MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGA - mga trailer tie down

Mike et al....got the new trailer on Wed and drove 700km with it ( without car ) in order to mount and mate..see attached pic. . The whole operation was simple ,enough side clearance, easy to check, and the tray rolled down horizontal when car came to the front. All clearance under door etc etc ok and a sweet wee step to enter the cockpit elegantly. A great unit tailored for the mga..Many thanks for all your advice once again.
I recollect you tied yours down using 1500kg straps passed through the wheels. My near new spokes are too close ( and easily damaged I would believe ) so that method istout. I considered over wheel spacer and tie downs but latter would be near parallel to car and fear for the bodywork. There also seems no clear route to the axle.
I believe my best way is to get to the central chassis at both ends. After trying with rope and angle measure etc I propose following as it clears bodywork and less robust components/structures.
Front....do this first and have tyres abutted to front of tray. Use two straps and pass over/under front chassis cross member (underneath the pulley ) and go forwards with strop hooks to front trailer eyes. The straps are at about 25 deg down angle and will be about 2.2 m length when tensioned.. Tension tyres into front of trailer .
Rear....two straps each around the rear of the chassis longitudinals just forward of the bumper and cross member mount...connect to trailer eyes. These are about 30 deg down and length of 1.5 m when tensioned.
All straps to be 1500kg rated.
Downside of above is that I will be tensioning against the suspension.
Appreciate all comments/ideas as this is a first for me.


Neil Ferguson

Have you considered wheel strap tie downs? Then the suspension is free to move. http://www.uscargocontrol.com/Towing-Auto-Hauling/Wheel-Nets-Auto-Car-Tie-Downs
This web site has what I am describing, and there may be other sorces closer to you.
Ed Bell

Hi Neil,
Glad you are happy with the trailer - the sweet wee step as you call it really makes getting in and out easy for old guys like me - I wish I would have put the spare wheel on the side now.
I used the Garrick 1500 kgs tie downs through the 60 spoke wheels on my roadster with no problem, see photo attached. Do you have 72 spoke wheels? Once you use the straps a few times they soften up and form to the profile around the spoke nipples and because they are hard against the wheel there is little chance of bending a spoke.
One of the guys in the Club only uses 350 kgs tie down straps on his trailer, the one shown on http://www.mgaguru.com/mgtech/trailer/th401.htm and he has never had a problem. But I prefer the factor of safety provided by (2) 1500 kgs SWL straps retaining a 1000 kg car - maybe our BBS design engineers can compute the correct SWL for the straps needed with the car on a chequer plate floor, hand brake on and good tyres - my rough calc for shock load is twice the dead weight of the car (assuming you forgot to put in gear or put the hand brake on). I see there are also 750 kgs straps as well so these may be an alternative.
I don't like the idea of tying down the sprung part of the car.
Regards
Mike


Mike Ellsmore

Another view
Mike


Mike Ellsmore

Showing the rear.
Mike


Mike Ellsmore

I don't like tying the frame down either, figuring the car should be free to ride on its own suspension. There are multiple advantages to this, softer ride for the car, smother ride for the trailer (better road holding), and less stress on the tie-downs, all due to damping action of the car suspension.

You are not the first to ask, meaning this is not the first time I wrote the same notes again. So I finally got motivated to post my notes on loading and tying down a car in a trailer. See here: http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/trailer/th410.htm

Somewhere I have pictures of our little old Mercury Capri stock car on a flat bed trailer, but don't know where at the moment.
Barney Gaylord

The sprint car guys tie down the wheels, but routinely remove the dampers, as towing destroys them. Load the suspension. If not loaded, the car and the trailer have two different spring rates, which can become resonant = unpleasant at least. Loading the suspension also keeps the straps tight, even if they stretch or buckles slip a bit.

Shock/inertia loads on straps are impossible to calculate, as it depends on how hard you hit the wall. The nice thing is that straps are stretchy, and limit shock loads, unlike chains, which are vicious indeed.

FRM
FR Millmore

Mike..I do have the 72 spokes and I tried feeding a strap through and it always rubs the spokes.
I agree with your load premise. I would believe he minimum dynamic load should be a factor of two. I am also interested in what individual straps should be capable of ....I would believe a good basis would be to have a minimum restraint capability in both directions of 2 times static weight ie forward restraint 1800kg --so each strap at least 900kg and the same in reverse direction. Any advantage from hand brake or first gear are just extras ( not sure about latter .....it is a lot of abnormal cycling action on the transmission over a long journey .)
Ed...thanks for your comment . I did look quickly at these but they seemed to be for dolly trailers so I went on . I looked more closely after your post and the net with two side mounts could do the job I think with one on each of four wheels wheel and two straps going forward and aft from each tyre .
Barney.......I read your notes and they are very helpful..I see you reference the over wheel straps as per above. The system for setting downward tow ball load is very useful.
I had a close look at how to get a strap over the axle as mentioned for rear restraint and could not see a way it could be done ..too many impediments..including a fuel tank lower than the axle

FRM.......See my comment above..I am now favouring wheel restraints . Can you amplify on your additional comment re loading up the suspension ..do you mean restraining the chassis somehow?

