Trailering a 944
04-27-2008, 01:16 AM
#31
Race Car
Thread Starter
Will do. Thanks for all your help. Hopefully the car will make it on the trailer to my autocross tomorrow. I will try to set it up facing frontwards on the trip home.
04-27-2008, 09:08 AM
#32
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04-27-2008, 10:42 AM
#33
Race Director
For me
Forward facing to stops on the trailer, Use the factory tie downs in the front of the 84 tub. In the rear I installed large eye bolts in the bottom of car though the side pockets. So now it has two eye lets right rear the rear most (never used) jack pockets. That area is at least double strength.
I never cross the straps however. I do tow in neutral no parking brake.
Forward facing to stops on the trailer, Use the factory tie downs in the front of the 84 tub. In the rear I installed large eye bolts in the bottom of car though the side pockets. So now it has two eye lets right rear the rear most (never used) jack pockets. That area is at least double strength.
I never cross the straps however. I do tow in neutral no parking brake.
04-28-2008, 12:40 PM
#34
Race Car
Thread Starter
trailered the car to the autocross today. Backed it in and strapped all 4 tires down. Worked great. On way home pulled it in forward. Hard to strap front tires down cause car low in front (car got int he way of teh ratchet mechanism) . Was able to strap rears no problem however, I thought brake controller was not working BUT car had rolled back. Have no idea how but rear straps were really loose. Pulled car up again tightened rear and front and drove some more. Front stayed tight but rear loosened up agaon. Only thing I can think of is I didn't cut strap enough and there was too much in the ratchet. Have to trim more.
04-28-2008, 12:41 PM
#35
Race Car
Thread Starter
For me
Forward facing to stops on the trailer, Use the factory tie downs in the front of the 84 tub. In the rear I installed large eye bolts in the bottom of car though the side pockets. So now it has two eye lets right rear the rear most (never used) jack pockets. That area is at least double strength.
I never cross the straps however. I do tow in neutral no parking brake.
Forward facing to stops on the trailer, Use the factory tie downs in the front of the 84 tub. In the rear I installed large eye bolts in the bottom of car though the side pockets. So now it has two eye lets right rear the rear most (never used) jack pockets. That area is at least double strength.
I never cross the straps however. I do tow in neutral no parking brake.
04-28-2008, 02:09 PM
#36
Race Director
trailered the car to the autocross today. Backed it in and strapped all 4 tires down. Worked great. On way home pulled it in forward. Hard to strap front tires down cause car low in front (car got int he way of teh ratchet mechanism) . Was able to strap rears no problem however, I thought brake controller was not working BUT car had rolled back. Have no idea how but rear straps were really loose. Pulled car up again tightened rear and front and drove some more. Front stayed tight but rear loosened up agaon. Only thing I can think of is I didn't cut strap enough and there was too much in the ratchet. Have to trim more.
Don't cut the straps -- just slide them through the ratchet a bit more. Cutting them can cause them to fray.
Also: I leave my 944 into neutral, but I do use the parking brake when trailering it. It helps keep the car in place -- the straps tend to stay tighter that way, but even I experience a little loosening of the straps.
A way to test to see if the brake controller is working is to find a level spot, and put the tow vehicle in drive. As the rig starts moving a bit forward, squeeze the brake actuator on your brake controller, activating the trailer's brakes. You should feel the truck slowing down. You may not be able to stop your rig completely, but you should definately feel a slowdown.
I would definately trailer with the car facing the forward direction -- if the car's on backwards, and that hatch pops open, you are in for a disaster!
Also: to get more clearance for the ratchets up front -- attach the 'ratchet end' to the trailer D-ring instead of to the axles straps that are looped through your wheels. That should give you plenty of clearance.
-Z-man.
04-28-2008, 02:25 PM
#37
Race Car
Thread Starter
Dan -
Don't cut the straps -- just slide them through the ratchet a bit more. Cutting them can cause them to fray.
Also: I leave my 944 into neutral, but I do use the parking brake when trailering it. It helps keep the car in place -- the straps tend to stay tighter that way, but even I experience a little loosening of the straps.
A way to test to see if the brake controller is working is to find a level spot, and put the tow vehicle in drive. As the rig starts moving a bit forward, squeeze the brake actuator on your brake controller, activating the trailer's brakes. You should feel the truck slowing down. You may not be able to stop your rig completely, but you should definately feel a slowdown.
I would definately trailer with the car facing the forward direction -- if the car's on backwards, and that hatch pops open, you are in for a disaster!
Also: to get more clearance for the ratchets up front -- attach the 'ratchet end' to the trailer D-ring instead of to the axles straps that are looped through your wheels. That should give you plenty of clearance.
-Z-man.
Don't cut the straps -- just slide them through the ratchet a bit more. Cutting them can cause them to fray.
