What I learned picking up my new Z car

[janaka]

Always, Always, Always chain a trailer no matter what you are doing, no matter how little are moving it.

 

The story:

Bought a '74 260z 2+2 on ebay two weeks ago.

Guy was coming from Georgia to Connecticut to visit family so he trailered the car from GA to CT for me (I paid his tolls/fuel). Saved me about 10hrs of driving doing it this way.

I drove 9hrs to CT with my best friend and my wife in an '09 Ridgeline with an Autotransport from Uhaul. Side note: Truck was great with the trailer for a V6.

Met with Craig at his son-in-laws house in CT in the morning. He lives on Hulda Hill, which should be called Hulda Freakin' mountain. S curves and huge drops, not trailer friendly at all IMO. His driveway is decently sloped in all directions. When we got there the Z was on his trailer, I did my brief look over and decided it was more or less what I thought it was for the price. He backed up his F250 Desiel 4door and hooked up the trailer to pull it forward so we could roll the Z off. Craig seemingly has done lots of trailering based on our conversations in the past, having his own trailer, nice truck etc. George, who was with me has done boating and that is his trailering history, I had none really, hence G being with me. Well Craig got the trailer on the ball and was just pulling the trailer forward, george just threw a chain onto his hitch 'just becuase', even though we were only moving it 6'. Craig thought nothing of it.

I hop in the Z after releasing the straps/chain off the Z. Note its graded downhill behind me for another 15' then a drop off to a ravine. Remember this part.

I'm in the car and get it to start to roll backwards, with George guiding me towards and down the ramps the trailer shifted weight pretty hard, but from inside the car I couldn't see anything and thought it was just tilting and resting on the ramps due to leverage of the car moving etc. The Z jumped a little and rolled off the trailer as planned, I got on the brakes and threw the parking brake on.

 

 

THEN we all realized how close to a MAJOR accident we were.

 

When the trailer shifted the tongue poped OFF THE BALL.

 

The ONE chain George threw on the hitch caught and held the trailer with the Z on it and me inside the Z. Had that chain not been there, I would have been in a world of hurt as the trailer would have went down the ravine easily taking me and the Z along with it. I nearly shat myself when I saw the one chain taught and nothing on the ball of the truck.

 

Needless to say it was a stressful moment.

 

Thankfully we loaded the car safely on our trailer (properly hitched) and got the hell out of dodge. The 3 of us rotated driving home and 18hrs later we got home and rolled the Z off the trailer onto my street.

For having been my first time towing a car with a truck it was surprisingly easy with the trailer from Uhaul. Very well balanced and had brakes on it as well which was nice as we drove through about 10hrs of what seemed like mountains.

 

The car is already in storage and unfortunately will not be touched much if at all till we get our new house in december.

 

So remember. ALWAYS chain your trailer up no matter what you are doing.

[DeleriousZ]

Wow that's a close call!! Glad to hear you're ok and I'll keep that advice for the next time I'm towing something

[thrustnut]

That's weird...the same thing happened to my Dad, Brother and me when we where loading his 67 Mustang on a trailer a couple weeks ago. Somehow when we hooked the trailer to his Explorer (which he bought less then a month ago) the ball did not get set into the hitch correctly, so when it was tightened down, the trailer was sitting on top of the ball. We started loading the car and had it about halfway before my Dad noticed the trailer about a foot off the ball. We had him back down a little and between my Dad, my Wife and myself we had enough weight to sit the trailer back down on the ball and get it installed. If the wheels on the trailer weren't chocked i'm pretty sure we would have creamed the back of the Explorer.