Max1865

Ordered some straps for my open trailer and was pitched their Cadillac system. Welded "airline track" and over the wheel tie downs. Planning to go with enclosed Intech soon and my concerns;

You put the tires on top of the track and tie down, with R compound tires, any damage to the tires possible?

Intech trailers typically have a plywood subfloor with an aluminum skin. Welding to this doesn't seem strong enough.

Any experience, advise? The system seems good, just don't like the idea of the tracks under the tires.

Thanks

ExMB

All sales are pretty much trying to play on the buyer's emotional state. The more info the prospective buyer divulges the more the salemonkey will see $ signs.

The merit of the additional $ spend can only be evaluated by research on here.

Disclaimer
I strap MPCS2s to an ATP deck by going thru the wheels and from there to the d-rings.

ShakeNBake

not to start the wheel vs chassis tie down debate, but I ended up finding that chassis tie downs and the D-rings that come with the trailer are the fastest/easiest way to deal with tieing down the car in an enclosed trailer. I have the rennline jack-point hooks and rear sub-frame hooks on a cayman. Same setup is possible on a 997/991, and probably p-cars. I tried going with E-track and over-wheel tie downs, but it was cumbersome, especially on the side of the car that is up against the wall and not an escape hatch.

skxf430

+1 on the rennline/fabspeed tie down hooks. Makes it so much easier.

Mussl Kar

Welding it to the floor skin may work for transporting. It won't work if things go bad like a panic stop (high load) or an accident from front or rear (shock load). Peel it up like opening a sardine can. The track will make a dent in hot tires, Hoosiers in my case. The dent makes a sound when driving that goes away fairly quickly as the tires get heat. You could also just put a few pieces of plywood under the tires that is near the same thickness of the track.

HoBoJoe

+2 I had these installed immediately after purchasing my track car.

ShakeNBake

Another thing to point out, though only applies to a small number of us...
If you drive your car under a tire rack, like on the trailex open and enclosed models, you should use a chassis tie down in the front to limit the vertical motion of the car. The motion could be enough that the car can move vertically 4-6 inches, which could put the hood into the tire rack.

nxfedlt1

intech doesnt use plywood unless you put the cheap diamond tread aluminum over it or the rubber coin floor, otherwise both that and the ATC aluminum floor are "ribbed planks" and there is no wood. The intech airline track is welded to the trailer frame or floor when possible and or through bolted to the floor. ATC uses selftapping screws to attach to the floor. I have had 0 issue with the tires on top of the track, but I also let the tires/vehicle cool before putting it up. The only thing you have to be careful of with the over the tire set up is when you strap it down, if the tires still have a ways to cool off, they will, and then deflate some, and the straps won't be tight anymore.

BlueBarchetta

Where I'm from most InTech's have full aluminum floor. One of the things That makes the trailers attractive is the reasonably priced "icon" package. This includes solid alum floor, along with cabinets and a bunch of other things most people order. If you buy a new one, they offer the option To flush mount the floor track if you spec it that way. Not sure if they would use your supplied track though.

All that said, my InTech has D Rings placed at a width to my spec. I also use Macs tie downs, but not over the wheel. I'm not to sure I'd want to try to use a setup like that in the limited space available in an enclosed trailer.

ExMB

Interesting. When did that change? What is the new no cost std floor then?
I thought that ATP and rubber were optional overlays as you stated and the extruded a replacement option, but that the std floor was wood.

skxf430

Where did you place your D rings? Some guys say as wide as possible, and others like it centered to the wheels.

ExMB

There seem to be no consensus on d-ring placements. What I saw and heard is that there are numerous trains of thought. Some prefer a straight approach whereas others prefer a crossed/angled approach to the strapping.
The only thing I know from experience is that straps can loosen. Its up to the individual regarding load shifting when that happens. I made it a habit to doublecheck the tightness of my straps after a certain mileage down the road. HTH

Max1865

Thanks for all the comments. Think I'll stick with straps instead of the Cadillac system with the enclosed.

BlueBarchetta

Centered to the wheels. Haven't had a strap loosen, or moved the alignment in nearly 5 years like this

jrbkarter

You're correct, the standard InTech floor is plywood with rubber coin on top. However, the majority of their trailers all get their iCon package which upgrades you to do the extruded aluminum floor which does not have a plywood backer (which is part of the reason why when comparing similar trailers, except for flooring differences, from ATC vs inTech; the inTech will be lighter- the plywood adds weight rapidly).

As for strapping- we've tried every option under the sun. J hooks direct to chassis, hook straps to bolted in aftermarket tie down points, wheels straps, axle straps through subframes, wheel straps though wheels, D tie downs, E-track, Airline track. Each one has advantages and disadvantages but my best advice is to do what you've already done- and that's insist upon top quality straps regardless of the method of connection to car vs trailer. The largest issues we've had have come explicitly from the straps themselves (cheaper straps loosening, crank handles sticking, releases refusing to budge, etc). Stick with the Mac's and you'll be happy regardless. Keeping in mind your straps should be replaced every 2-3 years anyway, if you don't like a current setup it won't be long until you're needing to replace them anyway.

Notes I definitely suggest would be going with direct hook latches, or converting your existing straps to them, for at the very least the front straps.

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/pr.../2-Inch-Straps

Reason being that since most of us will be towing mid or rear engine cars in trailers, the cars will need to be pulled further forward in the trailer to get your tongue weight correct. This means edging up tighter to the front D rings of the trailer which in turn means that the ratchet is now right up against larger front splitters, air dams, etc. Save yourself some hassle and fighting with a strap to keep it from gouging your front aero by using the direct connects which will give you an additional 12-18" of clearance for the ratchet.

As for airline track on the floor- our in production inTech GN will have it flush mounted to the floor. It is welded and bolted through, as previously mentioned, to both the main floor and the trailer frame. Considering it's other uses, shearing strength under severe braking or even a collision is the least of our worries. A major benefit to the A track straps is it nearly eliminates the issue of clearance problems of the straps hitting body work, splitters, etc, as the exit out from underneath the car which is an issue we run into regularly with every other strapping option (chassis, wheel, etc). Downsides of the A track have already been mentioned- tight spaces make positioning straps fun the first few times but once you mark your set points and car stopping points, the process is hardly longer than using bolted strap down points. You will also have grooves in the tires on initial unload that will need a warm up session or so to be resolved. Last- you'll need to plan to modify the rubber blocks that actually run up over the tire if running full slicks- they have ridges that are designed to slot into the tread of regular tires to keep the straps from slipping laterally that will need to be ground down (about 30 seconds on a bench sander).