Also: I leave my 944 into neutral, but I do use the parking brake when trailering it. It helps keep the car in place -- the straps tend to stay tighter that way, but even I experience a little loosening of the straps.
A way to test to see if the brake controller is working is to find a level spot, and put the tow vehicle in drive. As the rig starts moving a bit forward, squeeze the brake actuator on your brake controller, activating the trailer's brakes. You should feel the truck slowing down. You may not be able to stop your rig completely, but you should definately feel a slowdown.
I would definately trailer with the car facing the forward direction -- if the car's on backwards, and that hatch pops open, you are in for a disaster!
Also: to get more clearance for the ratchets up front -- attach the 'ratchet end' to the trailer D-ring instead of to the axles straps that are looped through your wheels. That should give you plenty of clearance.
-Z-man.
This has the ratchet and axle strap combined. It's not a separate axle strap. The end has a hook with a loop further down for the hook to fit into after putting it through the wheel. If I load more of the strap into the ratchet it winds doubled so the same amoutn of strap will be taken into the ratchet. the problem I ran into is the spindle got filled and didn't allow the ratchet to lock into the tighter setting.
I did attach the ratchet end to the trailer.
04-28-2008, 03:39 PM
#38
Race Director
Dan:
I suggest that you remove the 'combined' axle strap / ratchet thing. That's what I did with my straps when I first got them. Trailer park life (er, I mean trailering life) is much easier without the combined thingy. You may need to get additional axle straps.
Even so - you can still slip the excess strap through the spindle in order to prevent the spindle from filling. On the fronts, this excess strap material is significant, and you will need to wrap this around the ratchet in order to prevent it from flapping in the breeze.
Oh, and my car is lowered significantly - probably more than yours. And yeah, I get a little rubbing of the straps against the bottom of the car - but not in a way that it would significantly effect the tie down point.
Have you considered the tongue weight? You need to make sure your car is forward enough so that there is enough tongue weight. If, at highway speeds, your trailier is wagging like a dog's tail, you don't have enough weight on the tongue. (Note: a utility box in front of the 944 with 2 five-gallon gas tanks will do the trick in most cases!)
-Z-man.
I suggest that you remove the 'combined' axle strap / ratchet thing. That's what I did with my straps when I first got them. Trailer park life (er, I mean trailering life) is much easier without the combined thingy. You may need to get additional axle straps.
Even so - you can still slip the excess strap through the spindle in order to prevent the spindle from filling. On the fronts, this excess strap material is significant, and you will need to wrap this around the ratchet in order to prevent it from flapping in the breeze.
Oh, and my car is lowered significantly - probably more than yours. And yeah, I get a little rubbing of the straps against the bottom of the car - but not in a way that it would significantly effect the tie down point.
Have you considered the tongue weight? You need to make sure your car is forward enough so that there is enough tongue weight. If, at highway speeds, your trailier is wagging like a dog's tail, you don't have enough weight on the tongue. (Note: a utility box in front of the 944 with 2 five-gallon gas tanks will do the trick in most cases!)
-Z-man.
04-28-2008, 03:58 PM
#39
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I haven't heard anyone discuss the pluses or minuses of connected to the car on an "unsprung" versus "sprung" location. If you hook to a sprung location (any body-mounted location) then the straps could get loaded/unloaded as you go over bumps. On an unsprung location (basically through the wheels or using the lower/rear shock mounts), the tension is unaffected by the car's bouncing. Seems to me that unsprung is preferrable if available.
04-28-2008, 04:08 PM
#40
Race Car
Thread Starter
Dan:
I suggest that you remove the 'combined' axle strap / ratchet thing. That's what I did with my straps when I first got them. Trailer park life (er, I mean trailering life) is much easier without the combined thingy. You may need to get additional axle straps.
Even so - you can still slip the excess strap through the spindle in order to prevent the spindle from filling. On the fronts, this excess strap material is significant, and you will need to wrap this around the ratchet in order to prevent it from flapping in the breeze.
Oh, and my car is lowered significantly - probably more than yours. And yeah, I get a little rubbing of the straps against the bottom of the car - but not in a way that it would significantly effect the tie down point.
Have you considered the tongue weight? You need to make sure your car is forward enough so that there is enough tongue weight. If, at highway speeds, your trailier is wagging like a dog's tail, you don't have enough weight on the tongue. (Note: a utility box in front of the 944 with 2 five-gallon gas tanks will do the trick in most cases!)
-Z-man.
I suggest that you remove the 'combined' axle strap / ratchet thing. That's what I did with my straps when I first got them. Trailer park life (er, I mean trailering life) is much easier without the combined thingy. You may need to get additional axle straps.
