Towing your 86
 

Hey everyone, was wanting to see how everyone mounts/secures their cars on their trailers as I will start towing my car to events this season.

The trailer I will be using has Front and Rear D links as well as the stake pockets on the sides.

My plan was either all 4 wheels, or front tow hooks and rear wheels.

Only 4 wheels on a trailer. Never tow with the back wheels rolling. No oil circulating in the trans without the engine running.

He's talking about where to tie down the car on a flatbed trailer, not using a dolly.

I'm more of a fan of doing the wheels, but using the tow hooks in front would work too. Here is a previous thread with plenty of details:

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61567

I think he was stating where he was intending to tie the vehicle down.

I think this is how I have done mine as well. I really don't like going through the wheels though. Hooks(eyelets) on the rear subframe would be awesome.

Edit*
Here is what the manual recommends
http://i0.wp.com/ft86tech.com/wp-con...size=300%2C133

I have using the front 'transport' hook that are available under the front of the car.
Then for the rear I do pass a strap inside the rims.

I am looking into adding some loops in the back to avoid using the rims. But so far I did not have any problem with a strap going into the rim.

I am using some Macs tie down.
Check them out here: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MTD-121007

the cool part about these is that the hook is attached to the tensioning part, making it easier to use for car trailer as the tension mechanism, is not under the car but on the outer, which make it much easier to use.

Only drawback with these nic mac tie down, the hook are a little too big to fit nicely in the front 'transport' loop in front of the car. so I had to use another set of strap/hook for the fronts. but the mechanism is really nice and strong.

crap strap form amazon died in about 3 months of use.

subscribed to see how others guys are strapping their car.

*facepalm* I'll just take a seat over there --->

My other thought was to purchase axle straps to use on the rear of the car. However, not sure on that idea with these cars. I won't be making any official choices until the trailer is purchased, and I can work to find the right place on the trailer, and then see what will work best.


Anyone have pics??

I was also thinking of having custom straps made for the front that are just straps with ends to eliminate having to haul 4 long ratchet sets around.

I use the front transport hooks...very easy to use

and on the rear I added these from Rennline -- http://www.rennline.com/Rennline-Tie...oductinfo/E04/

i did the 90 degree version for my car but depending on how your exhaust is setup there are other options too....you can install them pretty much wherever you have a usable bolt..i put mine on the location of where the rear LCA meets the rear subframe...they have worked great...and makes strapping the car quite easy.

Those look interesting, I'll have to take a close look! I'll have the diff out in a couple weeks to swap out the Final Drive.

Is there a pair of stout chassis bolts in the rear of the car that wouldn't potentially change the rear alignment if loosened to install add-on hooks?

I have those Rennline hooks on the bolt that attaches the REAR LCA to the subframe....I have that bolt paint marked and the car has seen probably 1000 miles of trailer time since the install and the bolt hasn't moved at all.

the car is in the trailer and put away now but will get some pictures of exactly how it is setup when i can.

The rear does not use an adjustable camber system from the factory, I would think you would be fine putting them as discribed by IPGJames with out impact the the alightment.

I tow using the factory hooks in the front and straps through the wheels in the rear. Those Rennline hooks that @IPGJames linked to look interesting though. I may pickup a set now that I know they exist.

I used the factory recommended spots. T hooks thru the oval hole

I may look at that. I have strapped down some friend's domestic cars with T-hooks in the chassis slots, but haven't thought about that on the FR-S. Prior to now, I have owned only cars with factory eye hooks on all four corners.

Every time I come in here, I quickly scroll down the page to see a picture of an 86 strapped down to a trailer. Nothing yet. Just because...

ok posting some ;)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ysst6xlthz...5.33.jpg?raw=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/kf90yb1kvc...5.15.jpg?raw=1

Some images where you can sort of see how I strapped down the car:

http://i.imgur.com/acz4qmP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/rRfSZWE.jpg

You guys have some really nice trailers. I wish we had better options here. :(

note several straps to the back, you can control how fast you accelerate but not how fast it maybe necessary to stop.
trailer is a rollback, the axels move to the front of the trailer for load and unload. very handy for very low cars.

I do the above with T-hooks from Northern Tool. I've towed several different cars on a trailer MANY times. So far, this is my favorite setup. The straps are staying snugger than in other setups. For the T-Hooks, I pull the straps straight back to the rear mounts. Some cross them. You need to be careful about the angle when you cross straps. Too much of an angle adds an exponential amount of stress to the strap. I'm not worried about the car going from side to side on the trailer, I'm worried about the car going forward or backwards under braking or acceleration.

I leave the car out of gear, and pull the e-brake. Hookup to the factory hooks in front, use T-Hooks in the rear with the straps pulled straight forward and straight backward. I just did a trip from Orlando to VIR for a Chin event this past weekend and didn't have to touch the straps once on stops.

