Strapping Car down to a Car Carrier... (Tips from those who have done)
10-19-2013, 04:28 AM
#16
Nordschleife Master
Thread Starter
If the trailer is a rental, make sure the axle and wheel bearings have enough grease. Look at the diameter of your trailer vs your car tire. The trailer tires will be doubling your vehicle RPM or more as you drive down the road so that gets hot...
Tire change may be a pain but replacing wheel bearings will take it to another level. You can't screw up greasing a trailer and a grease gun is cheap insurance. Excess just falls off..
Tire change may be a pain but replacing wheel bearings will take it to another level. You can't screw up greasing a trailer and a grease gun is cheap insurance. Excess just falls off..
There are a lot of towing threads on the DE/Racing forum with good info.
A few thoughts:
Be sure the trailer you rent is designed to handle the weight of the car. I'd prefer a tandem axle trailer myself. Will it have trailer brakes? Many states require them over a certain weight. Even basic surge brakes are better than nothing.
As somebody else mentioned, inspect the trailer tires carefully before you leave the rental place. If you don't like the look of the tires, get a different trailer.
Since it's a rear engine car you'll need to either load it on backwards or get it far enough forward to get the proper tongue weight. Play around till you get it right.
Don't forget to ensure you have the right tow vehicle. Can it handle the weight, does it have good tires and most importantly, good brakes?
BTW - I don't like crossing the rear straps, IMO it puts an abnormal side load on the rear wheels/suspension.
Good luck.
A few thoughts:
Be sure the trailer you rent is designed to handle the weight of the car. I'd prefer a tandem axle trailer myself. Will it have trailer brakes? Many states require them over a certain weight. Even basic surge brakes are better than nothing.
As somebody else mentioned, inspect the trailer tires carefully before you leave the rental place. If you don't like the look of the tires, get a different trailer.
Since it's a rear engine car you'll need to either load it on backwards or get it far enough forward to get the proper tongue weight. Play around till you get it right.
Don't forget to ensure you have the right tow vehicle. Can it handle the weight, does it have good tires and most importantly, good brakes?
BTW - I don't like crossing the rear straps, IMO it puts an abnormal side load on the rear wheels/suspension.
Good luck.
i have multiple vehicles and need to bring it with on this trip.
as far as trailer i chose penske over uhaul because of their newer equipment.. the trailer i got today actually looks great and like new unlike all the uhaul ones i see.. the loading angle is very shallow...
i bought some 2x8's to help with loading should the front of car be too low, my only other obsticle being the front wheel chocks might be too high for bumper.. in that case i would need to drive vehicle on a home made "ramp" to lift bumper over the chocks and then back down onto trailer... i feel a 2x8 cut to exact length would suffice... will experiment with that first... would need a nice 45* on the up side but a blunt 90 to 'drop down"..
such a hassle. but the trailer and moving truck are actually top notch quality so shouldnt be a problem... 1000miles ... gonna be a long day.
10-19-2013, 11:06 AM
#17
Rennlist Member
towing
rented a Uhaul trailer for the 997 C4s towed from Tx to Wa about 2600 miles total. Recall clearance to drive it on was a problem but used incline of my drive plus 2x4s to get the wheel clearance to load without any front end problems. Also Used the nylon webbing around the rear wheels and fronts and the safety chain around the front axle to secure things. Biggest mistake was to try to drive it covered the whole way with a Porshe OEM cover...wind took that and my back plate almost off at about 70miles into my trip! Ended up just removing it (was worried about the paint mostly). I only checked everything at every gas/food stop and at the hotel nightly and in the Am and had no issues. Think lots of your things are overkill a wireless GoPro Hero really? Lol. Will drive you more crazy and likely distract you more than anything! Good luck