Vehicle Trailering and Loading
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Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 1,130
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From: Bloomfield Hills, MI
Vehicle Trailering and Loading
Hey guys,happy new year!
Had a question about trailering cars and trucks. Ive towed almost every load i can think of other then a vehicle. I have a 18' flatbed backhoe (dont have a back Though!) trailer and a 16 ft' flatbed (both dual axle). Some of my questions are - What would be the steps to securing the vehicle? What straps are needed? where do they go?
Also - my trailers do have large heay duty ramps, what would you suggest for a winch? warn seems to be most populer. what weight should i get? I would be towing mostly junk vehicles. Is there an alternative to a winch?
Thanks for the help - basically i need a rundown on trailering a vehicle.
Had a question about trailering cars and trucks. Ive towed almost every load i can think of other then a vehicle. I have a 18' flatbed backhoe (dont have a back Though!) trailer and a 16 ft' flatbed (both dual axle). Some of my questions are - What would be the steps to securing the vehicle? What straps are needed? where do they go?
Also - my trailers do have large heay duty ramps, what would you suggest for a winch? warn seems to be most populer. what weight should i get? I would be towing mostly junk vehicles. Is there an alternative to a winch?
Thanks for the help - basically i need a rundown on trailering a vehicle.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 1,496
Likes: 3
From: Simpsonville, KY
As far as tiedowns, equipment chains to the axles/frame are always best. As far as a winch, it depends if the load can roll. If it can roll you don't need all that much force, a 5000lb truck might need a winch that has 4000-5000lbs capacity to be comfortable (remember you are loading uphill). A vehicle with flat tires/no tires needs a LOT more. You may meed a 10k winch to pull the same load.
It is also possible to double the force of the winch by using pulleys. An extra pulley added to the mix effectively doubles the force (sorta... if I remember my physics correctly no pully = rated load, 1 pully = 2x load, 2 pulleys = 3x load...) But it takes a lot more time to do the same amount of distance.
Definately overwinch yourself, with a constant duty high quality winch. Warns are one of the staples of the industry as far as quality. There are others as well. Be wary of the cheap ones; they are great for occasional work, but need rest halfway (or less!) through the pull to cool down. I had a 6000lb Chicago Electric on my F150 and it was great for the occasional bout of stupidity, but it was not a work winch. It took a good 15 minutes to pull the full 100ft of cable with very little load. They are dang expensive, that's for sure! I spent $400 on mine brand new, an equivlent Warn would have been $900. You get what you pay for :P
It is also possible to double the force of the winch by using pulleys. An extra pulley added to the mix effectively doubles the force (sorta... if I remember my physics correctly no pully = rated load, 1 pully = 2x load, 2 pulleys = 3x load...) But it takes a lot more time to do the same amount of distance.
Definately overwinch yourself, with a constant duty high quality winch. Warns are one of the staples of the industry as far as quality. There are others as well. Be wary of the cheap ones; they are great for occasional work, but need rest halfway (or less!) through the pull to cool down. I had a 6000lb Chicago Electric on my F150 and it was great for the occasional bout of stupidity, but it was not a work winch. It took a good 15 minutes to pull the full 100ft of cable with very little load. They are dang expensive, that's for sure! I spent $400 on mine brand new, an equivlent Warn would have been $900. You get what you pay for :P
Elder User
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 528
Likes: 0
From: Lake of the Ozarks, MO
We usually use the large ratchet straps for lighter vehicles, just find a spot to hook them to the frame, or wrap them around the axle and hook both ends to the trailer. I like to pull the vehicle on about a foot further than you want it to be, then wrap a heavy duty chain around the front, put the vehicle in reverse and let it pull the chain tight. Then you put ratchets on the back and crank them down as tight as you can with the vehicle in neutral.
