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Thoughts On “Through the Wheel” Tie Downs


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We've been using through the wheel for over a year now.  They work great, are pretty simple to attach/remove.  A good 5000 miles holding the Smart down and it's always rock solid.  Check them at every rest stop.

Seen pro car haulers and folks flat-bedding antique cars who use both types and nets too, so they all seem to work with equal effectiveness.

Haven't seen any signs of wear on our Smart rims.

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2010 Freightliner, DD15 Eaton Ultrashift, 2015 New Horizons 5th Wheel.

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I don't really have a dog in this fight but, I have over 2 million miles hauling cars and trucks on a flatbed trailer.  There are two pictures on  this thread that do nothing to control fore/aft movement. The Audi with NJ plates and the Jeep on a Volvo.  Using "Park" or leaving  a manual in gear with E brake is not enough.  

I used chains to the outer suspension, hauled vehicles that sometimes were less than an inch apart, and could be loaded and gone in less time than the guys using basket straps took to untangle their straps.

If I were setting up something like you are doing I would go with something like the car transports are using now. Something like this but, since you are only hauling one specific car, would't need the etrack. Tie down system. They do allow some movement but , since the strap is in the way, not much.

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7 minutes ago, Lance A Lott said:

I have hauled lots of vehicles and have never used chocks so is the use of them on the smart due to loading sideways?

Chocks provide a convenient mounting point for the tiedowns/straps, and provide extra redundancy to inhibit motion. If you lose a strap and have a chock wedged in properly then you have less of a potential problem. That is one reason we build our chocks with slots in them....so they can be pushed up tightly against the tire. The car is NEVER in the same place twice when loaded, so some adjustability is helpful.

 

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

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1 hour ago, somewhereinusa said:

I don't really have a dog in this fight but, I have over 2 million miles hauling cars and trucks on a flatbed trailer.  There are two pictures on  this thread that do nothing to control fore/aft movement. The Audi with NJ plates and the Jeep on a Volvo.  Using "Park" or leaving  a manual in gear with E brake is not enough.  

I used chains to the outer suspension, hauled vehicles that sometimes were less than an inch apart, and could be loaded and gone in less time than the guys using basket straps took to untangle their straps.

If I were setting up something like you are doing I would go with something like the car transports are using now. Something like this but, since you are only hauling one specific car, would't need the etrack. Tie down system. They do allow some movement but , since the strap is in the way, not much.

Straps are triangulated on The Jeep.  All four straps pull opposite of each other, and the Jeep has wheel chocks in the front.

The second photo is NOT how the Jeep travels, the first photo IS.

I contemplated the Etrack system, but my deck is wood, and I prefer the weld on D ring tie downs at the corner over the Etrack bolted with anchor plates under the wood deck.  I have hauled the Jeep this way since 2001, after a friend tying his Jeep down by the frame broke his car hauler Featherlite from not letting the suspension work.

 

 

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7

38 minutes ago, Jack Mayer said:

Chocks provide a convenient mounting point for the tiedowns/straps, and provide extra redundancy to inhibit motion. If you lose a strap and have a chock wedged in properly then you have less of a potential problem. That is one reason we build our chocks with slots in them....so they can be pushed up tightly against the tire. The car is NEVER in the same place twice when loaded, so some adjustability is helpful.

 

Jack if permissible to ask how much are your chocks? I was planing on using them I was just wondering if I had the reasoning correct. Side load instead of front facing, certainly does not leave much room for error.

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1 hour ago, Lance A Lott said:

7

Jack if permissible to ask how much are your chocks? I was planing on using them I was just wondering if I had the reasoning correct. Side load instead of front facing, certainly does not leave much room for error.

Please contact me off of Escapees forum.  I cannot do commercial activities here.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
Principal in RVH Lifestyles. RVH-Lifestyles.com

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I know the group uses wheel straps to secure vehicles, here is a thought to ponder.    Cars that are not made here in North America come on boats, boats go through all kinds of weather and sea states.     The cars are tied down front and back on the chassis at hard points designed to keep the car secure, this loads the suspension to limit car motion.     A member above mentioned a car trailer that failed under these conditions?     That is not only sad, it is shocking that a company would make a trailer like that.     My guess is the trailer frame and car frame had different frequencies of vibration.

The decks most folks have to load a car is neither long enough or so flimsy to cause that kind of failure.     Personally I like ratchet binders to secure a car, straps work but allow bounce, snubbing the cars motion.     My Kentucky trailer has a design feature that includes a floor 2" above a car secured below it, wheel straps ain't going to cut it there.     Absent of fixed obstacles, keeping the car from moving around does two things.      It greatly minimizes the flailing around of the car and, it prevents the car from inducing motion back into the deck and, ultimately the truck.     

My 2 cents, keep the chocks, toss the wheel straps.   

 

Steve   

2005 Peterbilt 387-112 Baby Cat 9 speed U-shift

1996/2016 remod Teton Royal Atlanta

1996 Kentucky 48 single drop stacker garage project

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We carry our Forester length wise at an angle with the front of the car over the cab.  We have the small 42" sleeper and the top of the car is 13'.  We tried wheel straps but after just a couple of miles I stopped and changed to frame hold downs.  At that height the car bouncing around made the ride uncomfortable and it didn't feel safe with the wheel straps. Frame tie downs are the only way I will carry a car.  I snub up about half of the suspension and the car rides secure.  Watching "the suspension work" isn't for me.  I also made small pockets for each tire to drop into when the car is loaded.  That way I know it is in the right spot.  The pockets are only an inch or so deep but the car sort of falls into the pockets and I even feel it slip a little if it isn't square.

 

Randy

2001 Volvo VNL 42 Cummins ISX Autoshift

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