Even so - you can still slip the excess strap through the spindle in order to prevent the spindle from filling. On the fronts, this excess strap material is significant, and you will need to wrap this around the ratchet in order to prevent it from flapping in the breeze.
Oh, and my car is lowered significantly - probably more than yours. And yeah, I get a little rubbing of the straps against the bottom of the car - but not in a way that it would significantly effect the tie down point.
Have you considered the tongue weight? You need to make sure your car is forward enough so that there is enough tongue weight. If, at highway speeds, your trailier is wagging like a dog's tail, you don't have enough weight on the tongue. (Note: a utility box in front of the 944 with 2 five-gallon gas tanks will do the trick in most cases!)
-Z-man.
What size is your trailer? Mine is 15ft. Is looks like (i could be wrong) that if I use separate axle strape I will haev too much strap. Is it is not the ratchet is pretty close to the wheel. Look at pics 1 and 2 of post 19. These are the rear wheels but the fron is just about the same except the car is lower there too.
04-28-2008, 04:17 PM
#41
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I haven't bothered reading the entire thread, but let me suggest:
Those who trailer their car facing backward must have a GREAT deal of CONFIDENCE in their hatch pins!!!
Jim 1987 944S (Mine loads facing forward!!! Facing backwards is for 911's in the corners!!!)
Those who trailer their car facing backward must have a GREAT deal of CONFIDENCE in their hatch pins!!!
Jim 1987 944S (Mine loads facing forward!!! Facing backwards is for 911's in the corners!!!)
04-28-2008, 04:32 PM
#42
Race Director
Potomac-Greg: I agree - unsprung mounting (ie: through the tires) is what I prefer. But many prefer the other method.
Dan -
I have an 18 foot trailer, but the distance between my front tires is front mounting point is probably less than your setup. Yet I have no issues with too much strap. Like I said - you can slip the excess strap through the ratchet so the spindle doesn't fill up. You only need 2 full rotations of the strap in the spindle for it to hold tight. This concept is easier shown vs. explained.
-Z
What size is your trailer? Mine is 15ft. Is looks like (i could be wrong) that if I use separate axle strape I will haev too much strap. Is it is not the ratchet is pretty close to the wheel. Look at pics 1 and 2 of post 19. These are the rear wheels but the fron is just about the same except the car is lower there too.
I have an 18 foot trailer, but the distance between my front tires is front mounting point is probably less than your setup. Yet I have no issues with too much strap. Like I said - you can slip the excess strap through the ratchet so the spindle doesn't fill up. You only need 2 full rotations of the strap in the spindle for it to hold tight. This concept is easier shown vs. explained.
-Z
04-29-2008, 12:03 AM
#43
Race Car
Thread Starter
Dan:
I suggest that you remove the 'combined' axle strap / ratchet thing. That's what I did with my straps when I first got them. Trailer park life (er, I mean trailering life) is much easier without the combined thingy. You may need to get additional axle straps.
Even so - you can still slip the excess strap through the spindle in order to prevent the spindle from filling. On the fronts, this excess strap material is significant, and you will need to wrap this around the ratchet in order to prevent it from flapping in the breeze.
Oh, and my car is lowered significantly - probably more than yours. And yeah, I get a little rubbing of the straps against the bottom of the car - but not in a way that it would significantly effect the tie down point.
Have you considered the tongue weight? You need to make sure your car is forward enough so that there is enough tongue weight. If, at highway speeds, your trailier is wagging like a dog's tail, you don't have enough weight on the tongue. (Note: a utility box in front of the 944 with 2 five-gallon gas tanks will do the trick in most cases!)
-Z-man.
I suggest that you remove the 'combined' axle strap / ratchet thing. That's what I did with my straps when I first got them. Trailer park life (er, I mean trailering life) is much easier without the combined thingy. You may need to get additional axle straps.
Even so - you can still slip the excess strap through the spindle in order to prevent the spindle from filling. On the fronts, this excess strap material is significant, and you will need to wrap this around the ratchet in order to prevent it from flapping in the breeze.
Oh, and my car is lowered significantly - probably more than yours. And yeah, I get a little rubbing of the straps against the bottom of the car - but not in a way that it would significantly effect the tie down point.
Have you considered the tongue weight? You need to make sure your car is forward enough so that there is enough tongue weight. If, at highway speeds, your trailier is wagging like a dog's tail, you don't have enough weight on the tongue. (Note: a utility box in front of the 944 with 2 five-gallon gas tanks will do the trick in most cases!)
-Z-man.
04-29-2008, 01:03 AM
#45
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I have just always used the factory tie downs and had no problems. Why would you leave it in nuetral. I always put it in 1st to keep the car from rolling backwards, I dont see how this could hurt anything. This is how my father has always done it and i assume he knows how b/c he had a car hauler for many years never had any problems with any of the cars he was dealing in.