JMortensen Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Pulled the car off the rotisserie for the first time in 2 years and towed it with my new trailer to my new place. The trailer is a tilt bed 17' Morgan Built. This is the first time I've towed with my GMC 1500 as well, so this was quite a few firsts all at once. Getting the car off the rotisserie was... exciting. I used a floor jack under each rear control arm and hooked the radiator support to my cherry picker. Then me and a buddy controlled the jacks in the rear while another friend lowered the front end. I think when I put it back on the rotisserie I'm going to buy another cherry picker and a second load leveler. The load leveler was a super easy way to keep the car flat. I'm happy to report that the 3000 lb winch I got from HF worked beautifully and pulled the car up with no problems whatsoever. I am still a bit concerned about the longevity of this winch, but it worked pretty slick yesterday. The truck towed the car great, on the one grade between the old house and the new house I think I dipped to 55 mph from 60, but I'm sure I could have put my foot in it and done 70 up the hill had I really wanted to. The trailer did feel a little waggy at one point, I think I need to figure out where the car should sit on the trailer to minimize this effect. I bought these really cool axle straps, but when I went to hook them up it became apparent that these were perhaps not the best buy. I need to install some tow hooks on the front and back of the car, because getting up to the crossmember when all the bodywork is on the car is not going to be easy. In the rear I tied to the control arms, and that also was not ideal. Tow hooks are definitely a must have for this trailer. Then I will have paid for these really nice straps which won't be used in their intended way (looped back on themselves). No biggee I guess, and if I ever want to tow a car with a solid axle the straps might come in handy. The car was put together with just enough suspension to put the wheels on it. It was light enough that when we didn't hit the trailer straight, my two friends who were helping out went to the back of the car and lifted it up and scooted it over before I could tell them that it was probably too heavy. I don't know what the weight is at this point, but after that happened I'm thinking it's still pretty light... One issue I found was that my tie rods are really close to the rim. I had to use 1/2" worth of wheel spacers to get them to clear. My plan was to use bumpsteer spacers to move the tie rods down another inch, which should be the right area to minimize the bumpsteer. That is just not going to happen. So I think the alternative is to cut the steering rack mounts off and raise the rack 1". Of course I've already welded the crossmember to the chassis, so I guess this will have to be done in situ. I don't think it's going to be that huge a problem, but I was a little disappointed when I saw what was going on. Other than that I forgot my keys on the trip to the new place and so I couldn't install the tongue lock. So we put the trailer in the garage. The garage is 23' deep, the trailer is about 23'3" long, so it was quite a PITA to get it in there. Also, my garage door is 8'6" wide, and I think the trailer is about 8'4" wide, and I have no experience backing up with a trailer... It took a while, but we got it done. I'll have to take some pics when I get back over there, it's amazing that we got the door closed... Now all I have to do is clean up the old garage and get all the tools over to the new place, organize, get some work benches built, etc etc. The move is not over by a long shot, but this was the part that had me the most worried, and it came off virtually without a hitch. I forgot the camera, so pics in a couple days maybe. The car looks good on it's wheels, even though its still mostly disassembled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartman Posted May 14, 2007 Share Posted May 14, 2007 Congrat's, can't wait to see some pic's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share Posted May 16, 2007 Here's the pics. My old garage was about 1/2 the width of the new one, and probably 7 or 8 feet deeper. In the old garage when I went around the front of the car while it was on the rotisserie I literally had to suck it in and turn sideways... The car is at full ride height in the pics. It's going to be lower than that when I drive it. It's not that cool really, I'm just stoked to see it actually rolling around on its own four wheels! 10' ceilings. The cutouts on the wall are for flourescent lights. The PO painted cars, so he has them installed all along that wall. This shot gives a little idea of what the roll center is like at the max possible height. Keep in mind, no engine or anything else in there... Rear rotisserie bracket is still on the car. Back end of trailer is touching the wall... Front end of trailer is PAST the door track. Literally had to flex the door past the trailer! Look how close the tie rods are to the rim. I suppose I could remove the bump steer spacers, but it still wouldn't allow enough movement to fix the bumpsteer with the inner LCA pivots in their highest position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 What about running larger diameter rims? Nice looking garage BTW and congratulations on the move. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share Posted May 16, 2007 No larger rims for me. Car needs to be LOW. Can't wait to get the trailer out and set up some benches and really make the garage "mine", but it's a huge improvement already. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 I wouldn't worry about the steering arm bolt being close to the rim. To make yourself feel better get a bolt with a 1/2 height head. That should give you another 1/16" of clearance. Or go with a socket head cap screw or a 12 point aircraft bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share Posted May 16, 2007 That's not the problem, if I was going to run it right where it is I'd have no trouble with that. The problem is to adjust out the bumpsteer with the inner pivots all the way up the tie rod end would likely have to be moved down another inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted May 16, 2007 Share Posted May 16, 2007 Oh. Less backspace? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted May 16, 2007 Author Share Posted May 16, 2007 Might work. I'll have to see how much backspace it takes. The current wheels are 5" backspace I think, so if I could run 4" that might do it, still need a wide wheel though. It's going to take a little figuring if backspace is going to be better or if moving the rack will be the solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted May 17, 2007 Share Posted May 17, 2007 I was waiting for pics Nice garage, Jon. I'm sure you're proud too--good thing the trailer (barely) fits in there. Must be nice to have that extra space Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ragefear Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 are those just two engine stands that you extended the height on? thats what it looks like and thats what I was thinking about doing. It just seems easier. any thoughts on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted September 22, 2007 Author Share Posted September 22, 2007 Yep, I bought 3 engine stands and sacrificed one to make the others taller. I've posted probably 10 times on other threads about it, and there are a ton of people who have made their own from scratch. Lots of useful info here about rotisseries. Here are a couple of my threads, you can search and find more: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=104151 http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=105319 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.