Put the Jeep on the trailer tonight

[Dugie]

Well I wanted to hook up the trailer to the Hemi with the Jeep on it and do a little pre jam run with everything strapped down. We found that the Jeep JUST fit in the trailer, it was almost like it was built for it specifically.
In order to secure the JK properly in the trailer I will have to remove the cover roll on the front of the trailer which will give me another couple inches so my tires aren't sitting right on the tie downs. If we decide to take the Hemi (1500) then I am going to have to invert the ball on the other side so it has a rise rather than a drop. I will also have to adjust the height of the tounge on the trailer so at least the trailer will sit level. The truck isn't sitting to bad, obviously a little sagged in the back but nothing too serious. The 5.7L Hemi does some working though to get that thing up to speed but once it's rolling it seems to be fine.
Our other option is to just leave everything set up the way it is and pull it with the 3/4 ton Diesel King Ranch. At this point I think I am leaning towards the King Ranch as it will not have to work as hard to pull which means cheaper on gas for the journey there and back. I was planning on using chain's along with the chain tighteners to secure the Jeep to the trailer. I know some others use the ratchet straps but I figure if they use those chains and chain tighteners to tie down the big excavators they should work fine for my application. Is there anything specific I should know about securing it? I was going to go on either side of the diff's and cross the chains, I think this is right but maybe someone has a better idea. Also...is it safe? Stupid? or whatever to use your winch cable and hook as another means of securing your rig?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

PS. Pics will follow later on hooked up to the Hemi.

[tothewall]

OK.
Ditch the chains and go to PA and purchase yourself the following:

4 10,000lb ratchet straps
4 Axle straps

Then when you hook it all up, you wrap the axle straps around the diff in the back and cross them over to the opposite side.

Throw the axle straps over the tubes in the frontas close to the ends of the axle as you can get them and hook em up straight out to the front.

Make sure your straps have a couple of wraps on them around the ratchet. Same concept as a couple of wraps of winch cable on the drum.

Drive the whole thing down the road a few miles and stop and check the tightness of everything. Any time you stop for any reason, get out and check and retighten the straps as needed.

Do NOT strap to the frame or the body. Strap to the axles.

I have towed 1000's of kms in this configuration and have had NO issues. I dont like chains for anything.

Looking forward to the pix.

There is a tent at the garage that fits in the bed of the truck if you dont want to take the huge tent.

[tothewall]

oh yeah. The winch idea is stupid. The suspension will bounce and the cable will be shock loaded when that happens because the winch is attached to the frame and that is not what the jeep is tied down from.

Stick with the axle tiedowns as explained in the previous post and you will be golden.

[Creepy]

It appears to me you left out a rather important variable into choosing your towrig. You can accellerate, and "get along", yet no comment on hauling the thing down from speed with a 1/2 ton truck Vs a 1ton. BRAKES dude. Near anything can get moving, you need to base your judgement on how it STOPS.

As to the loading...the short axle straps are really nice.

cross over the rear diff and tie to opposite corners.

in the front, its hard to cross the straps, and the knuckle area is good to loop around. So sometimes you see the fronts not crossed, and it's ok.

Crossing helps with lateral stability in an emercency manuover.

Bunny, meet Pirate4x4:

strap vs: chain thread
www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1420683

tie down thread:
www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1420687


Billavista Towing Article:
www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/Towing/index.html

After reading that stuff, you should be confident in your set up and whether or not you should use the equipment you have available, or not.

[Dugie]

Awesome Gent's! Just the information I was looking for!

[Creepy]

Yes it is.

[dan]

I was told years ago that it was safer to tie or strap down the body or frame rather than the axles, so that the body of the vehicle being towed is secure in place and can't sway or move at all. what happens on a corner with a trailer and a 7-foot-tall jeep with high COG?
I know it isn't a likely event, but that's just what I have always heard, and that is how I usually strap things down.

[tothewall]

The jeep is not coilsprung with Slinkys. It aint going anywhere in normal usage.You could never get the body cinched all the way down to the bumpstops and the load on the straps would be enormous. When you gver a hard enough bump the suspension will compress the rest of the way and the shock to the straps will be a violent one.

See Pirate

[OVERLORD]

May 26, 2009 21:30:36 GMT -4 dan said:

what happens on a corner with a trailer and a 7-foot-tall jeep with high COG?
.

