winders

I bought four 2" wide ratcheting tie down straps from Apex Performance a couple of years ago for my enclosed trailer.

I'll ratchet the four tie downs nice and tight and drive for an hour or so. I'll pull over and go check on them. Now I need to ratchet then tight again. After another hour or so, they will be loose again.

One of four things is happening:

1. My race car (full cage to the suspension points) is stretching.

2. My trailer frame rails are shrinking

3. The tie downs are slipping

4. The tie downs are stretching

It's not 1 or 2.

This has gotten quite annoying and I certainly don't want to damage my car during transport. I had hoped that the tie downs would stop doing this after a while. But it keeps on happening.

What have been people's experience with tie downs in general? Is this normal?

I am looking at the G-Force 2" wide ratcheting tie down straps from OG Racing. How have these worked for people that have them?

Or should I just go with Mac's Custom Tie Downs for $5 more each?

Scott

Cory M

what points on the car are you tying down to?

winders

At the rear, I am using eyelets on the bottom damper mount. At the front, I am using eyelets on the front control arm mount. The car is not stretching.......

Scott

winders

I just watched a video on Mac's site. Maybe I am not getting enough wraps on the mandrels. The video says two full wraps which is about six full cranks of the handle.

Scott

KaiB

THIS...

I was just about to ask that question of you. Would wager this might be your problem.

Keep the wraps snug as you go also.

mglobe

The Mac's stuff is worth the money imho.

Cory M

Just making sure you weren't going through the wheels, they can rotate and loosen straps. Sounds like you aren't getting enough wraps on the straps like you said. I've had them loosen up a bit from that too.

dan212

If your straps are slipping like that something is seriously wrong. I agree your car probably isn't stretching or you would have killed yourself in it by now.

Couple of things:

1)
You haven't said how old your straps are. I try to replace mine every year or so. And I buy the heaviest duty straps I can find. 14,000 pound rated straps. Overkill can be a good thing. ALso prefer a little over-long. I can wrap the excess around the ratchet itself for a little extra security.

2) How clean are your straps? If you let them get soiled or in any way oily you have to chuck them. Nice thing about my berserk 14k straps is the material is very heavily textured.

3) Tie down location (as others have pointed out). I prefer tie down rings. If it can move it will. I also don't like strapping to anything that is depending on tension to stay on (like putting a hook under the jack pad).

Marc Shaw

My Mac's straps used to loosen up quite a bit on my 8 1/2 hour drive to the track (worse in the rain when the straps got wet with my open trailer before I got my enclosed one). After a while, it got better as the straps stopped stretching.

Then I went and bought new straps and it started all over again....

Marc

Edit: I only bought yellow straps so it was very easy to see if they were dirty and needed replacing

f1rocks

You might consider getting some fixed coated steel cable straps for either front or rear, I prefer front. Then you do final "tightening" with only the rear ratchets. I always put my car in the same spot on the trailer, having the fixed cables assures you of that

Most of the belt stretch will be gone after the first 5 or so times you use them.

LuigiVampa

I have two inch wide straps from Home Depot and you could bounce a dime off the straps when I pull into the track. Accordingly, I don't think it is the straps - you just need more wraps as you said.

TAI2

A bit pricey but I never had a problem with these over the last 4 years.

http://www.truckntow.com/pc-9873-147...nap-hooks.aspx

mrbill_fl

I use 2 straps (3"), and 2 chains with hooks. the chains go on the rear points. -

LuigiVampa

I use chains at the back of the car as well. I always feel that they are good insurance in case I ever have to make a "panic" stop, or worse, I hit something with my truck. I don't want the car shooting forward off of the trailer into the back of my truck.

Has anyone else ever been on the road for a while and get startled when they look in the mirror and see their car on the trailer and think it is someone driving "really close" or is that just me? Usually I leave for the track in the dark very early in the morning and when the sun comes up I usually have an "oh $hit" moment when I see a car in my rear view mirror. In my own defense I'm normally still half asleep.

mglobe

One of the true joys of hauling a car. "Hey, what's that ******* doing tailgating... oh, never mind"

I got over it after a year or two for the most part, but still every once and a while it gets me.