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A U-Haul trailer would be my preference and its only about $65 for a day...they have ratchet straps that secure the front wheels and the car won't move. Otherwise I'd insist on a rollback. Don't lets some Bubba tail drag your Corvette around town.
I wouldn't use anything but a flat bed. No idea if true but I heard years ago that frame cracks can happen luggin it around by the front end. In any event, a flat bed is safer in that it will be harder for some inattentive idiot to hit you.
I may need to have my 64 corvette towed what is proper way,someone told me that there are holes in the frame that the tow driver can use thanks
IMO.............Flat Bed is my preference.......Front or rear towing this Cars is hard on the frame flex with the doors closed....Chips on the top doors edges will appear..........There are a number of places to pull (Roll) the chassis up onto a Flat Bed Truck.......
Flat bed truck or U haul trailer, with nylon wheel straps. ALL American cars with full frames from the 1930's to present have oblong holes in the frame that T-hooks slip into to hook chains up to for rail transport and truck transport when new......As a guy who's hauled cars for a living, I can tell you that while secure, the T-hooks and chain set-up can 'slide hammer' the frame slots as the car goes up and down while on the truck......not good. Have seen frame rails actually torn. And have seen wheel bearings destroyed by this hammering. By tying the car down to the deck by the wheels, the car can move up and down on it's own suspension, and nothing gets damaged. I towed my '61 when I bought it over 250 miles on the back of a U-Haul trailer.....It was less than $175, if I recall.
I would personally prefer a flat bed/rollback or a trailer, especially for longer distances. However if not too great a distance and they're using a wheel lift (where the vehicle is tied down by its tires), and it isn't too long a distance, you should be fine. Just be sure the mechanism doesn't get too close to the body especially behind the tires as they lift it.
I have a 16ft flat trailer that I tow everything on, including the 56. I DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT attach tie downs to the frame. I use 10K lb rated ratcheting straps front and rear.
As mentioned above, by tying down the car with the wheels (or axle housing) it allows the car to move around naturally on it's own suspension---------------------totally independent from the up/down movements and surging of the trailer as speeds increase and decrease. Once secured on the trailer, I put the transmission in NEUTRAL and pull the emer brake on HARD. By having the transmission in neutral, any rocking back and forth of the drive line does not cause clashing of the gears inside the rear or in the transmission.
At the rear, I hook one end of a strap to the trailer frame, go over one side of the axle housing, then under the differential, and back over the other side of the axle housing and then hook it to the trailer frame. SOME people prefer to cross the straps, I do not.
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At the front, I go under a lower A-frame and put a hook up over the top, at the rear, of the A-frame, the cross UNDER the trailer tongue with the strap and place the other hook on the other A-frame. I ratchet both straps until they are quite taught. I use the same method when hauling the Cutlass, Chevelle, T-bucket, 51 Chevy. This method of tying down a car to a trailer was shown to me by a Corvette owner over 45yrs ago and it has worked great with zero issues ever since.
And, as an example of how well the above method of tie down works, here is what happened when hauling the Chevelle to a national Chevelle event several years ago.
On the way from Okla City to Nashville, a person (I choose NOT to make a comment that could be interpreted as racist) tapped the rear corner of the trailer, causing the whole rig to swerve badly. Eventually, we went into the cables in the median of I-40 east of Memphis, then all the way across 3 lanes and ended up in the ditch and trees and bushes on the far right side of I-40. The Tahoe was driveable, but totalled by my ins co., The flat trailer and the little cargo trailer sustained some damage (and was repaired to see Interstate duty again) but the Chevelle remained safe on the trailer.
I've been an AAA member for years and had classic cars towed by them more than once, sometimes you get somebody that knows what they're doing and other times a dolt that hasn't a clue what damage can be done to an old Corvette. I had to send one guy "back to the barn" when he hooked up his winch hooks on the rollback to *****-nilly areas of the suspension.
If you DO call AAA make sure to tell the operator what is being towed and that you don't want the benchwarmer guy showing up...
The AAA tech that towed my '67 Chevelle SS-396 (with me riding shotgun) asked to run by his house to show his son the car. I was delighted to agree...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 06-18-2019 at 05:52 AM.
Nothing wrong with U-Haul.........Absolutely no trouble with 2 hours to Ohio and back for my new Vert Top...............
$79.00............IMO, anyone who owns an old Corvette needs to be able to pull a trailer......Trusting someone else, for me, is not an option.....Unless it's a Classic Car Carrier. I would still want to "interview" the driver.....
nothing wrong with u-haul.........absolutely no trouble with 2 hours to ohio and back for my new vert top...............
$79.00............imo, anyone who owns an old corvette needs to be able to pull a trailer......trusting someone else, for me, is not an option.....unless it's a classic car carrier. I would still want to "interview" the driver.....
The original question was what to do when broken down on the road, not towing the corvette from place to place.
Last edited by CorvetteMikeB; 06-18-2019 at 01:26 PM.
If you haven't already seen my thread on loading/towing with the U-Haul trailer its worth reading....a few tricks and it'll be a much more pleasant (and safer) experience...
Thanks Frankie. This is my 5th or 6th long haul, but I’ll certainly search it out.
Notice you recommend leaving the rear chain loose. Ever have an issue with the car bouncing to one side of the trailer bed in the rear? Did on my last long haul and did concern me. Don’t want car damage on the big fenders. I usually add another chain and cross in the rear to prevent this but didn’t that time for some reason. I-85 has gotten rough with lots of construction.
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-‘19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Originally Posted by lignell
I may need to have my 64 corvette towed what is proper way,someone told me that there are holes in the frame that the tow driver can use thanks
I can guarantee that a U-haul will handle a '64, at least from Iowa to western NY sate, with ease. It did take some cranking with a come-along and chain to get it on, but once strapped down it rode smooth as can be. Common sense says check your straps and chains at every gas or bathroom stop, but it sounds like OP is not going too far with his. Good luck and let us know how it works out!
Thanks Frankie. This is my 5th or 6th long haul, but I’ll certainly search it out.
Notice you recommend leaving the rear chain loose. Ever have an issue with the car bouncing to one side of the trailer bed in the rear? Did on my last long haul and did concern me. Don’t want car damage on the big fenders. I usually add another chain and cross in the rear to prevent this but didn’t that time for some reason. I-85 has gotten rough with lots of construction.
I do leave a bit of slack in both the U-Haul trailer chains - they are backup safety devices IMO....
Never had a car slip sideways on one of those trailers but I usually travel fairly nice roads. I did get stuck once (truck AND trailer with the 63 on it) in a sandy lot behind a Dunkin Donuts once. It took some pretty violent actions to get "unstuck", rocking the truck like mad and whipping the steering wheel around; even so the car stayed firmly in place.
HOWEVER - one of the tricks I mentioned is to pull the car onto the trailer all the way to the forward stops and set the parking brake. Then get the front wheel ratchet straps installed and barely snug. Then RELEASE the parking brake on the car (and ensure its out of gear) and crank a good healthy amount on the ratchet straps (you'll see the car pulled forward another couple of inches) - this nails the car completely to the front stops. Then RESET the parking brake. Otherwise, you'll usually find the car has some slop between the wheels and the front trailer stops after some miles and you'll feel it bumping a bit as you drive along...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 06-18-2019 at 03:45 PM.
06-17-2019, 02:08 PM
