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Re: [Shop-talk] Enclosed car trailer

To: Shop Talk List <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Enclosed car trailer
From: Brad Kahler <bkahler1@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 9 Sep 2015 16:22:48 -0400
Delivered-to: mharc@autox.team.net
Delivered-to: shop-talk@autox.team.net
References: <14fb1efc30a-24df-27a47@webprd-a46.mail.aol.com> <55F0481F.2090004@dinospider.com> <CANuE7YDtahWCn+f1HQtV4q2OEopnSY8t0_Yw7NcoLhzt+q-4HQ@mail.gmail.com>
Having started this thread I would say it's starting to cover areas that I
had not originally intended (or thought of) but the information that is
being posted is good stuff and I'm glad it's being posted.  I had never
really looked closely at the dynamics of just what happens with a towed
vehicle, it's suspension and how it's tied down.  I can see I need to
review the methods that I use and plan accordingly.

With that being said I look forward to more posts about trailers, towing
dynamics and how trailers are being configured and used.

Thanks!

Brad

On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 1:24 PM, John Innis <jdinnis@gmail.com> wrote:

> Since you started the discussion, lets get this one going right.  First and
> foremost, I am not an expert, but the information I am presenting here was
> presented to me by someone I believed to be an expert.  One of the guys at
> our SCCA club put on a trailing clinic, and this is what he told us.  Since
> he has pulled a lot of very expensive cars around to tracks all over the US
> and claims to have had 0 incidents, I think his experience is worth
> listening to.
>
> I was taught to ALWAYS strap a car down by the frame.  I was told to use
> crossover strapping and tighten them until the suspension was about 50%
> compressed.
>
> The Crossover strapping method means that the amount that the straps
> stretch or relax is minimized when the car moves up (in ANY direction).  So
> if the car hops to the side a bit the angle of the strap might change, but
> the length won't (or at least it will change less).
>
> Compressing the suspension forces the car and trailer to move as one and
> insures that even if the car shifts a little bit, the straps will remain
> tight.  If your trailer has suspension and the car is allowed to bounce on
> its suspension independently of the trailer, the tow can end up going at
> different directions with a significant amount of force.
>
> And finally, ALWAYS have a backup method of insuring your load does not
> ever separate from the trailer.  I was taught to have at least tow safety
> chains connected to the frame of the car with clevis or quick link.
>
> My own personal advice is do all of the above AND stop after 20 miles or
> whenever the weather changes and check your straps.  I only pull a trailer
> a few times a year and have probably done less than 10000 miles hauling
> cars, but I have also never had a problem using these methods.  I am
> curious to hear what other on the list have to say on this subject.
>
> On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 9:54 AM, Mike Rambour <lists@dinospider.com> wrote:
>
> >  and when you get lucky and I mean really lucky, the car rolls off the
> > trailer on the freeway offramp and comes to a stop with minimal
> damage...a
> > few hundred yards earlier I would have been to 60, instead I was doing
> > 10mph, like I said lucky.  This was with the chassis strapped down tight,
> > but I guess not tight enough since a downward bounce allowed the hooks to
> > come loose and the straps came off.
> >
> >
> >  After that incident, I got the wheel basket straps, moved the D-rings to
> > where they needed to be and never strapped down the chassis again.  Let
> the
> > chassis bounce all it wants, keep the wheels locked down and the car will
> > stay.  Maybe even better for the car since the cars suspension is still
> > able to freely move.
> >
> >     mike
> >
> >
> > On 9/9/2015 4:48 AM, Dave wrote:
> >
> >> If you put restraints on the chassis but don't compress the suspension
> >> sufficiently the restraints will go slack in a jounce situation and when
> >> the suspension rebounds and you hit the limits of the restraints you
> put a
> >> lot of kinetic stress on the restraints and the attachment points.  When
> >> you are hauling a car like a TR with a stiff, overdamped suspension
> there
> >> is little secondary bouncing.  If you are hauling a 70's vintage
> Cadillac,
> >> on the other hand...
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