Flatbed towing question: need advice

[67pete300]

I have finally taken possession of my new house and new (to me) garage. I will go and get my Chevelle out of the storage unit (180 miles away) on Thursday. I will rent a Uhaul flatbed car hauler and tow it with my father-in-law's 97 F250. The car would probably make the drive but I have to get the spare engine, trans, cherry picker, and six extra wheels/tires so I figured this way I can get it in one trip and not worry about the Chevelle making the trip.

Here's my question: how do I tie down the Chevelle? I have no clue what facilities the Uhaul trailer will have so I assume I need to buy/rent some tie downs. What to use? Chains? Ratchet straps? Where to attach on the car?

I have never done this before, any other suggestions/hints are welcome.

Thanks.

[JOES66FURY]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

from the frame of the car to the trailer at 4 point 2 in the front and 2 in the rear at angles from the car if at all possible if there is a winch pull the car up, hook the back up first then winch it down slightly to pt tention on the rear chains, then hook the fronts up....there should be tie downs with the trailer, if not get chains, or heavy duty cargo straps, dont skimp on the tie downs

[Bamfster]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

My local Harbor Freight sells 3" ratchet tie down straps rated at 10k lbs each for $19.99 (i think). The hooks on the ends of theses straps fit into the frame holes on my '68. I use 4 to secure them to my trailer. I also use them to tie down pretty much anything i haul.

[milner351]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

You need four heavy nylon ratchet straps.

Make an X with the straps, two front, two rear, pulling against eachother.

I usually wrap the rears around the axle tubes making sure I'm not putting pressure on brake lines.

The fronts can be a little tricky - usually you can hook to lower control arms, cross member, or even sway bar if nothing else - but don't hook onto any of the steering linkage.

Ratchet the straps snug on one end of the car, then go to the opposite end and snug them up -- so the straps are pulling the car in opposite directions in a criss cross pattern at each end.

I like to put the ratchets at the trailer end, not the car end - so I can see the ratchets in the mirrors and know if anything has come loose along the way.

Make sure you have the tire pressures correct on the truck (55psi front 80psi rear - I also have a '97 F250) and trailer - and make sure the truck has a brake controller if the trailer has electric brakes - it likely has hydraulic brakes, but you never know with a uhaul.

Drive safely and stop to check a couple times at rest areas to make sure it's OK.

[outlaw57]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

It somtimes does not hurt to run a extra strap from the rear frame to the trailer to help the bounce of the rear of the car over big bumps in the road. Some U-haul trailers have over the tire straps provided, I used this style on my race car(encolsed trailer) but I knew my equipment was not abused so check it out!

[VTJUNK]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

Heavy duty ratchet straps and a pair of axle straps are good enough. Your not hauling a really heavy load, so I would stay away from chains. If you use chains you will need binders too. If you buy quality chain and binders, you will be spending quite a bit of money. I use straps with 3" webbing. Don't count on the straps on the rental trailer, they see alot of abuse and usually are frayed somewhere. I don't trust them.

In the front of the car, hook a ratchet strap to a hole in the car's frame and then attach the other end to the trailer, crossing the straps in front of the car, so that the strap on the left front of the car attaches to the right front of the trailer and vice versa. This limits lateral movement. In the rear, wrap two axle straps around the rearend housing and attach them to the ratchet straps, then bring them out straight behind the car to the trailer. Don't cross them as you did in the front. Cinch the ratchets down and recheck them after a few miles. I don't tie down the frame in the rear because the car body will still try to move up and down on the suspension, and this will loosen the straps quickly.

A friend of mine was a collector car dealer/hauler for 40 years and showed me how to properly tie down a car. He and I have never had an incident using this technique.

[JRoberts]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

Don't count on the straps on the rental trailer, they see alot of abuse and usually are frayed somewhere. I don't trust them.

I agree with this 100%! I once used a U-haul set up and used their over the tire strap set up. I was constantly looking back in the mirror and saw something flapping in the breeze -- it was the the over the tire tie down blowing in the wind (and of course the rain!). The strap webbing and pulled apart letting the strap break and come loose.

[shaun callaway]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

the harbor freight ones will do the job just fine, i use old dyno straps and loops to secure the car when it hits the trailer. cross them

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

It somtimes does not hurt to run a strap from the rear frame to the trailer to help the bounce of the rear of the car over big bumps in the road. Some U-haul trailers have over the tire straps provided, so check it out!

I towed a car 500 miles in January with the over the tire straps, they worked perfectly. I stopped about every 150 miles to check on them and they remained tight the whole way with no further adjustments. Obviously inspect the straps carefully. I also left the car in gear(manual trans) and set the parking brake. If the straps are damaged go to plan B and get some good ratchet straps and follow the directions mentioned by others, front and back.

[KeithTurk]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice


These are the numbers I recall from my load master course ... this ties stuff down in an aircraft.... should be good enough for a car...

1 g Aft, 1.5 g's forward and .5g's laterally...

So if your junk weights 2000lbs... you can use a 3000 lb tie down on the back and a 2000lb tie down on the front and 1000lbs on each side....

Practically speaking what I really do is use two 5000lb tie downs on the front and rear and cross them anyway I can to give me the lateral holding power...

I've seen an idiot use these little girly straps and it scared me to death to follow him... thought the car was Coming OFF...

Keith

[squirrel]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

Mostly I drive my stuff. But I've been known to chain down cars onto my old trailer with not enough chains, maybe I've been lucky all these years! thanks for the lessons, guys.

[67pete300]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

Thanks guys! Just what I was looking for!

[VTJUNK]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

Glad we could help. ;D

[67pete300]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

Y
Make sure you have the tire pressures correct on the truck (55psi front 80psi rear - I also have a '97 F250) and trailer - and make sure the truck has a brake controller if the trailer has electric brakes - it likely has hydraulic brakes, but you never know with a uhaul.

Drive safely and stop to check a couple times at rest areas to make sure it's OK.

80 psi in the rear? That seems a bit much. I assume that would only be for the trip back with the car on the trailer?

Come to think of it, 55 psi in the front seems like alot too...?

[squirrel]

Re: Flatbed towing question: need advice

load range E tires....that's what my 87 suburban 3/4 ton is supposed to have for tires pressure too.