How to secure a Series LR to a car trailer?

[akula]

Hi all,

I may be looking to transport a series on a car trailer and I was wondering;

*What straps/chains are recommended for this purpose?

*Where on the car do I attach the chains/straps?

I currently have x2 ratchet straps (1500kg - Aldi) and 2 or 3 very heavy high tensile tractor chains (with eyelet one end and hook the other end). Are these up to the job of securing a LWB?

Cheers,

Mark

[Blknight.aus]

Throw the chain over the axle run it under the diff throw it back over the other side of the axle and run both ends of the chain to the anchor points and tension up with the dogs.

Via the modern day equivalent to smoke signals fromsome place other than the cave where my hat hangs.

[slug_burner]

The straps would be my preference although the chains are ok if you have the means by which to attach them.

I recently transported an 80" and used one strap around the rear axle and one through the front cross member hole. You can use the axles, just make sure that you don't go over and pinch any brake lines or breathers.

With the ratchet straps you can use them to put a little tension on the strap to take out any slack if you do have to use the chains.

Remember the greatest force is likely to be under brakes so make sure you have either your chains at the back axle stopping the car coming forward or straps with a rating up to the weight of the vehicle in total. When a vehicle is on its wheels there is no friction if they can roll.

If the handbrake works use that and put the transmission into gear with the center diff locked. If you do have a functioning handbrake and transmission in place you can get away with about half the the rating on the tie-downs as said above.

With chains you have to have turnbuckles or dogs to tension them. I have a collection of 2000kg 50mm ratchet straps they are easier to handle than chains and a lot lighter.

[Slunnie]

I tie it from the front with recovery straps and shackles between the trailer and one of the 4WD's axles, and from the rear I chain it down between the rear axle and the trailer. I then pull it as tight as I can and adjust the chain or I pull the slack out of the rear chain using the trailers winch at the front.

I would always chain it from the rear so it can never roll forward - I've seen this before. The straps I'd put at the front to pull the tension into the rear chain and then strap it also incase the ratchets fail. The ratchets are more than likely to be ok, but I still dont have enough faith in them as a mechanism and particularly the mechanisms that most of them use to attach at either ends.

[akula]

Cheers all for the suggestions.

I have just realised that there's an obstacle - hire trailers and their inadequate payload. I understand that plant hire businesses hire car trailers with power assisted brakes, however I am not sure how likely it is that I find one in the area (Morisset, NSW) during the Christmas holiday period.

What have you guys done previously with transporting cars, do you all have access trailers with powered brakes? Is being approx. 200 kg over GVM maximum payload an unreasonable risk?

Anyone here with the equipment and the time - I am happy to pay (assuming it doesn't blow out my budget) - just PM me. Travel time approx. 1 hr 40 mins - essentially NW Sydney to just outside of Morisset.

[Slunnie]

I just whack it on the hire trailer and drive appropriately - not that you would tow very quickly anyway. The big issue is stopping on dirt. :(

I think the Series are only about 1300kg anyway... well, mine have been utes and a shorty I suppose.

[pop058]

Tie it down like the car carriers do.

Use (2500 kg) ratchet straps over/around the wheels. At least 2 are required, but do not tie diagonal opposite corners as it will skew around under movement.

Have a 3rd safety securing the bum end to stop it coming forward under emergency braking.

[d2dave]

Cheers all for the suggestions.

I have just realised that there's an obstacle - hire trailers and their inadequate payload. I understand that plant hire businesses hire car trailers with power assisted brakes, however I am not sure how likely it is that I find one in the area (Morisset, NSW) during the Christmas holiday period.

What have you guys done previously with transporting cars, do you all have access trailers with powered brakes? Is being approx. 200 kg over GVM maximum payload an unreasonable risk?

Anyone here with the equipment and the time - I am happy to pay (assuming it doesn't blow out my budget) - just PM me. Travel time approx. 1 hr 40 mins - essentially NW Sydney to just outside of Morisset.


Most hire trailers are 2000 kg ATM. The empty trailer is probably around 700 kg which gives you a payload of 1300.

