A&Q about Lotus
Q:
Originally Posted by Surferjer
Tony, I still don't think my car is far enough forward, but with tools and tires loaded I get no wag. I'm towing with a Grand Cherokee with a V8 and towing package. Adequate, but not ideal.
I was just pointing out that you can certainly get wag with a heavy trailer. You can also tune it out.
yes...I agree...you can tune it out by shifting weight. A Grand Cherokee is a small tow vehicle. I agree...adequate but not ideal..... I prefer towing with a Suburban...or a Heavy pickup.
Tools and stuff can certainly make big changes....and can affect all sorts of balance.
I only experienced trailer wag a few times...once when I loaded a M100 Elan on my open trailex...and we did it in DC when that sniper was about...we loaded it up quick..and got the heck out of there. I was towing with an Odyssey. As soon as I moved the Elan up about 1.5 foot...all was fine....so It can be caused buy unbalanced weight...like you said...but if you are reasonably careful...it is usually not a problem.
A:
Originally Posted by tvacc
I have towed extensivly...and was taught how by a guy that knows his stuff. Cross the rears only. The fronts should be straight. Cross only one or the other. Use either straps through the wheels......or strap bonnets over the wheels. Do not use the frame...or the suspension. Also....dont over tighten. Put the car in Neutal.....and put on the parking brake. Brake not really necessary. You dont want to leave it in gear....as you can put stress on the tranny with the rocking. Make sure you dont let the straps rub on the body...and dont use a car cover....it will burinsh the paint (wind).
Tvacc has it right. I am recently retired from 19 seasons of pro-racing. My responsibilities often included driving the 18 wheel transporter and I have tied down more race cars than I can remember and never damaged a race car in transit. Its pretty simple, the hard part is loading them after a wreck, no wheels, bent so now it's to wide to fit, all kinds of stuff, it's kind of an art. Anyway I digress. Car in neutral good point often overlooked. The reason you want to only cross fronts or backs(on the Elise I recommend crossing the rears) is to minimize forward and backward movement.Straps stretch as you go down the road, check them at least once a day especially at your first stop. The rear straps crossed will stabilize any lateral movement. WATCH YOUR SPLITTER or even the bottom of the front clam loading and unloading. Keep a couple 2x4s handy. I often used frame or sub-frame as attatchment points. Sometimes welded hooks onto these points to make it easier to hook up. Maybe there is areason not to do this I don't know but all of in the pros do it, perhaps this is specific to the Elise and Exige. I also suggest to consider balance when you load your car on a trailer. It may be a small car but it is a ton, you do not want to be tongue heavy or to much wieght on the back, it makes a difference especially in emergency situations and bad weather. FWIW. Tow safe
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I still don't get why you wouldn't cross the fronts. There must be a good reason... I cross fronts and rears and also have permanent bolted on chocks for the fronts to pull up to, so if the wheels are on the chocks and the tie-downs are tight, the car ain't moving backwards. Perhaps without the chocks it would make it harder to get tight.
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Jer - you get sway easier because of the short wheelbase of your jeep and it's "light" weight. The trailer pushes the tow vehicle around.
I have a 1-ton Chevy Dually tow vehicle. Never experienced sway and don't think I ever will. The dually configuration puts twice as much rubber on the road and stabilizes the load - the trailer can't push the truck.
You should also really look at your weights - I bet the Jeep is overloaded when you put the pen to paper.
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I have put pencil to paper, and the Jeep is at it's limit. Technically its supposed to handle 6500 pounds. Yeah, right. I heard you should take the supposed limit and multiply by 2/3rds to figure out what it can REALLY handle. I know I'm light on the tow vehicle, so I try to only tow locally. My co-driver or a buddy will tow it to long distance autoxs for me, which is nice. I just can't afford to go out and get yet ANOTHER vehicle.
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You can cross both if you want lots of guys do it and it works fine. But with one set of staps uncrossed it is stronger and more secure. I have also found that if I only cross one end of the straps the both sets of straps remain tighter for longer than if I cross both. There is massive movement in or on any trailer going down the road. Movement begets more movement so even a slight movement of a trailered car will grow larger as the day goes on. Anyway thats how I was taught. Maybe tvacc has an additional reason.
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Well, hell, I can learn. I will uncross the fronts next time, although I rarely have any slack when I "get there".
Chris is probably reconsidering trailering by now...
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You're a good man Jerry. I am rooting for you this year. Please keep us posted !
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Thanks man! At least now I can with the LSD!
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This might not be a very technical explanation, but here's my thinking behind only crossing the straps at one end: If you look at the crossed straps, especially when tying them to the wheels, they're at a shallow angle, fairly close to horizontal. Which is perfect to keep the car from moving side to side. But there's not much force that pulls the car down.
So I can imagine a scenario where your trailer experiences a significant force (going into a ditch, a curb, being hit by another vehicle, etc.). Unless the straps are very tight, I think it would be pretty easy for one side of the vehicle on the trailer to lift. Once that starts, it could flip over sideways, and come off the trailer completely while being turned upside down.