T-Hooks here: http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...ct_43572_43572

You want straps that have this sort of end on them to fit both the factory front mount hooks and the T-hooks. Regular tow straps do not fit. These also have a spring loaded closure so they stay attached even if you get a little slack in them. The link posted above to the Summit straps with the ratchet mechanism at the far end is a good idea. It keeps you from trying to operate the ratchet mechanism as it gets close to or under the front or rear of the car. I plan to pickup a setup of those but I think I may need more than 6' in length to use the t-hook setup in the rear.

http://static.summitracing.com/globa...-121007_ml.jpg

What is everyone's thoughts on gettign custom lenght straps made, with out ratches. Just straight strap with the appropriate ends for the front, then having ratchet straps on the rear?

Not a good idea. If the car isn't straight, one of the straps will have slack. To unload the car, you're going to have to move the car forward to get slack in the straps. You're just making more work for yourself. Since I load the car with the parking brake on, I just pop my straps loose all around and I'm ready to back the car off. If you're trying to get the car in the same spot on the trailer each time, rather than use straps of a defined length, put something on the trailer that you pull up to and against with the front tire. See the picture above for someone who did just that. I didn't even go that far. I marked a spot on my trailer and I put something on it that I pull up against. Then I toss it back in my trailer box.

I use axle straps wrapped in soft covers through the wheels.

Be careful with the Macs strap I linked to earlier.

They are the greatest strap quality, but the hook are a little too big for the front transport "loop" under the front. they do hook and close but they are very thick and when you add tension to the strap they will not be able to stay aligned with the strap, they will be "trapped inside the transport hook" . I'll try to get a pic to illustrate. Hard to explain

Good to know. On the front, I'm using a strap with this style hook. On the rear I'm using T-hooks with the spring loaded clasp. I found that the T-Hooks do not like this style hook.

http://www.northerntool.com/images/p..._2000x2000.jpg

Just came across this, https://www.autohaulersupply.com/cat...color-5206.php

I think I'll switch to the t-hook method for the rear, I can just adapt these to my current ratchets.

Do this. The angle on the straps from these points allows the car to ride a bit on it's suspension. Pulling on wheels and control arms puts stress on the bushings. The T-hooks are cheap enough. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Pierce-Sales-Arrow-Towing-T-Hook/dp/B0000AXA6N/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1458003697&sr=8-1&keywords=t+hook"]Amazon.com: Pierce Arrow Towing T-Hook: Automotive[/ame]

I'll check this weekend but I am pretty sure my aero under panel are covering this holes :(

I installed e-track on the bed of my trailer and got straps that go over the tires to secure them in place. That way the FR-S can move on it's own suspension and movement won't loosen anything up. Total cost for the e-track, fasteners and straps was less than $200. I've been towing for about 9 months now with zero issues.

Just remember not to leave the tires strapped down for a long period of time, otherwise it'll flat-spot the tire and it takes a few laps to round it out again.

https://www.autohaulersupply.com/ima...ler_idlers.JPG

got them from Auto Hauler Supply

My nag for wheel straps only is that a suspension free to move is cycling the dampers and bushings, even when stationary on the trailer. If you have pimpy suspension bits installed and tow a lot of miles, your investment is seeing wear before it even hits the track.

All the ways people are strapping the cars down will have suspension movement. So, this is really a non-issue.

I bought some 2" snap hook ratcheting straps from U.S. Cargo Control in Iowa, and have towed my FR-S a couple of times with them now. The snap hooks fit the front eyelets fine, and the materials seem to be substantial. The ratchets work and release without balking. They also offer several colors, and I bought red to match my two red cars (for that trailer steeze/hard towing).

http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Ratche...Ratchet-Straps

For the back, I bought some Mac's T-bolts. The castings were different on the exact same part numbers, and one didn't fit the tie-down slot on the car without ludicrous force and dexterity. I guess one of the molds used left some excess material on the "spine." Just a touch on the bench grinder made it fit the car fine.

Well.... I ordered the rennlist tie downs posted earlier in this post to mount on the rear subframe.

I was finally able to get my car out of storage, and had a nice enough day to try and load the BRZ on our new trailer. It went pretty easy, now to make some nice, "adapter ramps" to make loading easier and buy some new straps(Haven't found anything under 25ft at the local stores).

Trailer was made by Rice Trailers, 16+Dovetail(its a bit over 2 feet). has Built in tool box, flip up jack, d-rings welded on the front, diamond plate dove tail with d-rings welded, 5ft ramps, solid headace rack(should help with rocks) and full LED lighting. Got it brand new for just under $3k.

My pollen-covered towing setup:

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l2...pssk8kzv3a.jpg

I have a Big Tex 70DM 18-foot steel open car hauler that was about $3k from a place in town a few years ago. Nice wide, theft-proof ramps, but I had to make helper ramps out of 2x10 boards to keep from scraping the lower fascia on my lowered FR-S. Straps lengthwise in front to factory eyelets, crossed in back to T-bolt holes. Third trip now and tows solid.

So I'm really striking out finding a trailer for an event in July. Has anyone rented a Uhaul trailer before and had luck getting on and off it? My car is lowered just over an inch. Are they usually decent or total piles of sh1t?

Coming to NASA at BIR?

Are you wanting to buy at all, or just rent/borrow?

Uhaul trailers are a Pain in the ass. We had to lift a r32 gtr with stock suspension up to get the bumper over the front.