dvandentop

ok so what kind of straps are reccomended for a c6z?? I have seen some straps that already have the hooks for the frame in them already? are they the t style hooks or are they the claw type hooks? i know there was a post a few months ago but cant find it

thanks
Derek

BIG SURPRISE

I use the claw type. They will slide in the slots but i'm sure the t hooks would make it easer.

AU N EGL

t-hook

Poor-sha

Based on the threads on this forum I bought the T-hooks and HD ratcheting straps from Truck n' tow. So far though all I've done is strap the car down once to make sure everything worked and then unloaded the car.

We'll see if both truck and car make it to track attack

ghoffman

T hooks are the way to go with tie downs on the rear and fixed length steel cables up front. I criss-cross them both to add side loading capability so the car won't jump sideways on the trailer. The advantage of the cables is that they A) fit under the air dam better, B) the car is in the same spot every time, C) are much easier to use since in this case you can just push them to the general area, something you can't do with fabric, and D) are cheap and available (I got mine at Home Depot).

c4cruiser

Regardless of the type of hook at the end of the strap, you ned to get ratchet straps that are strong enough to hold the car in place.

Many straps are listed with a "Gross weight rating" but you need to look as the "working load limit" or "safe load limit". This value is 1/3 of the gross rating. For example a strap with a 5000 lb gross weight rating actually has a working load limit of 1,667 lbs. A strap with a 10,000 gross weight rating has a WLL of 3,300 lbs.

The difference in price of straps between the two ratings is relatively small. For the few extra bucks, get the 10,000 lb /3300lb versions.

Truck 'n' Tow has them with the T-hooks already installed but you can also get separate T-hooks and then use the more common straps with snap hooks. Doing it this way, you can remove the T-hooks and use the straps to tie down other types of cargo.

While using fixed length wire for the front is fine, I would think that the car has to be on the trailer so that the car is parallel to the trailer deck. If the car is a a slight angle, then one cable may not tighten up as the ratchet straps are tightened at the other end. With ratcheting straps at all 4 corners, the individual straps can be tightened as needed.

What capacity do those cables have? Some of the stuff I have seen at HD doesn't have more than a 5000lb gross weight rating. A Grade 70 chain (4600 WLL) might have more capacity than cable. Grade 43 chain has a 3600 lb WLL rating.

Datawiz

I use this for my C6Z

http://www.truckntow.com/pc-11304-14...snap-hook.aspx

As others have said, they just go into the frame rail. Some people cut off the other 2 hooks they don't use. I left mine intact, but it does bang up the trailer a little bit.

dvandentop

thanks guys i will have to order from there once i find a trailer.

mousecatcher

i use vulcan wheel straps. easy to tie down (no reaching under car) and doesn't load the suspension.

e-track is really the way to go though.

dvandentop

so you dont like d rings on the floor?

Everett Ogilvie

Many professional big rig drivers who specialize in hauling the rarest, highest dollar cars there are including historic priceless race cars, almost exclusively use etrack with over the tire straps. You can use all sorts of ilders to position the straps away from the underbody and put the straps exactly where they need to be. Intercity (one of the best around) recently hauled a car for me and the driver told me they will fire any driver who uses anything other than the over the tire straps. D-rings and frame hooks all work fine, I am just pointing out what is used to protect some of the most expensive cars that are hauled. Tire straps don't compress the suspension.

With that said, here is what I just ended up doing on my new (used) trailer. My car is tough to tie down because it does not have a conventional frame. The front end really has no accessible place to tie to, while the rear has a somewhat accessible sub-frame. My ideal setup would be full length etrack and over the tire straps, but there are diamond plate strips which I did not feel like removing and for some reason I decided not to mount etrack on top of the diamond plate. I purchased 4 two foot lengths of etrack and pretty much mounted these pieces near the 4 corners of the trailer. Because I didn't go with etrack directly under the tire positions that ruled out over the tire straps so I went with through the wheel straps. They have thick flannel-like soft casings so they should not harm the finish on the wheels and you simply run it around the wheel/tire and then put your ratchet strap onto the ends and anchor the other end of the ratchet strap to the proper fitting in the etrack. This was about the only way to tie down my car, and it still has the benefit of not compressing the suspension (although some feel that allowing the car to float wears out shocks). Anyway, I hope this helps and offers at least one setup that might work for others.

GettReal

I use 10,000lb ratchet straps with t hooks. I was going to go with a fixed strap but I realized I needed the slight adjustment for when Im trailering the car vs.. the car and 3 sets of tires on my tire racks

Pylons

Consider the angle from the frame rail hole for the T-hook to a D-ring on the opposite side of the car that's not even under the car...any compression of the suspension is negligible

mousecatcher

oooh, that's an extremely bad mistake. you MUST compress the suspension quite a bit if using frame hooks. if you are crossing straps that's all the more tension that must be on the strap.

mousecatcher

do you mean at the corners, and using the frame slots? personally i think they are fine and many many people tie down that way. i just prefer the tire straps and you have the bonus that the car rides on the suspension.

or do you mean d rings situated for over-the-tire straps, as opposed to e-track? in that case d-rings are equivalent, it's just that i haul different cars around so e-track works out better.

Pylons

you need to go back to trigonometry class...or physics...maybe both

mousecatcher

well thank goodness you won't be trailering my vehicle.

Pylons

I'd love to see how you compress the suspension "quite a bit" when the force vector has about 8 feet horizontal and only 5-6 inches vertical.

bgx12

I have heard that you secure the rear first then tighten the front pulling towards the front of the trailer. I plan on cross strapping with 10k pound straps.

I am trailering for the first time this weekend. Is that right?

c4cruiser

What I do with my car is to run it up to a wheel stop that I added so that the tongue weight will be right for the postion of the car. I set the parking brake so that it will not roll.

Then I attach the two front straps and snug them up. I then attach the rear straps crossing them and snug those up (for my trailer its much easier to cross the rear straps). Then I release the parking brake and tighten the front straps, then the rear straps. I'll set the parking brake again and I'm done.

It takes me about 6 miles to get to a freeway so I'll stop on the on-ramp and then re-check the straps for tightness and tighten as needed.