Where do strap to on a car hauler?

[Gappy]

I just bought a car hauler, the salesman said to strap to the axle and don't compress the suspension. Any recomendations of where to strap to on the axles of my 62 with out bending the brake lines?

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I've heard opinions both ways. I prefer to strap to the frame/bumpers(if they're adequate). I just don't feel comfortable seeing my load swaying back and forth and bouncing around on a trailer on long hauls. The trick is to suck the suspension down tight so that there's absolutely no chance of it bouncing loose.

I wouldn't say I've hauled a ton, but I've probably hauled a loaded car hauler 10-15 times and never the slightest inclination that anything was moving around.

Ary

[Cruiser_Nerd]

I like the suspension of the loaded vehicle compressed. Towing Report

[73fj]

I like the vehicle suspension to be able to work. After doing a SOA I use the old perches as tie down points, I found strapping down on the bumpers I was having to stop and tighten a lot. I have towed many miles like this with no trouble. Its's hard to see, but I'm tied off on my old SUA perches here.

[Gappy]

I can not come up with a place on my axles to strap to w/o mangling brake lines. I loaded it up tonight for the first test run before we take it on vacation next week. I strapped to the frame and it worked fine. I just put an OME/HD lift on and I think this will help because of less compression. I am using 3500# rachet straps, the hook may be why I can't hook to the axle.

[Mace]

I am not overly fond of criss crossing the tie downs like that. What stops the truck from rolling in a corner??

[JasonH]

I prefer strapping to the axle. I've tried compressing down the suspension before and I didn't like it for a couple of reasons. You know those big dips that you sometimes come across on the highway where it feels like the whole truck is going to get airborne, where the big black grease spot is? When the rig was compressed, the whole damn trailer would come off the ground. On smaller bumps it was bouncing around a lot more.

Also, you can never get it completely compressed. If you hit one of those dips, the rig will dip some and put slack in those straps. If you hooked directly to the rig, it could come loose. If it doesn't come loose, it puts a lot of stress on the strap when it snaps back into place. It doesn't take long for those straps to come loose like that.

I've done a 70mph swerve to miss a dog with a sprung over 40 strapped to the axles and it didn't feel wierd at all. Yeah the rig leans in the corners but it's never unstable and it rides so much smoother.

At least that's my experience. Yours may be different. I figure I've got around 20K miles on this current trailer.

As far as brake lines, I wrap the strap around the axle and back to the trailer. I thread the hook under the brake line and around the axle housing.

[Cruiser_Nerd]

Originally Posted by Mace

I am not overly fond of criss crossing the tie downs like that. What stops the truck from rolling in a corner??

Hmmm, never thought about it that way. I always did that to prevent a shift side to side........

I think I know what you're saying here, what would keep the load from rotating on the trailer? The same downward force would be applied if you went to the rear or side at the same angle. But, with the straps crisscrossed, with enough upward force so that it began to lift (rotation about that strap's anchor), there would be no stopping it. A strap to the rear would.

Next time I tow I'll try it to the axle with the straps straight front to back.

[Gappy]

Originally Posted by JasonH

I prefer strapping to the axle. I've tried compressing down the suspension before and I didn't like it for a couple of reasons. You know those big dips that you sometimes come across on the highway where it feels like the whole truck is going to get airborne, where the big black grease spot is? When the rig was compressed, the whole damn trailer would come off the ground. On smaller bumps it was bouncing around a lot more.

Also, you can never get it completely compressed. If you hit one of those dips, the rig will dip some and put slack in those straps. If you hooked directly to the rig, it could come loose. If it doesn't come loose, it puts a lot of stress on the strap when it snaps back into place. It doesn't take long for those straps to come loose like that.

I've done a 70mph swerve to miss a dog with a sprung over 40 strapped to the axles and it didn't feel wierd at all. Yeah the rig leans in the corners but it's never unstable and it rides so much smoother.

At least that's my experience. Yours may be different. I figure I've got around 20K miles on this current trailer.

As far as brake lines, I wrap the strap around the axle and back to the trailer. I thread the hook under the brake line and around the axle housing.

Thanks a lot for your input Jason. I totally agree, I would prefer to strap to the axles. I never thought about running the strap back to trailer like you said. Even thought my trailer is long at 20 feet, my straps are plenty long to run back to the tie down point....I will try that tonight.

[Gappy]

I finally got it figured out. I did a test run tonight, 15 miles, some bumps. I strapped to the axles and ran both hooks to the trailer ring. I don't know why I had it in my head before that the one end of the strap needed to be on the axle some place and never thought about looping all the way back. Any way, this work great and I didn't have to tighten at all. Strapping to the frame I had to re-tighten after a while. With the new HD springs I didn't notice the rig bouncing at all.