Trailer tie down methods

[Tom Valet]

Sorry if this has been covered before in the past, but I'm new to formula cars. My question has to do with tying a formula ford down inside an enclosed trailer. I have gotten conflicting advice about what's best, with some saying to connect the straps to the car frame; others telling me the best way is to use over the tire straps; I also see some people connecting the straps through the wheels; and some strap onto the suspension arms themselves.

Problems I've heard about with the various methods have to do with suspension movement while the trailer is in motion, messing up alignment, and having the car jump around a lot, so now I'm just confused. Does it matter at all?

Is there any concensus on what is the correct way and what is wrong?

Thanks

Tom

[SStadel]

We put E-track down under where the tires are going to be and use ratchet straps over the tires. It has been working well for years. The best thing about E-track is the nearly infinite adjustability.

[EYERACE]

a pro mechanic said this of continentals years ago...."you can put them on the pad at the shop and get all the corners exact, put the car in the trailer and go to the track and the car will now be off" ....so you will see people immediately break out their set up pads upon arrival at the track. i have always felt it's just a question of how much of a perfectionist do you care to be.

i think the idea of alignments and how the car is strapped down matters more or less depending on the car's suspension parts. the heavier the rod ends the less you worry. my crossle 32F has no shear plates so i don't worry too much using a method that wraps over the tires with the strap mounting to the trailer. it also matters how big a bump in the road you hit and at what speed of course.

i favor the straps over the tires because the thought of tweaking an alignment when all of the car's suspension can travel freely seems remote. how hard one cranks on a strap that pulls from different directions on the suspension parts themselves seems most possible harmful ...but what if you're on smooth roads and the straps aren't too terribly tight but the car won't travel back/forth even as the straps stretch? probably mounting straps to the frame itself is a middle ground - it would take a big bounce to bend a frame a lot. remember many a chassis will flex out on the track at speed and that doesn't permanently change a set up.

[Brian]

I've been using a strap over one front and one rear tire lately, with excellent results. I have E-track but cars with different track widths so on the ford only one side lines up.

Brian

[Charles Warner]

Tie down locations probably have very little to do with whether the alignment will change in transit. The biggest reason to use the tires/wheels is that it allows the suspension to work and absord the bumps caused during transport. A race car endures far more transport miles than race miles, and these miles are much bumpier. If you tie down the car using the chassis or frame and cinch it down you are, in essence, making it part of the trailer and all loads suffered by the trailer are transmitted to the car directly. Tie the car down to the ties/wheels and you allow the cars suspension (shocks/spring) to do their thing - absorb shocks.

This became an issue with Ralt RT4/5 cars with the rear wings that were built around butt welded tubes. They were suffering an inordinate number of rear wing failures. It was determined they were suffering stress fractures due to loads incurred during transit. The failures decreased after the cars were tied down by the tires but did not stop. This was due to a poor design (since cured by Marc Bahner, BTW) and led to the practice of transporting the cars with the rear wings removed.

As has been mentioned, E track or F track and straps over each wheel are (IMO) the preferred method. As for security, I have seen a trailer flip at speed ending up like a turtle with averything coming loose except the car which was hanging upside down with no damage. As for the idea of only using one front and the opposing rear, this will allow the car to "walk" sideways, possibly causing it to loosen.

[Stu Pidd]

"As for the idea of only using one front and the opposing rear, this will allow the car to "walk" sideways, possibly causing it to loosen."

I use one E-Trak and two tire bonnets and the car has NEVER moved an inch. Mounted on the floor opposite the door, one doesn't trip on it either. ANY car will fit and trailer nicely.

[D.T. Benner]

My car goes in the trailer tail first. I use over the tire Tire Basket style tiedowns on the rear wheels ONLY.The front of the car is then jacked up and large Foam Rubber blocks slid under the front 1/3rd. of the car. That keeps the front of the car from Yumpin up & down on rough roads.

[Tom Valet]

Thanks for all the replies. I bought the e-track a couple of weeks ago but havent installed it in the trailer yet. I'll have to pick up a set of tire bonnets that will work with the e-track.

Thanks again.

Tom

[Mark H]

They say to take the car out of gear when towing too? Something to do with the dog rings.
I think that if you pull the car down using the frame that will save some wear on the shocks by not having the suspension bouncing up and down?

Something as simple as towing the car can bring out many opinions... 10 people 10 ideas.

[Charles Warner]

They say to take the car out of gear when towing too? Something to do with the dog rings.
I think that if you pull the car down using the frame that will save some wear on the shocks by not having the suspension bouncing up and down?

