Trailering opinions
Strange that with 100 + subsections , there isn't one for transpoting your ride .
For years I hauled my Renegade in the back of my 8' regular cab 4x4 Chevy .
All that weight plus gear has taken its toll on my spring bushings ( just replaced with urethane ) .
This will be season # 3 with my Triton 2 place aluminum with plywood deck .
I have used 4 anchor points in the past but am not a big fan of hauling my bikes with the suspension squashed .
I'm kicking around the 1 strap & 1 chock per wheel system .
Wondering what all you folks are using on your open trailers .
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For years I hauled my Renegade in the back of my 8' regular cab 4x4 Chevy .
All that weight plus gear has taken its toll on my spring bushings ( just replaced with urethane ) .
This will be season # 3 with my Triton 2 place aluminum with plywood deck .
I have used 4 anchor points in the past but am not a big fan of hauling my bikes with the suspension squashed .
I'm kicking around the 1 strap & 1 chock per wheel system .
Wondering what all you folks are using on your open trailers .
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
I just bought this identical set as a backup for my Erickson straps/chocks. This over the wheel setup works perfectly, we use it for our Maverick Sport and our X3, and I've trailered them 600 miles on a one way trip multiple times and never even had to tighten one. It doesn't budge. I used the same straps on just 2 tires on the Outlander when we brought it home 50 miles from the dealer and it didn't move at all either.
I ended up removing the wheel chocks and using E track on our trailer deck, this gives more flexibility to adjust tongue weight if you add more cargo, or to use the trailer for something with a different footprint. The downside is they don't sell those convenient e track straps without the chocks so now I have extra chocks. You can get these
and use regular straps but I like the compactness of the short dedicated straps.
I have towed the SxS on the E track without chocks and it still doesn't move, many companies transport cars this way. I did buy some removeable chocks that snap into E track for peace of mind though, just 2 for the front.
Whenever we arrive or load up to leave the trails I see other people strapping down their rigs and it takes them 5x longer than me and I do all 4 tires. I've seen people mess with squashing the suspension (which just works at loosening the straps) and only use 2 straps and it takes way longer.
Triton 4 place sled trailer for the fam and I have a small tip trailer I use for ice fishing. I've made the mistake of bringing this pig to the parking lot only to be hosed by how others parked when fishing. Lots of straps and I now pull them all on like the kids quads, makes unloading at the trail faster. Used my truck bed for the prior 10 years up until I got that small trailer.
I agree, the only place to tie-down is as close to wheel center as possible. Something that does not move. And I never cross-straps either like some do. I used a chock and strap system on my first trailer and it worked well. But it limited the location of the machine too much for me. Something as simple as getting bigger tires caused me to move the chocks which meant I had to drill new holes and move the chocks. When I got a new Blizzard trailer, I went with adjustable anchor points and regular straps so I could place the machines based on weight and/or qty. I do like tire baskets/straps though. Even these simple ones in Harbor Freight would be more than enough. You could use e-track or just spread out some flush tie-downs will give you lots of adjustment.
Also, I know they are rated well but I do not like Rhino straps. Bought a set 4 years ago and they were the first rachet straps I've ever had loosen up to the point my machine moved sideways, and I noticed in my mirror. This was in the first couple miles on a very rough dirt rd. Chalked it up to me not latching it down but when it happened again, I stopped using them. I like Speed-Straps best. Bought set of those and they are great. They gotta cool recovery strap to. Speed-strap makes bonnets as well but they are $55 a piece.
My solution was to put two blocks of wood that I fab'd on the center line of the trailer. They are about 10” tall. When I drive over them with my Defender there is just a couple inches to spare. Then I put my 4 heavy duty straps on from each corner of the trailer and tighten them until the bottom of the Defender is securely resting on the top of the wooden blocks. This way I am not putting too much stress on the suspension system of the Defender and it is held firmly in place and there is no way that the straps can become loosened because of the movement of the suspension on the Defender.
Here's a old picture that shows the blocks in place.
![Tire Plant Wheel Vehicle Automotive tire]()
Here's a old picture that shows the blocks in place.
Yes, I guess the term “hard cargo” could be applied here.
Yes, car haulers use the axles for their attachment point – for 2 reasons, #1 it is unsprung location and #2 it is one of the few location that can support the stress that they will have applied to them.
Yes I understand that you secured it to an unsprung point, and that it was the reel on the ratchet strap that actually loosened, but what caused the reel to loosen, and that was most likely the movement of the vehicles suspension when it reached the top point of the suspension movement and tranferred that energy to the strap.
And no, the suspension movement does not actually alleviate some stress on the strap. Look at it this way, if I take a tension scale and put it on each ratchet strap and apply 100 lbs to each of them. On the “hard cargo” those scales would remain at a near constant 100lbs because there are no external forces being applied to them (with the exception of inertia which would apply equally to any tie down method), if you do the same with a vehicle that is secured on unsprung points only, when the suspension moves and reaches it highest point during that movement that energy is transferred to the straps holding it to the trailer and those scales would show an increase in the lbs and over time it could loosen the reel of your ratchet strap, which is probably how yours got loose.
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Most of us have seen people use their bumpers/racks for tie down points or use their winch to secure the front. And while most of them have some success and some people swear by them, some are obviously MUCH better, and the way you advocate attaching to an unsprung attachment point is at the top of the list. My method simply make every attachment point an unsprung attachment point and eliminates any external force from movement of the suspension.
Yes, car haulers use the axles for their attachment point – for 2 reasons, #1 it is unsprung location and #2 it is one of the few location that can support the stress that they will have applied to them.
Yes I understand that you secured it to an unsprung point, and that it was the reel on the ratchet strap that actually loosened, but what caused the reel to loosen, and that was most likely the movement of the vehicles suspension when it reached the top point of the suspension movement and tranferred that energy to the strap.
And no, the suspension movement does not actually alleviate some stress on the strap. Look at it this way, if I take a tension scale and put it on each ratchet strap and apply 100 lbs to each of them. On the “hard cargo” those scales would remain at a near constant 100lbs because there are no external forces being applied to them (with the exception of inertia which would apply equally to any tie down method), if you do the same with a vehicle that is secured on unsprung points only, when the suspension moves and reaches it highest point during that movement that energy is transferred to the straps holding it to the trailer and those scales would show an increase in the lbs and over time it could loosen the reel of your ratchet strap, which is probably how yours got loose.
Most of us have seen people use their bumpers/racks for tie down points or use their winch to secure the front. And while most of them have some success and some people swear by them, some are obviously MUCH better, and the way you advocate attaching to an unsprung attachment point is at the top of the list. My method simply make every attachment point an unsprung attachment point and eliminates any external force from movement of the suspension.
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