brim

For those of you with open trailers and a tire rack on them, have you come up with a good solution from keeping the tires from moving around? I have just 4 wheels up there and they move all over around corners, etc.

I thought about using some wood working clamps, but not sure that would be a great solution without securing them to the trailer in case they come looks.

Any ideas appreciated. I'm running a Trailex, if it helps.

RickBetterley

Trailex offered (or included), if I recall, some locking collars and plates that held the tires in place.

TroyN

Yes they do, on their website. I just use a u-bolt with clamp and a piece of wood I drilled with a hole saw.

rlm328

I use a ratchet strap, this also limits forward and back movement.

SH || NC

Yep

Matt Romanowski

I'd buy two shaft collars from http://www.mcmaster.com/#shaft-collars/=dhitu2 for $1 and cut a peice of plywood to go against the tires.

Or buy a second set of tires to put up there!

Eifeler

Adjustable bungie (sp?).

certz

Not that you asked, but I would get some tie-downs installed and stop using your wheels to hold the car. Something like these:

http://www.rennline.com/Rennline-Tie...oductinfo/E04/

Wheels are not designed to support the car like that. Of course, I will probably get flamed as I know a lot of people that do this...

brim

Thanks everyone, definitely helps!

Anyone figure out how to stop the annoying metal on metal sound when you put the bar through the posts? I'm thinking a little hard plastic around the hole (think hard grommet).

ervtx

Well, that certainly defines the two ends of the cost continuum!
I'd go with the shaft collars as well, but spring for the quick release collars at something closer to $20 a piece.

Not a flame; just an opinion...

When you ratchet down the car's suspensioin to the trailer, you effectively compress it and lower it that much closer to the trailer bed. Hit a big enough bump, and the car could bottom out on the trailer. At the same time, you prohibt rebound movement (when the trailer is falling away from the car during a dip or immediately after a bump). Hit a big enough dip/bump, and the trailer could bottom out on the road surface as the full weight of the car drives the whole rig towards the road. In both cases, you're asking the trailer's suspension to absorb a heck of lot of bouncing. I'm pretty sure that the car's suspension is better engineeered than the one on the trailer.

When you ratchet down the wheels, the car's suspension remains neither compressed nor compressed. As you go over bumps and dips, the trailer springs will take care of trailer, and the car's suspension will take car of the car. Since the car's suspension starts out with zero compression, it has more compression available to absorbe the shock, and is much less likely to bottom out onto the trailer bed. And since it starts out with the same capacity to uncompress, it's much less likely to drive the trailer towads bottoming out on the road when the trailer falls away from it.

certz

ervtx - I basically agree with everything you said except that you will not fully compress the suspension since there will still be a shallow angle between the tie-downs on the trailer and the car - not as shallow as with the wheels but still plenty that you will not fully compress the springs. Also, even if the scenario you mention occurs what is cheaper to repair/replace, race wheels or a trailer suspension.

Again, I know a lot of people that use the wheels, it is just not something I recommend.