If as some one suggested a series is 1300kg you will be ok.

I have hired many a trailer and would on every occasion be over weight.

Only two weeks ago I had to bring an EL Falcon back from Melb. It would be about 1700Kg, putting me around 400Kg over.

I have even had a D2 on a 2000KG trailer.

It does surprise me in this day and age of litigation that hire companies don't want information as to what you are planning to transport on the trailer and sign a document to the effect.

[KENO1947]

Only tie down by the WHEELS. Best to use rope.
Go across the front of the wheel with the mid point of the rope round the back & back to the front ,cross over, tie front & back.
If you have a compressor available, let the tiers down a bit first & blow them up after you have tied it down.
Do not tie down to any sprung part ( chassis etc ) it can have dire consequences.


Jeff

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Tie it down like the car carriers do.

Use (2500 kg) ratchet straps over/around the wheels. At least 2 are required, but do not tie diagonal opposite corners as it will skew around under movement.

Have a 3rd safety securing the bum end to stop it coming forward under emergency braking.Have to agree, tie the wheels down to the deck, let the body rock around on its suspension.

If you only chain or strap the front and rear axles forward and aft you will find that the vehicle moves around on the trailer and sometimes can wedge itself into awkward positions making it difficult to get off.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/12/224.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/12/225.jpg

[UncleHo]

The official weight I have for a LWB Series 2a 4 cylinder canvas top, as my GS is tare,1497KG (Landrover book) :D and that is what is on my Qld Registration papers. and with a GVM of 2500 KG :)


cheers

[jon3950]

If the handbrake works use that and put the transmission into gear with the center diff locked.

Handbrake is good, but suggest you don't leave it in gear as any backwards and forwards motion can damage the gearbox.

Cheers,
Jon

[d2dave]

Having driving this for a part time job a few years back I feel qualified to add my two bobs worth.

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/5183/cv15.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/811/cv15.jpg/)

When securing these it depended on what was available on the vehicle. Some times it was secure the wheels, other times the body/chassis.

Body/chassis was the preferred method as we could compress the suspension and really get the vehicle tight.

We would always secure the hand brake as tight as possible and leave in gear or park.

Securing with the wheels was only done when the car was too low to get under or when there was no strong points on the body.

When fitted the tow bar was a great attachment point.

Note, the vehicle at the top front would NEVER be secured with the wheels.

[UncleHo]

Now that would put a little weight over the front axle, but it would help with steering provided you had P/S or helped with improving the Armstrong steering :)

Nice old Cummins powered S series Inter.

[d2dave]

Weight was never an issue. When going through weigh bridges the inspectors would just wave me through. He can see our load an tell we are miles under weight.

Even the prime mover only has a single axle on the rear, due to low weight.

Having one on the roof makes for a great sunshade on a bright sunny day.

[Landy Smurf]

i normally do 2 slings on the back through the pto hole or even towball and pull the vehicle forward with a winch and it will tighten. Then chain on the front

[akula]

Thank you for all the replies!

I am not sure I have the skills or the required equipment to secure the wheels as demonstrated in some of the pictures provided. Given this, and some of the other suggestions I was wondering if you could comment on how I imagine I will secure the car.

x2 chains over the rear axle and around the diff housing attaching to the rear of trailer on the left and right. I have no "dogs" or methods to ratchet down the chains, so I was intending to use my ratchet straps (actually rated for 2000kg not 1500kg) to ratchet it down. The vehicle is an ex-army so I thought that the two eyelets just aft of the bullbar may be a good place to attach the straps - as in the rear, one strap to the left and the other to the right going to left and right anchor points on the trailer respectively - is this okay?

[Slunnie]

Thank you for all the replies!

I am not sure I have the skills or the required equipment to secure the wheels as demonstrated in some of the pictures provided. Given this, and some of the other suggestions I was wondering if you could comment on how I imagine I will secure the car.

x2 chains over the rear axle and around the diff housing attaching to the rear of trailer on the left and right. I have no "dogs" or methods to ratchet down the chains, so I was intending to use my ratchet straps (actually rated for 2000kg not 1500kg) to ratchet it down. The vehicle is an ex-army so I thought that the two eyelets just aft of the bullbar may be a good place to attach the straps - as in the rear, one strap to the left and the other to the right going to left and right anchor points on the trailer respectively - is this okay?
It'll work fine. I'd try to keep the front straps flatter to keep the stress off them, so maybe to the cross member or front axle. Just check the brake lines are not interfered with by the chains and straps, but it's a similar setup to what I do.

