location of trailer tie down rings

[Don S.]

My 24 ft enclosed trailed was delivered this week with no tie down rings. I
think I recall hearing that the rings should be 3 ft behind and 3 ft ahead of the car and 4 inches outside of the wheel toward to side of the trailer. I need to tell the supplier precisely where to install the rings. my cars are from 167 inches to 185 inches long. Also should the rings at the rear be as far back as they can. Would appreciate some definitive advice.
Thanks Guys

[John Walker]

Re: location of trailer tie down rings

Don; I hauled equipment for years including cars pick-ups and heavy machinery. I found(through experiance and advice) the straighter the tension the better. The angles formed should be all four directions I.E. out/back and down, I also found tying the fixed points( tires or axles) worked better than to the frame/body in which case you would have to collapse the suspension to keep things immoble. I can't give you dimensions without drawing a diagram etc. but you could make cardboard cutout of the largest car and use string to place your tangents on the floor to locate the rings. I hope I haven't confused you to much. John

[Mike McKown]

Take this as excellent advice *NM*

[Don S.]

Re: location of trailer tie down rings

Johm--

this may be really good advice but i did not understand a word of it I must be dumb or something is there a way to rephrase the advice?
don Steele

[Don S.]

Re: location of trailer tie down rings

John --reflecting on your response- do you mean that the left front strap angle(ring to car) and the right rear strap angle (ring to car) should form a straight line (if a line was drawn through the car ) and the same with the right front and left rear.??

[John Walker]

Re: location of trailer tie down rings

Yes; The idea is to have tension in all 4 directions (left, right, forward, rear). This way, the car cannot move from side to side, and can neither roll forward nor roll backward. Also, I prefer to tie from the axles and/or ball joints (depending on the vehicle) to the rings, so the body/frame can move on the suspension, as long as there is nothing for the car's body to bump into. That is safer and alot stronger than going from the frame itself to the trailer and trying to keep the vehicle's suspension from working against your tie-downs as well, because the bouncing of a car's suspension will break a chain that goes from the frame to the trailer. John

[Chuck L.]

Re: location of trailer tie down rings

Don, just some additional data for you. I hauled a 62, 82 and several C5's in an enclosed car hauler with a 48" beavertail. My D-Ring dimensions are 216" long and 70" wide. The rear rings are placed 12" from the tailgate (rear) end of the trailer. I always used 4500# axle straps to tie down and these dimensions worked great for access to the car front and rear as well as providing sufficient "spread" to eliminate side to side motion without rubbing on the tires. If you have any questions please email me. Chuck

[Larry Clain]

Re: Take this as excellent advice

Just be sure that you have the tie down points in a straight line with each other on each side is what I think he is trying to say. I learned that it is important that the points be far enought out from under the car that you have room to work the ratchet without rubbing against the under side of the car while you do.

If you get too close then it is hard to work the rachet and if it is not under tention then it will rock back and forth as you travel on rough roads. A 16 to 20" strap with a D ring on each end is a good Idea to wrap around the suppension and then hook the rachet to the rings and the tie down point. Straps will be better in the long run instead of chains. they give just a tad and will do no damage to the underside of the car. They don't rust and they don't weigh a ton either.

I have towed a SCCA Vette many miles and across the country and this has worked well for me.