Hi Richard,
Brings back memories of March for me!! I bought a 12' tandom axle
trailer in March to pickup the TR4A that I bought in Pennsylvania, I
live in Lincoln Nebraska. About a 1200 mile trip.
Here is what I've learned since I got the trailer....
Some well wisher told me to use chains, 3/8" link to be exact. So I
went out and bought a bunch with hooks and a couple of load binders to
since the chain down with. Turned out to be a big mistake. For one
thing, with chain that size on a car that small with a trailer no
longer than the car there WASN'T any room for cinching down the chain.
I eventually got the car home but it wasn't any thanks to the chains.
I had to use the chains because that was all I had but in order to
get the car to stay put since there was always slop in the chains I
had to let the air out of all the tires. That worked great, but I
don't think thats what you want to use for a driver type car!!
What I am switching to are some nylon Tire Bonnets that slip over the
front tires, have a hook on one end that you attach to the trailer
somewhere behind the wheel and a ratchet mechanism that pulls the Tire
Bonnet down tight over the wheel. That and using a wheel chock in
from of the tire will keep the front end in place with no movement at
all. This is the same arrangement that U-Haul uses on their
auto-transports. I paid $65 for a pair. I haven't tried these yet
but I can't find any flaw in the arrangement from looking at the
trialer and thinking about it. On the back end of the car you would
get a couple of nylon axle straps and use those to cinch down the rear
fo the car. You do want to make sure that the car is free to float on
its own suspension while being towed. That keeps it from taking a
beating from the bouncing around of the trailer.
Whatever you do, don't bother with chains, except as a safety back
mechanism. Take some chains and hook them to the trailer and rap them
around the rear axle. Just don't tighten them to tight. They are
only there as a safety measure incase one of the nylon straps breaks.
Unlikely but could happen.
Also make sure you use somekind of fixed in place wheel chocks for the
front wheels. This will help keep the car from trying to roll forward
when you brake.
You mentioned that you were going to use 2000lb nylon ties. I would
STRONGLY suggest something in the 5000lb rating. Remember that if
something happens and say you have to stop REAL quick then you have
the 2000 lbs of the car on the trailer plus the velocity you're
traveling at trying to move forward off the trailer. Thats not good.
Don't be afraid to over engineer your tie down situation. Of course
it all depends on how much you value the car being trailered and the
car doing the towing.
The phone # for the Tire Bonnets is 805-738-0223.
The Tire Bonnet part # is 30TB and I think they are rated at 12,000
lbs. Which is probably a little over kill but thats the smallest they
had.
You may have to hurry to get these to you by the time you leave but I
highyly recommend them.
Feel free to call me or contact me if you have any questions.
Good luck.
> Yesterday I bought a 14 foot flat-bed trailer to pull my TR, and was
> wondering if anyone has any tips for trailering the car; such as
> what types of tie-downs to use, how to distribute the weight, which
> is better, a tonneau or top? etc. I plan to use nylon ties rated for
> 2000 Lb, will that suffice? I'll be taking a Fourth of July trip to
> Cloudcroft, New Mexico and plan to drive over to Ruidoso, any one
> going that way this weekend? Before some SA asks why I don't just
> drive it all the way, be aware the days have been over 100 in West
> Texas, and roads are straight as an arrow unitl beyond Roswell. I
> would drive it anyway, but the wife.....
>
> Richard Triplett
> 62 TR3A
> 78 Spitfire
> 85 XJ6
Brad (Lincoln Nebraska 402-464-1502)
1964 Spitfire4 BFC25720L (In "Teething" Mode right now)
1966 TR4A CT72398L (Waiting for garage space to start teardown)
1951 Dodge Truck 82217766 B-3-B-108 (Suspension just about ready to install)
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