place them in front of front and rear tires to lift the car a bit (2" inches).
1) Any problem with this?
I bought ratcheting straps from Pep Boys rated for 1100 lbs.
2) I assume that this is OK since 4x1100 is 4400lbs?
The straps I bought have J hooks on the end which I'm just sticking into the jacking puck holes under the car.
3) I've seen reference to fancy R hooks and T hooks. Any reason that my rubber coated J hook strap ends won't work out OK?
Prior threads have instructed on crossing straps over right to left. The way I strapped it caused the front straps to stay behind the front tires but crossed over to opposite sides of the trailer, though the rear straps end up crossed over behind the rear wheels.
4) Is this right?
5) I'm towing with a 2006 Ford Expodition. Do I need to worry about weight balancing? I have no idea how much weight is actually on the hitch.
6) Anything serious a rookie needs to know before he goes on a 300 mile trip to VIR this weekend so he doesn't bang up his pride and joy on Friday the 13th?
Here are a couple of my trailering tips. Hopefully others will chime in, too.
Yes, try and get a sense of good trailer balance. The whole rig will be more stable.
An Expedition will tow it I am sure, but be careful. Even with my 9000 pound Ford F250 diesel, I have had the trailer start whipping a bit a couple of times. I would be scared to think of what would have happened if I was driving my Expedition. It would have been a HUGE handful.
Make sure you are well acquainted with where the trailer brake manual lever is located. Practice going to it a few times and practice regularly. If the trailer starts to whip, drag that brake immediately. It will stop the whipping effect. Whatever you do, don't back off abruptly and/or slam on the regular brakes. That is how most rigs jack knife and roll over. I have seen two rolled-over 20' enclosed trailers and Expeditions over the last few years. I am sure that is what happened.
As far as the strapping of the car goes, I have an enclosed trailer. All I do now is strap the rear end so the car does not go forward and then I use the forward holes with the J-hook things to hold the car laterally.
I used use straps/nets around the tires, but they tended to come loose and slip off and the car never seems to move even an iota.
I do have wheel chocks embedded in the trailer in front of the front wheels.
I think that I would suggest that you find someone in your area, who has towed before , and have them look over what you are doing. You need to have more weight forward on the trailer hitch, than most people would expect; the car should NOT be 50/50 balanced in the trailer. I wouldn't advise using the expedition without load leveling bars, a sway bar, and definitely electric brake control. After all that, and someone experienced looks it over, I would tell you to take it for a couple rides around your area and get used to it.
Guy
I am afraid that your straps are not strong enough. I use four ratchet straps each rated at 3300lbs. You can get these cheap at Northern tool. They also sell the T-hooks. The worst thing would be having your car become a missile in a accident. Just my 2 cents.
I pull my open trailer with a 4x4 V8 Toyota 4 runner and don't have any issues with the weight. Just watch for sway and adjust the car if needed.
__________________
Chris
2004 Silver Z06,
Atlanta Region Solo II, 92 SS
I think that I would suggest that you find someone in your area, who has towed before , and have them look over what you are doing. You need to have more weight forward on the trailer hitch, than most people would expect; the car should NOT be 50/50 balanced in the trailer. I wouldn't advise using the expedition without load leveling bars, a sway bar, and definitely electric brake control. After all that, and someone experienced looks it over, I would tell you to take it for a couple rides around your area and get used to it.
Guy
I agree.. Be careful, take your time, make sure your trailer brakes are adjusted properly, & watch out for the " the other guy"..........
just started towing this year and learned some things along the way.
1. I would get higher rated tie downs. I got mine from Mac tie towns. Easy to use and good quality.
2. I use T-hooks. Not sure if there is a difference versus the j hook since once in the frame I am sure it is not going any where.
3. tie down should be crossed both front and rear.
4. See if the trailers side fendor comes off that will make loading and unloading much easier. My trailer does not have a quick release for the side fendor, but removing 4 bolts I can take it off which I found much easier than sliding in and out of the car.
5. I tow my open trailer with a V8 explorer (though I am buying a diesel excursion). Try not to make sudden lane changes and just try to be smooth. You should not have a problem, but as stated use the manual electronic brake to stop and side to side movement.
6. take the trailer and your truck for a ride without a car. See how much room you need to make turns and feel what it is like to have a trailer on the back of the truck.
7. test the brakes on with the trailer. You can set the trailer brakes to come on before the truck brakes, at the same time, or lag a bit. I tried different ways and like the trailer brakes to lag a bit.
8. Disable overdrive on the truck. I put it in drive without the electronic overdrive. It seems to be much easier on the truck.
9. dont be scared when you look up and see your car in the rearview mirror. First towing I would look up and think that guy is really close.
honestly take your time, dont rush and you should be fine....
I'd say the straps are way too light - you want the working load of one end to handle the weight of the car - i.e. two rear straps are all that hold it in place during stopping (home depot has j-hooks rated at 3k lbs). T-hooks allow for a more solid connection, although j might work. I tow an open with my f150 - handles it fine, although would like a bit more grunt up hills. I am using a weight distributing hitch though, which makes a noticable difference. It isn't mandatory though, the car and trailer are below the capacity of the vechicle. Electronic brake controller is mandatory - love my Prodigy.
1.) As others have mentioned your tie downs are undersized. If you were suspending a load your math is correct. However in this application I tend to think of any one straps capability to hold the load. Think of a force from the side, front/rear, or corner. For a side or front force only two of the straps hold the load. For a corner force only one strap will be supporting the load.
2.) I was always taught to tie cars down by the tires or suspension in such a manner that the car floats in place on its suspension. For a Corvette I would think the tire straps tie downs would be the best. Here's the rational. If you tie off on the frame and the suspension is partially compressed and you hit a big bump the suspension will further compress, rebound and potentially snap the straps. This happened to an aquantance of mine who had chained his car to the trailer front and back. Snapped the chains and the car partially rolled off the trailer.
