David
You and a couple of others have found exactly what I was
looking for. This style of Car Carrier Tie Down Straps I have
a number of advantages. I have 4 different cars to go in the trailer.
everything from a Corvair with 14" wide wheels to wooden-spoke
horseless carriages with very tall wheels and narrow widths. These
types of tie downs offer complete flexibility with regards to differing
tire sizes. They will also eliminate the crawling under the cars and
throwing straps around the axels.
I even found Stainless Steel Ratchets! See www.kinedyne.com
Thanks!
Steve Hammatt
Mount Vernon WA USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Scheidt" <dmscheidt@gmail.com>
To: "Steve Hammatt, Mount Vernon WA USA" <gsteve@hammatt.com>
Cc: "Shop Talk" <shop-talk@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 16, 2006 11:27 PM
Subject: Re: Auto tie-downs
| On 8/17/06, Steve Hammatt, Mount Vernon WA USA <gsteve@hammatt.com>
wrote:
| >
| > Since I'll be keeping the car trailer in the shop,
| > I figured this will be an on-topic discussion.
| > I've acquired a new enclosed car trailer.
| > There are 9 sets of swing-up D-rings in the
| > floor. Instead of tying from the axels to the
| > floor, I'm planning to snug around each tire
| > and attach to 2 D-rings per wheel, one fore
| > and the other aft of each wheel. Rather than
| > use a wheel net, I've seen a rather nice arrangement
| > using a single web strap, with ratchets at each end.
| > In the middle of the strap there would be what
| > I'd call a short "loop strap" that slides with connectors,
| > up and down the main strap. The short and the long
| > straps would form a loop that would slip over the
| > tire (the majority of my tires are 36" dia x 4"-5" in
| > width). I've seen this arrangement used on tow
| > trucks, but don't see it anywhere for sale.
|
| You're talking about something like this:
|
http://www.awdirect.com/awdirect/catalog.cfm?dest=itempg&itemid=9940&secid=92&linkon=subsection&linkid=458
| ?
|
| I've never seen one with two ratchets. One end of the strap has a
| chain or hook on it. On a flatbed tow truck, the plain chain end is
| passed through a T-slot in the middle edge of the bed, the chain at
| the othe end is attached to the ratchet. It's also put through a
| T-slot at the corner of the bed, and the ratchets used to tighten the
| strap. There are similar setups with hooks at each end for use with
| D-rings.
|
| The wheel net setup is easier to use on most vehicles, I think,
| though. Either works fine, and should be able to tow nearly anything
| with out damage.
|
| >
| > My other concern is the quality of the ratchets. I'm
| > tired of so many ratchets that seem difficult to use,
| > erratic in operation and subject to corrosion. They
| > all seem to be made in China or some similar place
| > and while looking good when new, don't seem to
| > wear well. Does anyone have any experience with
| > either the wheel loop method of tiedown and/or
| > better quality ratchets?
|
| AW direct are a pretty big supplier to the towing industry. I've
| never had a problem with their stuff.
|
| Spend the money to get something professional grade. That means on
| the order of $50 a wheel, and you need to secure all four.
|
| --
| David Scheidt
| dmscheidt@gmail.com
|
|
|