[slug_burner]

Thank you for all the replies!

I am not sure I have the skills or the required equipment to secure the wheels as demonstrated in some of the pictures provided. Given this, and some of the other suggestions I was wondering if you could comment on how I imagine I will secure the car.

x2 chains over the rear axle and around the diff housing attaching to the rear of trailer on the left and right. I have no "dogs" or methods to ratchet down the chains, so I was intending to use my ratchet straps (actually rated for 2000kg not 1500kg) to ratchet it down. The vehicle is an ex-army so I thought that the two eyelets just aft of the bullbar may be a good place to attach the straps - as in the rear, one strap to the left and the other to the right going to left and right anchor points on the trailer respectively - is this okay?

You will be fine. Stop after a km or two and check your tie-downs. The ratchet at the front should be able to remove all the slack from the chains at the rear. The winch on the trailer can do the first bit of slack removal then the ratchet strap. Take it easy and you will be ok. Lots of people do this without as much thought as your putting into it so you are miles ahead.

[d2dave]

And make sure you release the winch. Do not use the winch as a tie down as when driving it will break.

[pop058]

I would be very reluctant to use the handbrake on a vehicle where it has a transmission type brake. I believe the movement in the drive train would counteract any benefit gained by having it on and put undue load on it.

The do/don't concept of leaving them in gear has been discussed at length before, but I would hazard a guess that that person who chooses to put them in gear is not liable for any gearbox repairs.

If the vehicle is secured correctly and even has an additional safety chain (that is not under tension), there should be not need to put potentially damming loads on drivetrains.

As far as resources and skills to tie a vehicle down by the wheels, I think it would be the most simple of all the methods, you do not have to crawl under the car and you can see the straps in your mirrors while driving.

my 0.03c

[d2dave]

I would be very reluctant to use the handbrake on a vehicle where it has a transmission type brake. I believe the movement in the drive train would counteract any benefit gained by having it on and put undue load on it.


Stick your 4x4 in low first and find a slow bumpy track where it is hard to hold the throttle steady. The jerking back and forth doing this on a week end away, will probably do more damage(virtually nil) than 50,000 km on a trailer.

You are probably correct that a properly restrained vehicle will be ok with the hand brake off, but my training was to do otherwise and having done this plenty of times will continue to do so.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Only tie down by the WHEELS. Best to use rope.
Go across the front of the wheel with the mid point of the rope round the back & back to the front ,cross over, tie front & back.
If you have a compressor available, let the tiers down a bit first & blow them up after you have tied it down.
Do not tie down to any sprung part ( chassis etc ) it can have dire consequences.


JeffRope is no longer considered a form of restraint in transport. It either has to be chain or webbing. More than that when you use webbing straps on a commercial load the straps have to be certified every six months.

Now while we are not talking about the same regulatons carting around our series vehicles, the guidelines should apply to every load.

[Slunnie]

I agree, I leave it in gear with the handbrake on. I cant really see how damage will occur with it left in gear acting against a stopped engine. Driving it will put more stress through it. I leave the handbrake on because I want to use any system there is to prevent it moving on the trailer. There was also a comment before about not using the body to tie down, which is how the manufacturers do it and they fit mounting points onto the chassis for this purpose.

[pop058]

Stick your 4x4 in low first and find a slow bumpy track where it is hard to hold the throttle steady. The jerking back and forth doing this on a week end away, will probably do more damage(virtually nil) than 50,000 km on a trailer.

You are probably correct that a properly restrained vehicle will be ok with the hand brake off, but my training was to do otherwise and having done this plenty of times will continue to do so.

