Looking for a better, more secure way to tie the car down on the car trailer.... Ideally its the suspension and not the car body that should be tied down correct?... That way the car is 'free' to absorb the movement of the trailer and road in transit.
The way I have been doing it has been ok, but you kinda have to get down on the ground to get the straps over the axle tubes and a 10ton chain around the beam.... Which is a PITA (chain scratches the beam) and a little sketchy (rear brake lines might get caught up)......
Up front I will make a drop link (tow point) that will bolt to the lower tube of the beam....
The rear is another issue all together.... I have been thinking about fitting a large eyelet in place of the lower shock nut, but they are heavy and I'm unsure of the shear strength with side loads.... I'm also wondering if the lower shock mount is up for that kind of load. The next idea was a flat plate ring that bolts in place of the washers where the axle tube bolts to the springplate.
Is it possible to fit your trailer with straps that go around each tyre like they do on professional recovery trucks? That seems to be the nicest system to me.
Hi Simon, I have found the most efficient way to strap down a bug for transportation is to apply ratchet straps around the rear tyres , pulling them down tight to the trailer as this does let the race car suspension absorb bumps in the road . I then run a ratchet strap around the lower tube of the front beam on both sides and pull tension forward after the rear is tied down . This system works really well on my open framed dual axle trailer .
When shipping all of our cars to Warwick , I took notice of how the truck driver strapped our cars down , and he uses the method that I mentioned on my rear wheels , but he does that both front and rear .
Take care mate .....
After many years of towing my VW,s from ropes, chains and turnbuckles, this is what I use now
Ratchet straps back and front
Front: short padded eyelet straps over the beam onto hooked rachet straps. These are then attached to another short padded strap hooked onto the draw bar. I cross over the ratchet straps (left beam - right trailer etc)
Rear: I have "D" shackles on the lower outer corners of the rear bellhousing mount. I use open hooks on ratchet straps from the "D" shackles to the outer rear corners of my trailer (NOT crossed like front)
Hopefully, this all makes sense
Most of all, use quality ratchets and strapping. I went to a trucking supply depot and told hem my needs and they advised me accordingly using quality certified strapping, hooks and rings
I learned a long time ago from other Drag Racers that there should only be one suspension movement when trailering a car i.e. no suspension trailer, let the race car move, suspension trailer, tie the car down so that the car suspension is under tension and let the trailer suspension do the work. This minimises tie downs coming loose as a resullt of opposite movements of trailer and race car
Just make sure any tiedowns you buy have an AS number on them..(cant remember the exact one just now but can get it for you) also make sure that the hook has a keeper on it not just an S hook. This will stop in from comming off it the suspention compress. You should use 4 straps(one in each corner) the front 2 straps should each have a load rating of at least the total weight of the car. The 2 on the rear should each have a load rating of at least double the total weight of the car.
let's see
on my road trips
I lash all vw's securely in 6 places
diagonally out from each corner from the base of front beam to corner points on the trailer n the engine brace on the rear to rear corners - 500kg rated each ratchet strap ( this follows the Aust standard for securing a load)
plus ratchet straps, one from the front beam to the front of the trailer n one from the rear beam/tube to the rear of the trailer - 1t for front and a 2t for rear
as when u hit the picks at 110kms you don't really need your new pride n joy sitting on the back seat..
this set up has worked for me well, especially when I hit a roo which was bigger than me a few road trips ago in my T5 at 110km/h pulling a customers car and parts and the vehicle stayed exactly where I had lashed it when I was swerving, braking and avoiding an oncoming road train on the newell highway at night..
some may say overboard.. meh..
but it beats the old winch on the front bumper n shoelaces holding the rear bumper on the trailer to which i see so often
remember lashing thru the body will damage it
n yes recheck n retighten along your trip n I carry spares as they fail once n a while
buying straps - you'll do better looking at a trucking supplies type of place like
up here there is QLD diesel spares that sells good qual straps that are cheaper n better qual that rip co, super shit or bunnys
my 2c
cheers
fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse
I also have my vw's sitting about a foot behind the front of the trailer deck as on my trailer this is to me the balance point as not too much weight on the towball and therefore not have the towing vehicle's wheels bouncing off the ground or the alike.. 🤪
fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse
pics a good idea as above to see
the link below on the 1st page will give you an idea as to how n where I lash em down..
it my sc lashed on my trailer I brought back recently form melbcrud 😁
cheers http://forums.aussieveedubbers.com/viewtopic.php?tid=98775&page=1
fractal geometry; the inner most limits of mind altering abuse
we use ratchet straps through the tyres as we have holes to do that. But you haven't so ones over the tyres like the truckies do to secure cars.
We've towed like this for thousands of klms and never had a strap come loose, even when I was passing a b double doing 110klm/hr down the hume when the door came open on the oval and acted like a big parashut pushing me nearly into the middle of the bushs between the dual hwy on our way to Portland one year car didn't move or any of the straps just a bent door and pillar on the bug. Bug was on backwards. Bug always goes on forward now.
I give the big trucks a lot more room now when I'm over taking them.
after reading your post H, I checked my book. Turns out we were both wrong!!!! The front 2 tiedowns must be atleast 1/2 the load each and the rears should be equal to the weight of the load.
This diagram shows it better
I use 2 x 750kg straps at the front conected to the suspention arm and 2 x 2.5t straps going over the rear tires. because they go through an eye they have to be derated by 1/2 so there effective rating is 1.2t each.
We got lost on the way home from Warwick and ended up on a dirt track and did 14 river crossings before we hit the tar again without loosing the bug, so im pretty happy with the way its tied down.
P.S. after saying all this your tiedowns are only as good as your attachment points, so start with them first
I'm so glad I started this thread..... The conversation has been a ripper.... Everyone has been very helpful and forthcoming with suggestions and ideas..... But it's clear to me that there are many ways to skin this particular cat.... Interesting the differing ideas in regards to suspended and non-suspended trailers... I built my trailer to carry VW's only... The trailer rolls on 1500kg springs, with cable disc brakes and is a single axle, broken back design with a 2.2mtr drawbar.... With 70kg on the towball (with a VW on the trailer), the balance and ease of tow in awesome.... But there is always room to improve.
That's where this conversation started...
Ben and I have been chatting about this issue for a while now, and he has been a huge help.... The way I have been tying the car down is not too far off what you are all suggesting, but that last diagram makes it very clear.... The point about the hooks having the keepers is a good one.... None of my straps do.... I have loads of pickup points around the tralier, but I'll be adding some more when I upgrade the trailer in the coming months.... In the meantime, it's off to a commercial rigging supply I go.