There appears to be some different views on loading the suspension. I would consider that it may be better to restrain somewhat ( in addition to the wheels ) as the idea of the trailer affect caused by upward free momentum of the car when you go over bumps plus possible spring rate frequency differences/interferences seems ground for concern ...as per FRM comment.
I do also believe that that 99.9% of the time you can get away with quite light restraint..but when the 1 in a thousand situation occurs all s..t will descend .Best to be conservative..methinks.
Neil Ferguson

just came across these from Uk...
http://www.slingsandstraps.co.uk/recovery-straps/Vehicle-Transporter-Recovery-Straps-Red-Small-Pad-x4
Neil Ferguson

I can't believe you guys are using a single axle trailer with no braking system to tow your cars on. I've used a tandem axle aluminum trailer for years, had blowouts on the trailer at speed and never had a problem controlling it. I can't imagine what would have appended with a single axle trailer.
Gene Gillam

Make that "happened", not "appended"...spellcheck on the iPad and no proofreading on my part.
Gene Gillam

Gene,
These trailers have "over run" brakes (I think they maybe called surge brakes in the US). The trailer connector is a spring loaded ball coupler (2000 kg rating) - the rod that extends out the back of the coupler actuates the brakes via a stainless steel cable arrangement - the handle you see at the back of the coupler is a hand brake (uses a flip-over pawl and ratchet on top of the coupler). My tow car (Holden Commodore - an Australian Chevrolet!) is rated by GM for towing trailers up to 1600 kgs with overrun brakes. Tyre blowouts are not a concern as tyres are new, rated for 900kg each and properly inflated.

Neil,
There is an error in my logic above about the restraining load of straps - as my car is secured by (4) falls of strap in both directions the total SWL is 6000 kgs in each direction (not 3000 kgs) - so you should be fine with thinner straps (ie 750 or 500 kgs).

I don't believe secondary vibration and resonance is a major problem - our roads aren't that bad and I haven't observed any resonance when towing my car on a 1600 kms trip on various road surfaces.

Interestingly, cars on the ferry crossing the Bass Strait (notoriously rough open water) are unsecured other than the handbrake and being left in gear!

Mike
Mike Ellsmore

Re: tieing down the chassis: I did this when I trailered my car home. I blocked the frame up and tied it down with 1500 lb. straps. On the way home it bounced and the blocks went flying across the freeway. I had to stop and tie it back down. I changed my methods and placed the hooks of the tie downs around the steering knuckles and rear axles I believe. I think the best method of trailering is to tie the tires down with straps (they make some for this) and letting the car float.
Mike Parker

Persuaded re wheel straps and have just bought 2 in wheel spacer straps about 500mm long with links at each end and 2 in wide ratchet tie downs with hooks. Will pass the tie down straps through the spacer straps and drop over top of each wheel and position above centre and secure to trailer fore and aft of each of 4 wheel and tension. All kit is grossly over duty re load capability but was only moderately more expensive than lightweight stuff.
Will need to adjust car position for ball joint load and put front tyre wedges as per Barneys note...will post a pic when the anchors are all on...
Thanks for all the help....
Neil Ferguson

I trailered my car tethered to the trailer with four 2 inch wide ratcheting poly straps with a hook at each end.
To secure the back of the car, I took 3/8 inch chain about 15 inches long, that went over the leaf springs in front of the rear axle. Then used a D shackle to secure the chain ends. I hooked this chain ...and with the other end of the poly strap hooked into welded D loops on the rear of the trailers bed.

In the front I used the holes on the bottom of the front suspension cross member to attach the hooks to ...securing the other end of the poly strap to D loops at the front of the trailers bed.

Before I ordered my trailer, I placed markings on the garage floor to simulate the car in relation to the trailer. This gave me the exact spots to have the D loops welded on the trailer. The car was sort of spread eagled attached this way to the trailer. The car trailered very well with tandem axles and electric brakes. I prefer electric brakes as you can operate them separately or make them more sensitve to your brake pedal with the control box inside the vehicle.

Granted to remove the rear attachments took awhile, and was a pain especially on a hot day. I never worried the car would move if I had to stop suddenly. The body of the car could move up and down in the rear, but was somewhat held down in the front.
Ray Ammeter

This thread was discussed between 10/12/2012 and 11/12/2012

MG MGA index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGA BBS is active now.