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Hauling a Vette

jwstewar

Active member
Yesterday we went down to my inlaws. My F-I-L as always wanted a Vette. That has just always been his dream. So Monica has been looking on ebay for him nothing thinking he was serious. Well last night she found a fully restored '76 Stingray. Looks nice as heck.:wow: Only downside is, it is in Florida. He had her place a bid and low and behold since everyone else was watching the Superbowl, he won it. I think we are actually going to go get it vs. having it shipped. We are thinking about leaving early Friday morning, picking it up early - Mid-day Saturday and returning on Sunday.

Here is my question. I've attached a couple of pics of my trailer. Albeit, not the best shot of the dovetail. Do you think we'll have any problems loading the car? It is 16' + the 2' dovetail. I'm not worried about weight or anything on the trailer, just worried about the center going over the dovetail. I think we can get the front end on the ramps easy enough by cranking the front of the trailer up to lower the rear ramps. Just worried about the break over.

Then, next question, we have 4 straps, you know the typical 10k breaking but 3,333 WLL straps and then 5 chains and 5 binders. What would be the best way to tie this car down. We are thinking straps to prevent damage, but I know Vettes can be a bit weird to lash down. Don't want to lose it, but don't want to do any damage either.
 

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Big Dog

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What you pulling it with? How wide between the fender wells? Your looking at just less than 2 ton. I would think straps would be fine, wheel straps would be better. I may even go so far as nailing blocks on the deck. Never hauled a vette but a single binder to frame would be added security.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
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Your ramps do come out and sit on that upper lip, right?

I would not use those straps. Grade 70 chains with binders on all 4 corners is the proper way to go. If a Trooper sees you with a rolling load bound down with straps, he may want to talk with you more about it with a piece of paper (price included) as a reminder.

To get you over the hump in the dovetail, this may work. Take a couple 2x8's or similar and lay flat on the bed just beyond the "hump". Let the front tires climb onto those. Once they clear the 8' (length of board), they'll fall back onto the bed and you can remove. By then, your back tires are near that hump and you should be good.
 

Big Dog

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I would not use those straps. Grade 70 chains with binders on all 4 corners is the proper way to go. If a Trooper sees you with a rolling load bound down with straps, he may want to talk with you more about it with a piece of paper (price included) as a reminder.

Just saying ............. Federal guideline require binders over 10,000 pounds (he's not near that), transport wheel straps (need 4) are used regularly on towing vehicles with one winch w/break used as a frame binder.
 

jwstewar

Active member
What you pulling it with? How wide between the fender wells? Your looking at just less than 2 ton. I would think straps would be fine, wheel straps would be better. I may even go so far as nailing blocks on the deck. Never hauled a vette but a single binder to frame would be added security.

Your ramps do come out and sit on that upper lip, right?

I would not use those straps. Grade 70 chains with binders on all 4 corners is the proper way to go. If a Trooper sees you with a rolling load bound down with straps, he may want to talk with you more about it with a piece of paper (price included) as a reminder.

To get you over the hump in the dovetail, this may work. Take a couple 2x8's or similar and lay flat on the bed just beyond the "hump". Let the front tires climb onto those. Once they clear the 8' (length of board), they'll fall back onto the bed and you can remove. By then, your back tires are near that hump and you should be good.

Towing wise, we are using his Dodge 2500 Heavy Duty 4x4 Crew Cab with 8' bed and the Hemi. I think we are probably good there. My Trailer is 82" between the fenders, but the fenders are removable via couple of wing nuts.

Yep, the ramps pull all the way out and sit on the lip at the rear of the trailer. I hadn't thought about boards for the front, but did think about using some trying to get the rear up. Thinking that might be able to keep the rear from dragging as well.

Any thoughts on what to actually attach the either the strap or chain or chain to on the car?

I've had someone else mention wheel baskets, but then on some of the Vette forums I'm reading that they won't fit the wide Vette tires.

If we were to get wheel straps, what would attach them to on the trailer? What about straps wrapped through the wheel? I saw a couple hauled that way, but didn't look to be the best either, but it was a "pro" for however much that is worth.:yum:
 

Big Dog

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All that said, I have binders and I use them for all my loads unless it's a soft load ..................
 

jwstewar

Active member
You know, we could probably have it hauled just about as cheap as we can go get it, but what fun is that?:biggrin:

Here is a picture of it, he is also going to get a few "extras" for it including a stock hood.
 

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Big Dog

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If we were to get wheel straps, what would attach them to on the trailer? What about straps wrapped through the wheel? NO I saw a couple hauled that way, but didn't look to be the best either, but it was a "pro" for however much that is worth.:yum:

Stake pockets and believe me they have wheel straps (baskets) for that car.

