I would appreciate any advice on corvette transporting. I will be trailering 01 convert in an enclosed(24') trailer, looking for a system to secure the car. The trailer has D-rings installed in floor.

 

Send EATRICE an IM or email. He has a real nice trailer that he uses to haul around his 99 show car. I'm sure he has a ton of advice on how to secure it!

 

I have four 3,000 lb straps (overkill) with clips on one end for the D-rings on my trailer, and T-hooks on the other end that clip into the holes in the jacking points just behind the front wheels and just in front of the rear wheels in the side frame rails.
http://www.awdirect.com/awdirect/fin...fm?itemid=8979
(not sure if any vendors carry this, so hope I'm not stepping on anyone's toes with this, but I haven't seen these anywhere else)

I hook my tow straps in a pattern like this:
X
X

With the car sitting the middle of the two X's. The strap that hooks behind the LF wheel, goes forward under the car to the D-ring on the RF side of the trailer. Strap that goes behind the RF wheel goes foward to the D-ring on the LF side of the trailer. Strap that hooks in front of the LR wheel goes aft to the D-ring on the RR of the trailer. And the strap that goes in front of the RR wheel goes aft to the D-ring at the RR of the trailer.

Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the reply,your system looks great!
How far ahead/behind the car are the D-rings?
Do you load the suspension a lot or a little?

 

Please note:

If you are looking at 3000lb straps, make sure that is not just the max limit, but the load poundage.

I use 10k straps on mine (4, with over axle straps) and wouldn't dare touch anything less while towing. Even the 10k straps can break if something goes wrong. Most places sell them by the max limit, so make sure you get ones at 10k or higher. The lesser ones are not rated for auto tie downs...

Best of luck!

 

Good advice on strap loading, as I research this project I see that most straps are rated working load/max load. Thanks for the info.!

 

Yes, yes, gotta post, gotta post. I just hauled my Vette 4000 miles from east to west coast in march, open trailer. I agree with everything Subdriver posted except the 3000 LBS straps. I went with the 10K and when I got them they had a break down chart on the inertia of hauling a car on a trailer and basically, 10K is the smallest you want to go with a 3500 or so pound car. I used the T-hooks on the car where the jacking pucks go and criss-crossed the straps as SubDriver mentions. Everytime I stopped for gas, I did a walk around of the car checking straps and tire pressure. Good luck.

Jim Kay

 

Thanks for you input Corpsvette.
How many inches/feet ahead and behind your car did you have your D-rings? I am concerned with getting the proper angle on straps so that they won't rub front or rear fascia.
Did you have any issues with straps chafing on each other at the X point?

 

I use the t-hooks that Suddriver mentioned. I got them from a Towtruck dealer and towing supply center.

I use four 5000lbs straps ( specificly for race cars) got them from Northern Tool.

When I tie down my car I cross X the straps, right front D hook in the trailer floor to the T hook in left front jacking hole in the car frame. And so forth for the other straps.

The only issue I have found is where the car is on the trailer as for weight distribution. I also run 4 pounds less pressure in the front two trailer tires then the rear two trailer tires. Makes for a much more stable ride and tow.

 

Au n gel,thanks for the reply.
What's the distance from the front of your car to the front D-rings?

 

I have a 24 ft enclosed trailer. From the front D rings to the front of car is about 18 in. The straps just touches the rubber spoiler / air dam under the front of the car. My car is lowered 1 1/2 in and I use 18in wheels with 285-30 series tires. So it does sit quite low. In back of the car I have just enough room to put my rear spare wheels. I need to put up the tire rack yet.

I think more importantly is the car placement over the wheels of the trailer
Here is a pic just after loading and a trip to Lowes Motor Speedway.

 

All,
Thanks for the clarification. Been awhile since I bought my straps. I am confident my straps are 3000 working load and something like 10k max load. I should have been more specific on that.

When on my 18' Brimar trailer, the D-rings are about a foot in front of the front bumper on the front, and about even with the rear of the car in the back. This would be harder on an enclosed trailer since you can't get under the car, but on my open trailer, the car is up off the ground and I can easily reach the D-rings from the front and the rear without crawling in the mud.
When hooking my car up on the open air, I set the strap on the trailer in front of the RF tire, reach around the tire and grab the T-hook and hook in behind the RF tire, then grab the clip on the strap and walk it around the front of the trailer to the LF D-ring. Pretty easy.

 

Which raises the question, how do you reach the T-hook slots on the frame when the car is in an enclosed car trailer?

Do you have to hook the T-hooks and straps to the frame before the car is in the trailer and then somehow drag the car in the trailer with the straps already hooked up?

 

I am not a contorrsionest for nothing.

I drive the car onto the trailer. No straps attached.

