Thread: Towing and stuff (yes again....).

Once in Canada I had to hire a car trailer. It was 101 questions regarding the make, brand, year and weight of the vehicle going onto the trailer, plus they also wanted all the same info for the tow vehicle aswell as the engine size, and if it had any "towing" packs on the vehicle. They also explained to you how to load and secure the vehicle to the trailer. Two day oneway rental was cheaper than a 1 day rental in Victoria. Additionally if you were involved in an accident the trailered vehicle was covered for $2000 or $3000 worth of damages.
My experiences in Victoria is they are more concerned about getting paid, and really do not care what you do or how you go about it.
My favorite is seeing people use just the hand winch cable to "secure" their vehicle to the trailer.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Send in the clowns.
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So...what is the correct way to load a vehicle onto a trailer and secure it?

Originally Posted by carjunkieanon

So...what is the correct way to load a vehicle onto a trailer and secure it?

Depends on the trailer and the vehicle. The trailer in the pics has its axles further back than the servo specials and loading vehicles backwards on this trailer provides the perfect balance and it's a dream to tow like this. I wouldn't recommend loading a vehicle like this on one of the servo specials - they would be too heavy to start with as well as probably making it sway like a bitch and be all around unsafe to tow like that.

Originally Posted by carjunkieanon

So...what is the correct way to load a vehicle onto a trailer and secure it?

Place the vehicle (forwards or backwards) so you have sufficient weight over the drawbar, the rest should be evenly spread over the trailer axles. Tie the vehicle down (at least two diagonally opposite wheels) and a safety strap/chain/rope to arrest any movement under braking, and drive away. If anything feels a bit iffy, stop and re-position the vehicle. Stop and check things on a regular basis (whilst you are pulled over to let me and other truck drivers safely past is a good time)
Assumptions made:
1. You have a reasonable level of competence as far as working out the balance point goes
2. Your tie downs are strong enough to hold the weight and inertia of the vehicle
3. You're not going to drive like a nong!
4. The trailer can legally carry the weight, and you won't exceed the GCM of the tow vehicle.

Originally Posted by donh54

Place the vehicle (forwards or backwards) so you have sufficient weight over the drawbar, the rest should be evenly spread over the trailer axles. Tie the vehicle down (at least two diagonally opposite wheels) and a safety strap/chain/rope to arrest any movement under braking, and drive away. If anything feels a bit iffy, stop and re-position the vehicle. Stop and check things on a regular basis (whilst you are pulled over to let me and other truck drivers safely past is a good time)
Assumptions made:
1. You have a reasonable level of competence as far as working out the balance point goes
2. Your tie downs are strong enough to hold the weight and inertia of the vehicle
3. You're not going to drive like a nong!
4. The trailer can legally carry the weight, and you won't exceed the GCM of the tow vehicle.

As the saying goes - assumption is the mother of all **** ups. I've seen a lot of people who've missed all of those 4 you've listed!!!

I've seen in the past rental trailers with big signs on the front of the trailer saying "MOTOR THIS END"...... Makes way more sense than saying "drive cars on only forward". No doubt they'd lost to many trailers due to people loading stuff like Kombis and old VW's and Rear engine Renaults on forward.

I've never found tying on cars easy. I need to modify my trailer to allow me to use ratchet straps around the wheels. no matter how tightly it's tied down, regardless of a perfect working handbrake in the car ... and the car being in gear as well..... I can feel the damn car move back/forward 1/2" when driving in traffic as you stop/start (ok, ok, it's probably only 2mm it moves .. but I can feel it move damn it!). Drives me bloody insane. It's the stretch in the ropes. I think I'll need to upgrade to ratchet tiedowns.

I've only once had "lost" trailer .... 'cos I'm so bloody careful of the damn things. That was when I picked up a load of masonite sheeting on my car trailer down at Elaine (between geelong and ballarat). As I accelerated to 80km/h I didn't get swaying or anything like that ..... I was just suddenly instantly backwards ... It's weird how everything is in slow motion thought wise. I clearly remember thinking "**** ... I'm backwards.... at the same time my brain said .... FFS STAND ON THE BRAKES WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ..... the car is now the anchor behind the trailer .... don't let it keep spinning. So here some crazy bastard in a Citroen hurtling backwards down the main ballarat->geelong highway at 80km/h with 4wheels of the towcar locked... I slid for a long way ... off the road ... and came to a very gentle stop in a spoon drain on the side of the road..... I got out ... walked around the whole rig .... a couple of times thinking "**** me I'm still alive" ... there is a scratch in the bonnet of the car from somethiing (dunno what), all 8 tires are billowing smoke .... the trailer is going to be a bastard to recover out of the drain ... But I'm 100% ok and undamaged.

Some women pulled over and said "you nearly took me out .... I was going the other direction and had to swerve off the road (she saved my life ... and hers no doubt by getting off the road ... It happened so fast my eyes didn't have a chance to even focus in the spin ... I was just instantly backwards).

I looked at the trailer. EVERY SINGLE sheet of masonite had walked to the back edge of the car trailer .... the back wheels of the car must have been dangling in mid air. I had four very tight ropes pulled down holding it in place. two across it, and two down the length of it.

So I went home a got a 4wd ... this with the help of 4wd passing with recovery gear... we got the trailer out. Every 5 minutes I pulled over and checked the damn load. This time I'd pulled all the sheets off... layed ropes and straps down the length of the trailer ... sat the sheets on top and "wrapped' the masonite sheets so they definitely couldn't move this time. You know, the bloody ropes had cut a path a good 20cms into all the sheets trying to get free and move backwards in the 15minute trip home.

I am NEVER putting that deadly evil **** on a trailer again... it "walks" on a frictionless coating of wood dust as soon as there is some vibration and air movement.

I told my father what happened thinking he'd tell me I'm a moron that can't tie a load on..... Instead head said "I picked up a couple of masonite sheets from bunnings last year... tied them to the roof rack. At the first stop sign I gently braked and they slid straight out from under the tiedowns and onto the road infront of me".

Masonite is evil.

seeya,
Shane L.

Originally Posted by DoubleChevron

I've never found tying on cars easy. I need to modify my trailer to allow me to use ratchet straps around the wheels. no matter how tightly it's tied down, regardless of a perfect working handbrake in the car ... and the car being in gear as well..... I can feel the damn car move back/forward 1/2" when driving in traffic as you stop/start (ok, ok, it's probably only 2mm it moves .. but I can feel it move damn it!). Drives me bloody insane. It's the stretch in the ropes. I think I'll need to upgrade to ratchet tiedowns.

The back and forward movement is probably the coupling engaging the override brakes.
I've got tying down to a fine art using four ratchet straps. One on each wheel.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

The back and forward movement is probably the coupling engaging the override brakes.
I've got tying down to a fine art using four ratchet straps. One on each wheel.

Yes ... I need to check how some of the guys that tow cars all the time ( eg: dirt track cars) tie them down. It's not as easy with the old hydraulic cars. You can't access the rear wheels (unless it's a model you can unbolt the guards on). There is only 1/2" of ground clearance to reach under and secure. You can't tie down tightly by the body, as the tiedowns will tear off ( with normal cars you can pull the tiedown nice and snug and watch the suspension slightly compress... there is no suspension with a dead hydraulic car ... so there is no movement until you pull the tie-down points out of the body).

It's all fun though .... life wasn't supposed to be easy

seeya
Shane L.