Offer .......... If you wanna use my rig, your welcome to it. Has everything you need and more!
 

jwstewar

Active member
Any thoughts on getting T-hooks or R-hooks and trying to use the shipping holes in the frame?
 

joec

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I've towed a number of cars with UHaul car trailers (the full type not front wheel types) with out a problem. I actaully bought on from UHaul back in the 70's to haul my cars with to the track.
 

Big Dog

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joec

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Call U Haul or anyone else, they may rent them!

UHaul not only rents the trailers with the tie downs but install hitches. Now they might rent the tie downs separately, that I don't know. It really will depend on at you are going to tow with. In my case it was either a truck or full size van. I also towed my mustang to Kentucky on one of their trailers towed behind their truck.
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
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A lot of good advice here. What i haven't seen discussed is a gravel shield. Best you have mud flaps on the truck or put something up in front of that pretty Vette in case you hit a bad spot in the road.
If you have stake pockets in the front, I would mount a plywood bulk head accross the trailer.

I have also found that nailing a 2X4 on either side of the wheels insures the vehicle doesn't move side to side at all. Place them ( 4 boards altogether) accros the trailer in front of the wheels and in back of the wheels

It may seem like overkill but I''ve had restraints come loose but never lost a vehichle on my trailer.
 

Cowboy

Wait for it.
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A lot of good advice here. What i haven't seen discussed is a gravel shield. Best you have mud flaps on the truck or put something up in front of that pretty Vette in case you hit a bad spot in the road.
If you have stake pockets in the front, I would mount a plywood bulk head accross the trailer.

I have also found that nailing a 2X4 on either side of the wheels insures the vehicle doesn't move side to side at all. Place them ( 4 boards altogether) accros the trailer in front of the wheels and in back of the wheels

It may seem like overkill but I''ve had restraints come loose but never lost a vehichle on my trailer.
Yup darn good points Franc, but iffen it was mine I would find someone with an enclosed race car trailer to haul, it if not hire a proffesional classic car hauler thats not only experienced in hauling those types of vehicles but bonded and insured as well. :unsure:
 

jwstewar

Active member
Yup darn good points Franc, but iffen it was mine I would find someone with an enclosed race car trailer to haul, it if not hire a proffesional classic car hauler thats not only experienced in hauling those types of vehicles but bonded and insured as well. :unsure:

We talked about that, but decided it was more fun to do it ourselves. His truck does have mud flaps, but I was also thinking about putting some moving quilts that I have over the front of it to keep from getting chipped. Not quite sure how to fasten them yet either. Maybe a lighter strap across the back of the hood and maybe vice grips clamped to the quilt down low away from the car???? Just thinking out loud err....in writing here :w00t2:
 
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fuzznutz

New member
i work for a company that hauls the expensive luxury imports like porsche and mercedes have even seen a maybach on one of our trucks all we use is straps around the wheels to tie them down and very few issues with cars getting damaged from moving around and we have over 200 trucks the worst damage i have seen so far is a scratched wheel on a car just whatever method you use make sure that everytime you stop for fuel or to rest/ bathroom breaks you make sure that the car is still secure on the trailer and that the trailer tires and hitch are still nice and tight the DOT allows straps to be used but they must be in good shape and properly rated and no loose ends flapping in the wind.
 

Doc

Bottoms Up
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We've found that towing boats with their cover on (usually canvas type material) can cause damage to the boat if any part is loose and starts flapping. Over time the flapping of the material can mar the finish / leave a mark. If it were me I'd be more apt to mount short pieces of plywood across the front of the trailer (like Franc suggested) which should protect from the road trash that will fly up that way.
Good luck on your road trip. It does sound like fun. :thumb:
 

FrancSevin

Proudly Deplorable
GOLD Site Supporter
I would not suggest a blanket or quilt attached in any way to the car. It will mar the finish.

Just put a 2X4 into the stake loops. You can screw a deckscrew into the 2X4 above andbelow the stake loop to hold it inplace. Nail two more of them accross the front and add a piece of plywood about 32" high. $20 bucks worth of lumber and nails (screws would be better) and nothing should hit the car.

But, that blanket will come loose somewheres and flap all the way home.

I do not recommend any straps or ropes on the body of the car. Tie to axles, suspension members, and frame only. Straps through the wheel if they are really wide traps. No metal hooks on the wheels anywhere. BTW, I do not like going through the wheels because they will work loose no matter how you try to tension the straps.

I never connect straps in one loop but do a wrap around axles and suspension members. Unless you can do a real solid connection through a frame hole or loop, I suggest doing a wrap.

If you uses straps with hooks and loop the hooks over the staps to make aloop, tie it down with plastic ties. You can wrap the straps, two or three loops, around the rear axles and drop the hooks to hold, but they make develope slack and your hooks will start banging something. A wire tie through the strap eye will prevent that. Then rachet the strap tight to a hog ring or stake loop on the trailer

If you use chains and rachet tensioners, I alway wire tie the chain links so they don't come apart.

