[Shop-talk] which tie down best for car hauler

[Steven Trovato]

My decision is not based on the shocks at all.  If I tow the car 500 
miles, I can't see how the shocks will be worn any more than driving 
it 500 miles.  And for my situation, that's just not that 
important.  My concern is that if tied by the chassis, the suspension 
can still compress, momentarily slackening the straps.  Then the car 
comes back up and slams against the straps.  That just doesn't sound 
good for the car or the straps.  As for the safety issue, I haven't 
done a comparison, but I have never felt any handling effect.  Maybe 
it's because I'm towing with a large vehicle and the car on the 
trailer is relatively light.

-Steve Trovato
strovato at optonline.net

At 05:23 PM 7/16/2012, David Hillman wrote:
>On Sun, 15 Jul 2012, Mullen wrote:
>>The only time I've even known someone who preferred to tie down the chassis
>>was an old buddy with a formula race car.  The shocks were way too expensive
>>(and hard to get) to let it bounce around on the suspension.
>
>    There seem to be two different schools of thought on 
> shocks.  One says they wear excessively while the towed car bounces 
> around on the trailer. The other says they wear excessively being 
> put under load when the chassis is tied down.
>
>    I don't know which is right, or maybe both are.  I don't care... 
> for me, I keep it simple.  What is the method least likely to cause 
> the trailer to acquire a mind of its own?  If I'm transporting a 
> ton or so of car amongst people who can hire lawyers, that's my 
> only concern.  Even if it meant annual shock replacements, I'd 
> still do it the safest way possible, and I think that's securing 
> the load.  Basically, it's a less-severe case of the same reason 
> you never move a liquid tank while half-full.  When that mass 
> sloshes over to one side, you are along for the ride.
>
>--
>  David Hillman
>_______________________