tube80z Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 JohnC's trailer above is very similar to mine. I bought a used steel trailer and rewired it with much better wiring and LED lights because I got tired of dealing with the normal lights being out before I'm about to leave for the weekend. In addition to a well laid out tool box I added a nitrogen bottle to mine and will plumb the trailer with airlines this year. I also spent a lot of time figuring out how to get the car on and off quickly. It's nice at the end of the day to be able to load the car and be gone in 15 minutes or less (when it's really hot out). External tie downs on the chassis are a lot easier to deal with than climbing under a really hot car. I also found that having the rear ramps stay hooked the trailer and fold down was easier for me to deal with and a lot quicker on the load/unload sequence. There definitely seems to be two schools of thought on how to tie a car down. One says by the tires the other says to tie the chassis. I fall in the latter. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 20, 2007 Author Share Posted March 20, 2007 How does one add external tie downs to the chassis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 How does one add external tie downs to the chassis? On the front these hook where the bumper mounts and come out. Similar on the rear. My car didn't have a front or rear bumper so I made simple hooks for these locations I could hook into with tiedowns. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 I just trashed a GT2 lower chin spliter on my Haulmark 24ft. enclosed trailer... Uhhuh, it's on the porsche and is a genuine P-car part! Stupid is as stupid does... If you go open or closed, and the car is lower than normal, opt for one of two choices... The gucci aluminum extender ramps OR the 2X10 stepped wood planks for walking the car up to the dovetail on the trailer... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 On the front these hook where the bumper mounts and come out. Similar on the rear. My car didn't have a front or rear bumper so I made simple hooks for these locations I could hook into with tiedowns. I was thinking I'd use those locations for a string alignment setup. Maybe I can do both... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 I used "J" hooks in front that slip into the holes in the bottom center of the front crossmember. For the rear I have axle straps that slip between the LCA and the spindle pin casting on the strut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 I used "J" hooks in front that slip into the holes in the bottom center of the front crossmember. For the rear I have axle straps that slip between the LCA and the spindle pin casting on the strut. Aren't you the same John Coffey who had his front crossmember bolts fall out and didn't notice??? I wonder if you tied it up to an unbolted crossmember at any point in time... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 Aren't you the same John Coffey who had his front crossmember bolts fall out and didn't notice??? I did notice... after they fell out. Luckily the solid engine and trans mounts kept everything somewhat in line. For that event we tied the car down differently in Bryan Lampe's enclosed trailer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 21, 2007 Author Share Posted March 21, 2007 I'm just teasing you. It's a good idea, the only thing I would worry about there is that the car is going to be so low I don't know that the straps would clear the bottom of the airdam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 21, 2007 Share Posted March 21, 2007 I'm just teasing you. I know, but I deserve to be teased for that. I'm a fanatic about crawling under the car and putting a wrench on nuts and bolts to make sure things are tight. After that little incident, I welded the front crossmember in the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(goldfish) Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 I like my wood deck, not as long lasting as steel but very easy to replace. As for full deck or runners, I just have to remove 2 bolts and I can then remove my center boards to give myself some room to work if I have to. ..... I like that idea. If that center is light enough. best of both. As you say it's z car only the center only has to hold a person or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 22, 2007 Share Posted March 22, 2007 A nice thing about a wood deck is that it doesn't get as hot as a metal deck in the sun. Lying down on aluminum diamond plating after its been in the sun on a 105 degree day makes you feel like an egg being fried. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 Well, I put a downpayment on one today. It's a 17' Morgan Built tilt trailer. Weight is 2300 lbs, the weight of their non tilt was 2100 or thereabouts, so the extra weight to tilt was not a big deal. It does have a shock on it that makes the tilt function smoother. Other than that it looks pretty bulletproof. Wood deck, 2 #3500 axles, electric brakes, spare tire, tool box, removable fender, stake holes, really nice axle straps, hitch lock, electronic brake controller, hitch, all wired up and ready to go is going to be ~$5100 after tax. I know the car will go up the trailer without any additional ramps, that was pretty clear when you put the thing down. The approach angle was really good. The guy who helped us was super knowledgeable and helpful, so I really feel pretty strongly that I got all my bases covered. Need to figure out where to tie it down in the front, but for the rear I kinda like John's idea of the hole between the bottom of the strut and the spindle pin. I guess I could do hooks off of the bumper mounts like Cary mentioned. I'll get it figured out... Thanks for all the input guys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I just bought as Sherline scale for measuring tongue weight. It came in very handy yesterday evening while loading the 996TT into my car trailer... I had no idea how much tongue weight I was adding with all the additional "Stuff"... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 I was thinking that tongue weight was a good way to justify corner weight scales... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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