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Shift yourself over to the right a bit in your seat and line up the middle of the hood with the center of the front of the trailer, or the tailgate on your truck. inch forward until you put the front wheels on the ramps just a bit. put the parking brake on and get out and check your alignment. inch up a bit more and repeat. do that a few times until you get comfortable with your points of reference. Also I marked a line with a bit of paint on the driver's side runner where I want the rear wheel of the car to be on the trailer for proper tongue weight. when I get up on the trailer I just crack my driver side door open and look back and put the tire right on that mark.
Magnetic decal on tailgate inline with driver seat. Same concept with a push broom handle leaning against deck. Trying to guide myself with door open I tend to turn left a little.
Brian, I have the same problem parking on my Kwik-Lift ramps in the garage. I started using a cheap hand held mirror out the window, watching the drivers front tire. Ended up using two driveway markers pressed into holes drilled in two short pieces of 2 by 4's. I position them on the ground a few inches from the side of each ramp.
do it all the time . I sit up out the window . Winch nowadays
Brian
Winch with lots of poundage, and a reliable brake = safe, reliable, easy on the sidewalls, and no climbing out the window when the door is too close to the trailer fender.
Ed
Last edited by RacePro Engineering; 05-23-2016 at 07:16 PM.
Easiest and safest way to load is using a winch. Here is a video of me loading my car into the trailer by myself.... It is about as interesting as watching grass grow, but it shows how easy it is to load.
When I had the open aluminum deck trailer I could gauge the position by the parallax created with the decking lines (picture boards and lining up the crack that most aligns with your view from the driver's position). I pretty much nailed it each time with no problem. I, also, marked the correct aluminum seam with a black paint mark to initially align the vehicle.
Before that I tried centering the hood on the handle for the front of the trailer.
Worked most of the time. Also used the little ***** on a telescoping pole with a magnetic base.
I keep thinking about using a winch. I usually get someone to come over to help me line it up on the ramps. In desperation I ask my wife to guide me up. That's never a real good idea .
Winch with lots of poundage, and a reliable brake = safe, reliable, easy on the sidewalls, and no climbing out the window when the door is too close to the trailer fender.
Ed
. . . oh, and for those of us with a racing clutch . . . well, you get the idea . . .
Forward, forward, flip! Ukrainian tank topples over and lands on its roof as soldier tries to guide it onto the back of a lorry - and is nearly killed in the process
Soldier stands on the flatbed lorry guiding huge T-64 Soviet tank onto it
Tank comes up the ramp then the front comes down suddenly onto lorry
Soldier ducks for cover as barrel of gun comes down inches from head
Tank flips over and lands on its roof in a ditch by the side of the road
I just drive up by myself. And thats in an enclosed trailer. Shouldn't we all know where the dimensions of our car are?
Some open trailers are really close to the same width as the wheels on a vehicle. An inch or two here and there can result in the tire scoring itself on a very sharp edge. You might give a look at some of the open trailer widths the next time you are at the track.
Brian, I have the same problem parking on my Kwik-Lift ramps in the garage. I started using a cheap hand held mirror out the window, watching the drivers front tire. Ended up using two driveway markers pressed into holes drilled in two short pieces of 2 by 4's. I position them on the ground a few inches from the side of each ramp.
I use a Superwinch 4500 with a wireless remote. There is no climbing in/out of the car to get the car off/on the trailer. Definitely would come in handy if you break something and can't get the car onto the trailer under its own power.
And the remote is only a single hand operation to push the appropriate button.
Know exactly where your front tires are. Once you learn that, you won't need a guide or wench.
Consider driving over a pot hole or bump to get practice, but first aim your line by lining up where you think the front left tire is and drive over that bump. Pick a mark on your hood (body line, wiper arm, whatever) and use it as a guide to aim where the front left tire is. It will take a few times, but you will put your tire right where you want it once you have this skill.
I lean my head out the window or under the door. Also painted a line along the trailer deck to line the tire up with as I drive the car on.
This. Just poke your head out and get the side you can see put where it needs to be. And don't park the car so far forward on the trailer, you look a bit tongue heavy in the pic.
05-23-2016, 12:25 PM
Loading a C4 on an Open Trailer single handed
