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I am looking at buying an open car hauler to transport my Kubota tractor. I want to be able to trailer my Corvette as well if necessary. What is the best way to tie down a Corvette on a trailer? I don't want to have to buy two sets of ratchet straps is I can use the same set for the car and the tractor.
There are slots in the frame for attaching chains. That's how they tied them to the car haulers from the factory. I then would hook the chains to D- rings in the trail floor.
My 20' dovetail also does double duty for my Kubota BX and my 1970 Corvette. As well as mulch, lumber, and whatever else I need.
One of the first modifications I did was to install recessed D-rings on the trailer deck. They are located at each of the trailer crossmembers, so I was able to get two grade 8 bolts through the angle at each location. I recessed them so I could unload mulch without getting my tractor bucket tangled up in them. And I put them on the inside of the trailer instead of the outside (along the rail) so I could carry my tractor to a job and still have my stakesides on the trailer just in case I needed to grab some dirt, mulch, or stone.
The trailer is a 10k# capacity Leonard and I've been very pleased with it. At the time I purchased it, the price difference was a few hundred to go from a 7k# capacity to a 10k#, so it seemed like an easy decision.
I took these pictures in June 2008 right after building the stakesides and installing the D-rings, so its all nice, pretty, and shiny. I still use it all and haven't had a moment's trouble with any of it. This is the trailer I used to get my 1970 Corvette home in January 2012 and I still use the crap out of it.
I originally towed it with a 2005 Expedition rated for 9,000#. Pulled fine. I now tow it with a 2012 F250 6.7L Diesel rated for...well...lots of pounds. Many more than I need to ever tow.
Last edited by keithinspace; May 13, 2016 at 01:36 PM.
Not that I am denying that you are not right, but I can't see why there should be any difference as to what direction you drive on and off. Possibly the thickness of the bed at the point it touches the ground?
I'm looking at a 16' Aluma which has an 11 degree slope at level and my stock air dam is just going to hit
There are slots in the frame for attaching chains. That's how they tied them to the car haulers from the factory. I then would hook the chains to D- rings in the trail floor.
There are slots in the frame for attaching chains. That's how they tied them to the car haulers from the factory. I then would hook the chains to D- rings in the trail floor.
chaining down the frame compresses the suspension, not a good idea in my opinion, I always ran my straps (never chains) through the front a-frames and hooked into the back of the trailing arm but strapping down the wheels would do the same thing, this allowed the suspension to move, my trailer is a 48` so the hydraulic jack in the front served double duty, jacking up the trailer obviously for hook up and jacking up the nose making it slightly easier to load although I do have some 2x10`s
Not that I am denying that you are not right, but I can't see why there should be any difference as to what direction you drive on and off. Possibly the thickness of the bed at the point it touches the ground?
I'm looking at a 16' Aluma which has an 11 degree slope at level and my stock air dam is just going to hit
Cliff, once your trailer is secured to the tow vehicle, you can reduce the angle onto the trailer by using your jack stand to lift the trailer tounge a few inches. This will also lift the rear of the tow vehicle so be careful not to over do it. If you're using a 5th wheel trailer, just run the rear wheels of the tow vehicle up on some shallow ramps to accomplish the same thing.
The toggle slips into the slot in the frame and is turned 90 degrees in the direction it will be pulled. Hook your strap in the loop and cinch it down. These hooks are not all the same size and on some, the toggle is too thick to fit in the slot in the frame. You may have to try a couple to find one that fits in the slot of the frame, or open your slot a bit to get it to fit.
Cliff, once your trailer is secured to the tow vehicle, you can reduce the angle onto the trailer by using your jack stand to lift the trailer tounge a few inches. This will also lift the rear of the tow vehicle so be careful not to over do it. If you're using a 5th wheel trailer, just run the rear wheels of the tow vehicle up on some shallow ramps to accomplish the same thing.
Good luck... GUSTO
Thanks Gusto I can see you are a man with some experience. I will have to experiment a bit out in the street.
And apologies for taking this in a different direction. As penance, here are a couple of recent threads on the subject, I'm sure there are more, all informative
Not that I am denying that you are not right, but I can't see why there should be any difference as to what direction you drive on and off.
what if my vette has a non stock long front end, with very little ground clearance? Over the years I've had to help load many race cars on the transporter and lift gate rear first
We`ve only had our Vette on the trailer once so far... bringing it home... but we tow all our cars the same way. We use front tire straps. They hook to "D" rings in the floor, and ratchets mounted on the front. Then an additional strap to the frame in the rear.
Trailering C3
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