One on each of the four corners (axles or A frames) will hold the car down inside your 2X4 bunks. Put the bunks on after you tension the chains or straps. I use two headed 16 dp nails Two at the end of each board,you need none in the middle.

Have fun.
 

Cowboy

Wait for it.
GOLD Site Supporter
We talked about that, but decided it was more fun to do it ourselves. His truck does have mud flaps, but I was also thinking about putting some moving quilts that I have over the front of it to keep from getting chipped. Not quite sure how to fasten them yet either. Maybe a lighter strap across the back of the hood and maybe vice grips clamped to the quilt down low away from the car???? Just thinking out loud err....in writing here :w00t2:
I guess I was thinking they were worth quite a bit more then what I found out online, not quite the value (30 to 40k on up) like the 60's and earlier models like I was thinking. So yup it probably makes sense to haul it yourself, I am sure you are aware of the independent rear suspension so I would be carefull about not tying it down by the axles/driveshafts as it would be easy to mess up the rear alignment if not tied down properly. :wink:

Perty car though, good luck getting it home and have a safe trip.
 

Kane

New member
What a beautiful Stingray. Always been my favorite 'Vette and you can tell someone put a ton a work into the restoration ... too bad about that hole in the hood.

You must have one happy FIL. And one lovely wife for the thought.
 

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
SUPER Site Supporter
Your ramps do come out and sit on that upper lip, right?

I would not use those straps. Grade 70 chains with binders on all 4 corners is the proper way to go. If a Trooper sees you with a rolling load bound down with straps, he may want to talk with you more about it with a piece of paper (price included) as a reminder.

To get you over the hump in the dovetail, this may work. Take a couple 2x8's or similar and lay flat on the bed just beyond the "hump". Let the front tires climb onto those. Once they clear the 8' (length of board), they'll fall back onto the bed and you can remove. By then, your back tires are near that hump and you should be good.

Boomer is exactly right !!!

Use #70 chain to be legal in all states.
Also remember that that vette will only have 4" of clearance from the ground .
You will need to angle the front of the trailer up to get a straight on approach or you will hang it up or rip off the front spoiler as you pull it on the trailer .
I have owned two vettes and know this from experience.
Have fun !!!!
 

jwstewar

Active member
What a beautiful Stingray. Always been my favorite 'Vette and you can tell someone put a ton a work into the restoration ... too bad about that hole in the hood.

You must have one happy FIL. And one lovely wife for the thought.

He offered up a few extras if you did a Buy-it-now, but since this was an auction they weren't included. When we talked to him, he said he would include them for an extra $700, considering the price & the $700, it is still over $500 less than his Buy-it-now price. This included a new chromed A/C compressor, new chromed master cylinder, and several other goodies - inlcuding the stock hood.

Boomer is exactly right !!!

Use #70 chain to be legal in all states.
Also remember that that vette will only have 4" of clearance from the ground .
You will need to angle the front of the trailer up to get a straight on approach or you will hang it up or rip off the front spoiler as you pull it on the trailer .
I have owned two vettes and know this from experience.
Have fun !!!!

My chains are Grade 43 3/8" with a WLL of 5400 lbs (vs. 4700 of #70 5/16) stamped on them. That is what I use with my tractor. If I were to haul more often, I would buy new chains, but for this one time use, I think we will use this chain if we decide to use the chains. I'm torn as to which way to go. I guess we will see when we get there :yum:

I was actually thinking about the wood front a little bit more on the way to work this morning. I just need to figure out how to mount it and the chains/straps. I guess I could tank the chains down around the frame of the tongue. I have the rub rail in the front, but no stake pockets in the front and that rub rail is just a piece of pipe that flexes pretty good without too much pressure - and nothing to keep the chain/strap in position. Wonder where I could find shrink wrap locally to put around the front of the car.......

I'm going tonight to put my new tires on the trailer. Some of you might remember that I complained on NetTractorTalk about them weather cracking and the manufacturer didn't like me bad mouthing them, so they sent me a new set for free. :clap: My buddy has a garage with a tire changer and balancer, so has soon as I get off work, we'll be doing that and I throw the grease gun on the wheel bearings.

Thanks for all the info guys, keep it coming.
 

bczoom

Super Moderator
Staff member
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Wonder where I could find shrink wrap locally to put around the front of the car.......

A few options.
Lowes or Home Depot have shrink wrap like film in the paint department. It's that wrap stuff that's commonly used to hold/bind stuff on pallets. It's not wide so you would have to wrap around several times.

In those same stores, go to the insulation area. Get some window film in sheets large enough to cover the front. Commonly made by Frost King. Take a hair dryer or heat gun with you to get needed shrinking.