The t-hook on the end of the strap. I lay on the trailer floor and toss it under the car to the side I that I will hook the t-hook into. Then I go to the side of the car and reach under the car and feel, sorry to tight to look, for the hook - grab it and put it in the frame hole. I do this for all four hooks and straps then slowly tighten the ratches up.

Now getting out of the car after driving it in the trailer is another challange. I have a coupe so I take the top off and put it in the back of the car. Car doors dont open so leave your windows down, But those Z06 guys.

Oh a few more thing:
turn your mirrors inwards so you dont hit them as you drive in the trailer ,
I use four 2x8s as addition ramps and lay them on top of each other under the trailers beaver tail. two of the 2x8 are 2 feet long and two are 4 feet long. I open the trailer ramp and set the ramp on the two foot 2x8s which are on top of the four foot 2x8s and then unfold the beaver tail. Make sure your wheels are lined up with the 2x8s to drive into the trailer.

ALso stablize the trailer. Hitched to your tow vehical and I got a small sissor jack from autozone and put it under the back end of the trailer before I open and bring down the ramp.

and block your trailers wheels.

Man I am tired now I think I need a beer.

 

Thanks to all for your good information,I knew I could tap into a wealth of knowledge on the forum.
Another question, given the low clearance on these cars and the strap angle I assume that there is minimal if any load on the suspension, correct? Also, do you take a measurement at the the hitch before loading,then re-measure after loading to determine hitch weight?
What brand trailer do you guys run?

 

My straps are almost completely horizontal, so I don't think there is much load placed on the suspension at all.

I've read that tongue weight should be 10-15% of total trailer weight for proper handling, balance, etc, which for my 18" open trailer with the Z06 on it is about 500-750 lbs. This is very tough to measure though.

I'll admit, I swag this. I centered my car on the trailer wheels, marked the position of the front axle of the Z06 so I could get it in the same spot every time, then test drove it on my 5.9 L Durango. It drove fine, so I left it there. Now with my F350, I can barely even tell the trailer is back there, so I don't worry about so much. I know I have sufficient tongue weight because my fully loaded trailer (with tires on tire rack) causes the F350 to settle onto its load leaf springs.

 

Subdriver, do you use a load distributing hitch?

 

On an F350 crew cab long bed with a 12,500 lb towing capacity towing a Vette on a 2000 lb trailer? Uh... no.

I did look at them and decided I really didn't need one. I'm not convinced they are a good idea. When I looked at them it seemed they even the load by putting a huge load on the ball and the frame of the truck to put a counter torque to balance out the vertical load on the hitch. I didn't want the additional stresses on my ball, hitch or frame.
In my opinion (and I'm not an expert on this), I would rather spend my money on upgrading my rear suspension (i.e. air shocks or something) before a load distributing hitch. As I have an F350 that can take a 3295 lb payload in the bed (and tongue weight contributes to this load), I didn't need one.

Since you are asking towing questions, a couple other things to consider:
- anti-sway bars or shocks to prevent trailer swaying back and forth. With my long bed F350, my wheelbase is so long I don't need these now, but if my next assignment isn't overseas, I'll likely upgrade to a 24' enclosed trailer and then I'll get these.
- trailer brake controller. Amazingly, almost all trucks do not come with the electrical components necessary to activate electronic trailer brakes. I had a Teconsha brake controller installed in my F350 by a local RV place for just over $100. This box mounts under the dash within my reach. I can use it to set the current going to the trailer brakes, which allows me to vary it for unloaded and loaded conditions. It also has a button to activate the trailer brakes alone (normally it activates them when I press the brake pedal) to dampen trailer sway, but I've never had to do this.

 

Well, as long as we're on the subject...if anyone needs a tow vehicle, I highly recommend the Chevrolet Quadrasteer package. It comes on the Silverado and Suburbans and makes towing a cinch. It's relatively inexpensive now ($1995) and gives some additional options such as increased spring rates and skid plates, etc (many of the same things as Z71) in that price. I don't even notice that I'm towing unless my total weight is over 7000lbs. Even then, it is not very noticeable. The 4 wheel steering gives better turning radius and much better lane changing abilities.

As mentioned, make sure your straps are at least 10k lbs max limit or you'll be sorry. Also, you really should check the straps as mentioned every so often because they can become a little loose depending on your setup.

Best of luck!
Josh

 

Guys -
I am a little surprised that non of you spoke of WHERE TO POSITION YOUR C5 IN THE TRAILER! The mirrors on a C5 is about the 50/50 balance point so that is where the C5 should sit above the trailers axles. Moving it forward puts more load on the trailer hitch, i.e. your tow vehicle, and moving it back makes the load tail heavy and it will not track properly. Depending on how much other stuff is on or in the trailer determines where the C5 goes relative to the trailers balance point!

Just my .02

JR

PS - DO NOT TOW WITH THE C5 IN PARK OR GEAR - USE THE EMERGENCY BRAKE OR CINCH IT DOWN AGAINST WEDGES FRONT AND REAR