Fair call, happy to agree to disagree :D


I agree, I leave it in gear with the handbrake on. I cant really see how damage will occur with it left in gear acting against a stopped engine. Driving it will put more stress through it. I leave the handbrake on because I want to use any system there is to prevent it moving on the trailer. There was also a comment before about not using the body to tie down, which is how the manufacturers do it and they fit mounting points onto the chassis for this purpose.

IIRC, these are tow points, not tie down points.

[Slunnie]

IIRC, these are tow points, not tie down points.

Just looked up on the RAVE manual for the Disco2 (ie not a series). There is one at the front behind the bumper for recovery, but the other 4 on the chassis (2 front, 2 rear) are called lashing eyes for tie down during transportation. It says that the vehicle is not to be tied down by any other points for transportation

However, it does say to leave the gearboxs (auto and manual) in N as you've said, but the handbrake is to be left on.

[jon3950]

To each their own, but personally I am not a fan of leaving it in gear. I'm talking about manuals here - never given any thought to autos.

When two gears mesh, only a very small number of teeth transmit the torque between the two gears at any one time. When the gears are rotating, the load is shared equally between all the teeth on the gear. When the gears are stationary this doesn't happen. The backwards and forwards motion a vehicle can experience on a trailer if the tie downs are not perfectly tight can cause this small number of teeth to rub against each other causing uneven wear. Remember too there is no oil circulating in the box at this time so there is only a thin film of oil on the teeth which can be rubbed away.

I understand this may be overly cautious for some, but when dealing with very expensive straight cut gear sets you tend to be cautious. I see no reason not to apply the same level of care to less expensive gearboxes.

Cheers,
Jon

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I agree, I leave it in gear with the handbrake on. I cant really see how damage will occur with it left in gear acting against a stopped engine. Driving it will put more stress through it. I leave the handbrake on because I want to use any system there is to prevent it moving on the trailer. There was also a comment before about not using the body to tie down, which is how the manufacturers do it and they fit mounting points onto the chassis for this purpose.
IIRC, these are tow points, not tie down points.What ever they are, there are none on a Series Landy.

I don't like securing to the chassis because as the suspension works the vehicle tends to move on the trailer and sometimes jams it into the trailer (Depending upon trailer design).

If you look at tilt trays and car transporters these days they almost invariably tie the wheels to the deck and sometimes also tighten down the suspension using the tie downs so the body doesnt move and touch other cars when the multi deck transporters are used.

Most people I know who use trailers don't have chain dogs or chain ratchets to stop suspension moving.

[ian4002000]

I trailer my Series 2 often, and I leave it against a forward stop in gear, handbrake on.
I then put a webbing ratchet strap over the front diff and attach it around the drawbar. On the rear another web sling over the diff and attached as far rearward as I can go.
No problems encountered.

[BigJon]

I used to work driving tilt tray towtrucks out of Alice Springs. We would always secure vehicles via the wheels / axles and NEVER by the chassis or body. Let the vehicle suspension do what it is designed to do, securing the body or chassis will allow the chains / tiedowns / ropes to come loose as the suspension moves. It is a great way to bend and/or break parts of your vehicle.

Also, if you have secured your vehicle properly via the wheels there is no need to apply the handbrake or leave it in gear. It shouldn't be going anywhere. There would also be no detriment to applying the handbrake or leaving it in gear either.

[gromit]

I tie down using the axles.
Usually two straps at the front (I'm more concerned about the vehicle falling off the back of the trailer) and at least one at the rear.
The Father-in-law has the correct straps for tie down using the wheels which I use on his trailer.

Make sure everything is bolted firmly in place before towing. The picture below shows a 2a GS, as we were coming across the Westgate Bridge my son looked behind us and pointed out that the roof was lifting off ! Turned out there were only a couple of bolts holding it in place and a couple had fallen out on the way from Geelong.


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2013/12/173.jpg (http://s1245.photobucket.com/user/cradley/media/Series%202a%20GS/2aGS1_zps21dfbf69.jpg.html)



Colin

[Will Wallace]

We use these at work. So would many towies. http://www.juststraps.com.au/store/cart_detail.asp?group1=Specialty_Tie_Down

Will