Possibly in those stores but more likely in a flooring store, there will be 2 products. One they use themselves and normally don't sell but they have a plastic wrap they use on rolls of flooring to protect it when being shipped or sold to keep the elements off. They also have a plastic runner that's a bit sticky on one side. Used for temporary plastic runners in a house. Just enough sticky so it doesn't slide around. I'd consider putting this as the top layer over a base coat. E.g. get the window film on the car (a few layers?). Since that may be an indoor use product, once it's on, wrap this stuff around it for an outside layer.

Consider taping seams so the wind doesn't get under it and start tearing it apart.

EDIT: Another option may be to check to see if there's a service near where you're buying it that puts those white shrink wrap things on boats for seasonal storage.
 

jwstewar

Active member
Thanks Brian, We'll look into those.

The transaction just turned kind of ugly. The auction said $500 deposit within 24 hours via pay pal (which we did) and full payment within 3 days. Which we get and knew about. Monica talked to him yesterday, he was cool with us coming Saturday and paying cold hard cash at that time. Then a few hours later, he sent a message in ebay saying that he would prefer a wire transfer prior to pick up because he wants to buy a bike (which was what he stated in the auction of why he was selling the car). If we do that, we have lost our "guarantee" that we will get the car. No way would I do a true wire transfer, if anything, pay pal or something like that. I know it said 3 days, but know that we are coming from Ohio and we are going to be there Saturday and he agreed to it (albeit verbally), I think it is kind of low. Ugh....now Monica and I are in the middle of this because it is our ebay account.
 

muleman

Gone But Not Forgotten
GOLD Site Supporter
STOP! I would never do a transfer like that without being there in person and driving the vehicle. Too many elaborate scams running out there. Could have cooked engine for all you know. Go, drive it and then pay. Just MHO. That is how I handled my skid steer purchase and it went well.
 

the old trucker

New member
Boomer is exactly right !!!

Use #70 chain to be legal in all states.
Also remember that that vette will only have 4" of clearance from the ground .
You will need to angle the front of the trailer up to get a straight on approach or you will hang it up or rip off the front spoiler as you pull it on the trailer .
I have owned two vettes and know this from experience.
Have fun !!!!

Why don't you get a $1,000.00 worth of 6x6's & make a cradle for it !! Al it's only a Vette (with a fiberglass body I might add). I have lost count of the number of personal cars & trucks I've hauled from Houston to places in Canada & back for the oil companies. All that I had was a 48' flat bed trailer. I would drive the vehicle on & then use four (4) cargo straps wrapped around the top inside portion of each wheel. The strap started at the rub rail, went up & behind the top of each wheel & back down to the rail of the trailer. The body of the car was free to move. If you tighten down the body, you will have to put alot of strain on it's suspension. Plus if you hit a bump in the road your strap will come slack & instantly snap tight again, risking the chance of breaking the strap & possibly doing damage to the car.
I've went through numerous scales & customs & never was anything said. Customers were always satisfied. Myself, if I bought that Vette I would put it in an enclosed trailer designed to haul vehicles.

Just my quarters worth. Good luck & make the choice that you won't be sorry for later on....
 

jwstewar

Active member
Why don't you get a $1,000.00 worth of 6x6's & make a cradle for it !! Al it's only a Vette (with a fiberglass body I might add). I have lost count of the number of personal cars & trucks I've hauled from Houston to places in Canada & back for the oil companies. All that I had was a 48' flat bed trailer. I would drive the vehicle on & then use four (4) cargo straps wrapped around the top inside portion of each wheel. The strap started at the rub rail, went up & behind the top of each wheel & back down to the rail of the trailer. The body of the car was free to move. If you tighten down the body, you will have to put alot of strain on it's suspension. Plus if you hit a bump in the road your strap will come slack & instantly snap tight again, risking the chance of breaking the strap & possibly doing damage to the car.
I've went through numerous scales & customs & never was anything said. Customers were always satisfied. Myself, if I bought that Vette I would put it in an enclosed trailer designed to haul vehicles.

Just my quarters worth. Good luck & make the choice that you won't be sorry for later on....

That approach kind of sounds like the straps that AW Direct proposed when I talked to them. You are saying something that I heard years ago, that we (as individuals) should never strap a vehicle down by the body because we don't have the equipment/tools to take the slack out of the suspension and it will still move.
 

jwstewar

Active member
STOP! I would never do a transfer like that without being there in person and driving the vehicle. Too many elaborate scams running out there. Could have cooked engine for all you know. Go, drive it and then pay. Just MHO. That is how I handled my skid steer purchase and it went well.

That is my thinking too. Figure then the worst we are out is the $500 deposit and some gas money and if we get there and the engine is toast, the seller mis-represented and PayPal would probably even refund that.
 
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