Trailer tie down question.

I've heard a lot of folks say "I never cross the rear straps", I do. When I hauled the BatVan from NY to Fla. by the time I got to north Georgia the thing shifted such that one rear tire was half way off the trailer. I cross 'em.

That's not the question.

If you have a long vehicle or a short trailer, how safe would it be to run the straps aft; that is from the front of the car, underneath to a point three feet behind the hitch point. The same in the rear, hitch point to a point foward on the other side, essentially the straps would be under the car, but four straps at 45* angle.

Whaddaya think?

Dan

I have faith in nylon and steel. Check it frequently, drive carefully, and make adjustments as necessary.

If I'm visualizing it correctly (and it is entirely possible that I'm not), I think that one strap breaking or coming loose would be a much bigger issue with your plan.

I have crossed them side to side, but I wouldn't run them front to back and vice versa. As you pay out more line it gets harder to tension them sufficiently, and straps can stretch too.

Dan, when the Silver Datsun and trailer decided to block off a large chunk of I-94 it had no less than 4 "wide" straps a steel cable and two chains.

I had two straps attached in front of the front suspension on the frame angled inward and forward to the D rings, two straps behind the rear suspension on the frame angled inward and backwards to the D rings. Chains were attached around the lower control arms and secured around a chain bar across the front of the trailer. The cable strap was secured to the center of the front crossmember.

After hitting a LOT of crap the car was still securely affixed to the trailer. I am pretty positive it was crushed there as well.

I say NO for two reasons.

1. It would be harder to get good tension on the straps since you would need to be under the vehicle to do it.

2. It seems like it would be easier for the car to lift off the trailer when going over bumps.

I was taught not to do that if at all possible. You are better off looking at tie down points more toward the center of the car. Most cars will have points just ahead of the rear wheels or just aft of the fronts. If they aren't there you could make up some mounts easily enough.

I've seen a car walk around dramatically using tie down locations that were inside the wheelbase. I haven't been tempted to try it since.

And I always cross the straps. If you're running a FWD car on a roller dyno, crossed straps are the only way to keep the car from heading for the next county. On a 4000 mile tow to the Targa, my car didn't shift a bit.

One suggestion for all the guys who only use straps with 10,000 lb ratings, etc - check the ratings on your D hooks. Might surprise you

I would never run a tie down under a vehicle. I've always used 1 chain forward, one in the back, usually on opposite sides, with a lever type load binder, and never had a vehicle move on the trailer.