How to secure a Series LR to a car trailer?

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

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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.

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Originally Posted by 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

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Rope 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.

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.

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Originally Posted by Mr Whippy

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.

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Fair call, happy to agree to disagree :D

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Originally Posted by 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.

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

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Originally Posted by pop058

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

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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.

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

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Originally Posted by pop058

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Originally Posted by 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.

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

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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.

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.

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.