Yes, Mark, you will save some wear on the shocks (although that is what they are designed to do), but at the expense of the the car being subjected to the vibrations that are transmitted through the trailer. Pick your poisin. IMO vibrations are the bane of a race car leading to far more failures. I agree about taking te car out of gear.

[Jim Garry]

I too like strapping down the tires only, for reasons stated by others. Never even considered leaving the car in gear. If the tires are strapped securely, the car isn't going anywhere. And if the straps are not secure, leaving the car in gear isn't going to help much.

Jim

[Jonathan Hirst]

I always knock the car out of gear when towing. I tie off to the chassis to eyelets in the floor and the tightening down of the straps results in the car moving slightly in the direction of the axle that is being tied down. The gear lever is really difficult to pull into neutral if I forget to do so before I tie it down and I would hate to leave it peloaded for a long period of time. As for wearing out the dog rings, wouldn't that only be an issue if the straps were loose and the car was rolling back and forth?

I have E track that I am planning to install this summer - do most people cut out a section of the track so the tires rest on the floor or is it ok to leave it in one piece and tie the wheel down while resting on the E - Track?

I thought about keeping it in one piece and using some 1/4" plywood on either side to spread out the load. I am looking forward to the ease of strapping over the tire versus fishing straps through the chassis.

Jonathan

[SStadel]

We go right on the E-track with the tire. We do put down a piece of thin rubber (not sure where I got them) between the tire and the E-track to keep the tire from getting the funky E-track design in it. I'd like to make some whizzy brushed aluminum piece that has tabs for the E-track that the tires could sit on. Maybe when they start making 36 hour days!

[Paul LeCain]

I cut the e-track and leave a space for the tire to sit on the floor.

[D.T. Benner]

I always put the car in the same spot so I use the flush folding D-rings in the floor. Reinforced from underneath. That way there is less to trip over and collect dirt. I think holding the car down by the tire baskets is the best way and to keep the shocks and suspension movements to a minimum putting some foam blocks under the car seems to dampen out a lot of the bumps and vibrations of the trailers motions.

[Tom Valet]

Can I ask a question for those who have installed the e-track? With a plywood trailer floor, did you just screw the e-track to the plywood using wood screws or did you drill through and bolt the e-track to the floor?

Thanks

Tom

[Alan R Guibord]

I drilled through and bolted the e-track to the floor and never had a problem. Just screwing it into the plywood probably would not work

[Steve Demeter]

With BIG washers on the underside.

Tie down straps can generrate one heck of a pull on what they are attached to

[Brian]

I drilled through and bolted with large backing washers throught the plywood about every foot or so. I got as many cross-ribs as I could. The job sucked. Flat on your back under a trailer that wasn't all that high off the ground for an afternoon. Get a friend to help, trust me.

Brian

[Stu Pidd]

Jonnyrocket,

Bolt the whole length of E-track down, consider the car sitting on the track, the tire also on the track. It won't go anywhere, like Brian said get a friend or kid and use stove bolts the holes for mounting the track are square as I recall.

[LolaT440]

I don't even use a trailer. I just drive my car to the track. The only tough part is there is no cup holder and the jelly-donut makes the shifter sticky.

[Mark H]

Hey T440 just put that beer between your thighs "redneck cup holder" but you should never eat donuts and drive + you can ask the cop to stop off and get some jelly's when he is giving you "a lift" to his place.... they know all the good donut hang-outs anyhow.

[Purple Frog]

Adjust the bump and rebound on the shocks to zero for trailering.

[Jonathan Hirst]

Thanks for the advice on the E Track.

The only tough part is there is no cup holder and the jelly-donut makes the shifter sticky.

You have to have a cup holder in your Ford.....

Attachment 2555

[racerxlilbro]

I use an old set of Spitfire wheels with 75 series rubber as my roll-arounds. This affords me a lot more ground clearance, and with 40 psi in them, makes rolling the car around a breeze. I have e-track on the edges of the floor, and up the middle of my trailer's floor. The one in the center is for tying down motorcycle chocks (I use the Pingels, and they're awesome) My Crossle goes in backward so the engine and gearbox are over the axles of the trailer. I tie the rear of the car down with ratchet straps through the rear frame bulkhead, and the front is tied down with the wheel tie downs. The car should always be left in neutral. Why would you want to put all those miles on the dog-rings?

When I worked at AAR, we built wheel nuts with steel loops in them, so we could tie the car down touching nothing but the wheel nut. We used e-track in the transporter - and that's the way they did it long before I was there. So, if your car has center-locking wheels, that's a great way to go.

[Jim Garry]

I don't even use a trailer. I just drive my car to the track. The only tough part is there is no cup holder and the jelly-donut makes the shifter sticky.

Make sure that when you talk on your cell phone you use your hands free device. And if driving in NY, it's the law.

Jim