Same as if you went around a corner in the Jeep on the road. The body will sway on the suspension, the shocks dampen it, the rig returns to level, and you continue on. The tires stay firmly planted on the road (or trailer)

You don't need to strap your body to the road to go around a curve, do you?

Tying down the body puts all the force of the moving body on the straps, cycling the loading. It works and loosens the straps. You cannot stop the body from moving, no matter how hard you try.

Think how much force you would have to apply to the straps to put the suspension on the bumpstops. If its not on the bumpstops, its going to move. Why add that load to your tiedowns?

In the event of roll or evasive manuvering, the body roll of the trailered vehicle can produce a multiplying effect of the load on the straps, perhaps breaking or loosening them. This is completely avoided by tying down the axles.

Axle tied rigs do not have cyclic loading on the tie-downs, and are not subject to multiplied forces from suspension reactions.(leafs/coils/shocks)


All in the links.

[Creepy]

oops, that was me.

Another thing to consider, is that it is more acceptable to frame tie a low car or hotrod, as it has a very firm suspension or little body roll.

The higher COG of a lifted truck, and associated body roll will put more force on the straps than a car. You have a lot more leeway to frame tie a car.

So its a special case with the trucks, taking info out of context from, say, some guy who perhaps towed stock cars for 30 years and swears by frame tie down might get you in trouble as we are talking about a different application and different forces on the vehicle.

[Hawkes]

Everything Len said in reverse. ;D I like chains front and rear and add two straps in the rear.

If the Hemi breathes hard towing a Jeep I'm glad I'm using a Dakota. The hundreds I save by driving the Dakota over the Hemi all year will pay for a new engine and bodywork when it puts a rod through the hood. ;D

I use an 18 ft trailer that allows me to adjust the weight where I want it. Too light on the hitch and it wags, so there is a prime spot for it to sit. I towed the Jeep with the V6 Grand a couple times and didn't kill it, but the V8 Dakota is much better. Both vehicles have 4 wheel disc so with the trailer brakes stopping is no problem. I did do a panic stop once when a car pulled out on the highway this winter, slowing was no problem.

I'm still truck shopping but too cheap to buy one of the newer Hemi's or GM's with the better fuel mileage. We'll trade in the future when the price is right. Diesel is likely not an option with my wife's 5 minute commute, and her hatred of the diesel sound.

[tothewall]

Thanks Paul. LOL

We have the same thing in here that Pirate does. Various opinions on what is good. I realize that there are those that think everything on Pirate is gospel, but on this topic that I know a fair bit about, I think they are pretty well blowhards. Everyone in there thinks they know everything, or at least that is my opinion.

I am not informed on a lot of tech subjects, but I have experience in this one and I am simply sharing what works in this situation for an essentially identically vehicle to what Bunny is towing.

Repete has towed 10s of 1000s of KMs. I would be curious to see what he has to say.

See you at Jam!!

[tothewall]

PS... Where are the pix man???

[Hawkes]

I hook up the front chain, then haul the Jeep back using the straps, then the rear chain and binder.

My trailer has two owners, the other one hauls a tractor sometimes so we bought chains to cover all vehicles. I may have gone with straps if it hadn't been for that, and the fact the chains will never wear out or get weather damaged, which the straps will have to be replaced at some point.

Chains are a PITA compared to straps and probably add 100 lbs to your load.

[Creepy]

May 27, 2009 7:57:11 GMT -4 @tothewall said:

I realize that there are those that think everything on Pirate is gospel, but on this topic that I know a fair bit about, I think they are pretty well blowhards. Everyone in there thinks they know everything, or at least that is my opinion.

Bawhahah! the irony! Your exact attitude right there is what you don't like about pirate4x4. lol. there are too many people posting like you just did and ruining it. my gawd.

The Billavista articles ARE regarded as gospel, and written to be "the final word" on technical subjects and refered to as such, even by professionals.

The linked threads are full of information, which you must filter to get what you need, same as any forum. That forum happens to have a pretty high ratio of people who know "what the fawk they are talking about" and you can glean a ton of info there without having to gain the experience by say, flipping your rig.

Please list your chainbinder experience to alleviate your symptoms of being an opinionated blowhard know-it-all, as you say the posted reference material is full of.

Ever held one?








i wish you wouldn't force me to give you the gears while on vacation, you are supposed to be having fun! lol