3.) The respondents recommending getting outside advice and practicing pulling the trailer are right. Do not forget to practice backing up the trailer. You may get yourself into situations at gas stations, etc. where you have to back up. Not a problem if you've practiced. When you practice cornering look at the trailer wheels path relative to your tow vehicles path and get a feel for their shorter turn radius. (This will help you avoid running over curbs and snapping those frame mounted undersized tie downs!)
4.) I can't stress enough spare parts. I've pulled a lot of loads with my Tahoe in the 6500 pound range over the last 6 years, and at a minimum I carried the following: trailer jack (I used a 1.5 ton hydraulic bottle jack), lug wrench, wheel bearings, tail lamp bulbs, at least one spare tire, rags, grease. and assorted other tools. I've seen others actually carry a complete axle assembly. (I raced boats on a circuit and we all tended to travel together). Others carry multiple spares. (I've seen improperly loaded trailers scour the tread off the front two tires-weight too far forward-or on one side-weight off center-in under a 1000 miles. Thus the rational behind two spares.
If you round up all of these parts you are guranteed not too have a brakedown!
5.) I never trust a borrowed trailer. Go over that trailer with a fine tooth comb. I've had to borrow a couple of heavy duty trailers, and in each case I put money into it-replaced tires, tailights, paid for current tags, new wheel bearings, etc. Still cheap rent and much better to be pro-active then having the midnight breakdown, leave the trailer behind scenario, while you go try to scrounge parts. The lesson is go over it with a fine tooth comb and make sure the wheel bearings are good, lights work, braking system works, light and brake connections match your vehicle, etc. BTW-there are some nifty trailer light adapter plugs that auto parts store carry now. I keep all 3 varieties in my Tahoe. If the trailer is over 5 years old look for rusted structural member joints (more applicable to boat trailers) but I have seen trailers come apart at welded joints that rust.
6.) I already mentioned tires several times. One important checklist item is inspect the tires closely. Most trailers sit in the sun w/o moving and the tires will dry rot. Plenty of tread is not an indicator that the tire is road worthy. A dry rotted tire will come apart in a very short period of time. Ask the owner how old they are, etc.
7.) I'm not in love with your idea of the 2 x 12's. Wider would be better. Again planning for the worst case scenario is always best. What happens if the boards work there way out and a strap loosens. Highly unlikley I know. I would make sure the boards are attached to the trailer floor.
8.) Tongue weight is the key to make sure that the trailer does not sway. The old rule of thumb is 10% of the load on the trailer tongue. For a 3500# load that would be 350 #'s. I've seen some of the more anal people I caravanned with get a scale to measure this. Its worth it to get this right. When you do get on the road bring it up to speed slowly and monitor that trailer is not swinging, and don't let it start. BTW-If you pull the trailer empty monitor the swaying. A lot of trailers need to have the axles aligned.
Trailering can be a NIGHTMARE-but if you do your homework, its enjoyable and worry free. I actually like to do it-but not unprepared.
Enjoy your trip!
Regards;
Scott
Last edited by BoomerangJ : 10-11-2006 at 08:42 PM.
I bought ratcheting straps from Pep Boys rated for 1100 lbs.
2) I assume that this is OK since 4x1100 is 4400lbs?
Thanks,
NO! Your car will not weigh 4400lbs when you come to a screeching halt.
PM GNX Guy. He will give you the best advice and some web sites that sell the right took hooks and straps. I personally would not use anything less than 10,000lbs per strap.
2.) I was always taught to tie cars down by the tires or suspension in such a manner that the car floats in place on its suspension. For a Corvette I would think the tire straps tie downs would be the best. Here's the rational. If you tie off on the frame and the suspension is partially compressed and you hit a big bump the suspension will further compress, rebound and potentially snap the straps. This happened to an aquantance of mine who had chained his car to the trailer front and back. Snapped the chains and the car partially rolled off the trailer.
I agree with your well-written reply, except for the above point. Tying a car down by the wheels is NOT good advice.
GM has thoughtfully provided four tie-down points in the frame of the Corvette. These points are specifically designed to tie the car down during shipment, and in fact are what is used by the car haulers when they deliver the car to your dealer.
If your acquaintance snapped chains using this method, the chains were simply not strong enough for the job.
Use 10,000 lb straps and T-hooks, cross the straps front and back and tighten them to the point that the suspension is compressed in the Vette (this usually means as hard as you can). You will not deform or break the tie-down holes in the frame.
Never had a problem in over 100,000 miles of Vette towing.
horizontal tension on straps will not compress the suspension at all. My car still goes up and down plenty as the hooks pound the trailer sometimes. I see a guy using 1" straps on his Viper every year at the Viper event two years so his luck has been good. T-hooks are best! If you got any slack the J's will drop out After you load go doen the road a bit and stop to check everything is still tight and nothing was forgotten. Rule #1 when you are driving you are responsible for your load. Don't let anyone hook the trailer up or car. Sometimes at the track people try to help and will hook things up the wrong way. So in a nice way tell them no which is hard not to offend them. Leave sticks in neutral with the brake on.
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Your car will not weigh 4400lbs when you come to a screeching halt.
two years so his luck has been good. T-hooks are best! If you got any slack the J's will drop out
After you load go doen the road a bit and stop to check everything is still tight and nothing was forgotten. Rule #1 when you are driving you are responsible for your load. Don't let anyone hook the trailer up or car. Sometimes at the track people try to help and will hook things up the wrong way. So in a nice way tell them no which is hard not to offend them. Leave sticks in neutral with the brake on.
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