A:
Originally Posted by Surferjer
Well, hell, I can learn. I will uncross the fronts next time, although I rarely have any slack when I "get there".
Chris is probably reconsidering trailering by now...
In my mind...if you dont have to tighten up at least one "click".....about and hour into the trip....you had them too tight to begin with. Remember....you only have to snug up the car. You dont have to kill it.
I dont think I ever trailered where I did not have to tighten up about an hour into the trip. they always loosen up a bit...at least for me. The trailex trailer also has stops for the front wheels...and still I had to tighten it up a bit.
Just my two cents.
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Sounds good to me. I'll stop killing my car, too.
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I have in one experience gone too loose. I was trailering a brand new Morgan for friends of mine. I picked it up near Albany NY and was bringing it to MI. Some where around Cleveland....I had to stop for a traffic jam..and when I stopped I felt a "jerk" when I stopped...and again when I started up. I had been told to not over tighten the car.and to not use the bumpers...as the bumpers would bend.
I used the suspension.....capturing both A arms...and shock.
When I pulled over....and checked the load...the car was moving a good 1 - 2 inches.
Tightened that baby up real quick...(but not over tighten)
It was good for the rest of the trip. So I guess what I am saying is that you will know when a car is loose...you can feel it.
I would like to say something more about the Trailex trailers...if you are thinking about a trailer...they are really nice. I have recommended them to a bunch of friends....and every one of them always tell me it was the best investment they made. If you buy it new...they dont depreciate that much..and if you can get one used (tough as no one sells theirs) you can always get your money out of them. I bought my enclosed for 10K....drove it for 2 years.....and sold it for 10K. They are about 20K new. My open I bought for$3300 in 91 and sold it in 2002 for almost what I paid for it.
They are anodized aluminum channel.....and salt does not bother them. They make more boat trailers than anything else and they are in and out of salt water all the time. The channels make them light...like about half what another all aluminum trailer weighs...
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I purchased a Sloan Kwik Load trailer and have been very pleased with it. No need for ramps and no worrys about approach angle. The entire trailer bed rolls back at an angle over the trailer wheels and you simply drive up onto the trailer. Once the trailer bed is back in place, you can still open the car doors over the trailer wheel guards. I special ordered the trailer at 16 feet and had e-track added so that I could use tire nets to hold the car in place. I've had the trailer about 6 months and have been using it fairly often to haul the car to visit family. (600 mile round trip, 1 to 2 times a month.) It takes longer to put the wheel nets on the tires then it does to put the car on the trailer, but taking the car off the trailer is quick. Concerning a tow vehicle, I purchased a Ford F150 truck which has done fine. I think the tow capacity on the truck was 7800 lbs and the trailer and Elise combined is approx. 3500 lbs. The trailer does have electric brakes and I have an brake controller added to the truck after encountering a panic stop situation on the freeway. During the panic stop (without the electric brake controller) the trailer felt as if it was coming around on me.
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I towed an 06' Elise from Atlanta ~440Mi over rolling I-20 with a Uhaul trailer and a Reg cab, 2wd, manual tranny, 3.73 rear, 4LOHC Ford Ranger. I stayed in 4th gear(direct drive for tranny life) most of the time (except long downhills), with cruise on and reached >70 on some uphill onramps. Got about 19mpg with engine turning 3 to 4000RPM. Some swaying occured at >70mph. I used 2x10s on the ground and in the trailer to ensure the Elise would clear. I used the Uhaul straps over the wheels in the front and a strap through one wheel (w Tshirt cushion) and around the bed. I had more than enough weight on the tongue (Look a the big rig pic).Tell Uhaul it's a Toyota Echo and pick the trailer up with something big. A Ranger is not an acceptable towing vehicle to Uhaul!
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I bought my enclosed for 10K....drove it for 2 years.....and sold it for 10K. They are about 20K new. My open I bought for$3300 in 91 and sold it in 2002 for almost what I paid for it.
The high cost must be for aluminum?
My 20' enclosed was $4400, brand new! (2004)
Bought it on the side of I95 in the middle of nowhere.
Doubles as storage for car/ parts/ motorcycles.
I'll never go back to an open trailer.
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yes....the Trailex is expensive...but you save a bunch on gas. At least I did.
The high resale value helps as well....and I like the light weight.
I got 12mpg with my enclosed...in my Suburban....crusing at 72 mph.
If I increased my speed to 80....it decreased to 11 mpg...90...to 10 mpg
Did not really matter much if I had a car in there or not.
I dont know what you get mpg with your enclosed...but would be interested to know.
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No clue. I drive like a maniac. Time is important to me.
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I agree...time is important..that is why I can tell what my trailering MPG was at 90mph!!!....
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I get about 8mpg towing my 26' enclosed with my big block (7.4l) dually.