Trailer Towing Q's

It is best to always have the trailer level. How much it matters depends on whether it's a single axle or multi axle and what type of suspension it has.

With a single axle with leaf spring suspension it won't make a lot of difference. With a multi axle if it's not level the axles will not be sharing the load equally. How unequally will determine if the effect will be uneven tire wear, or axle or tire failure due to overload. Torsion type axles / suspension are more sensitive to out of level conditions.

I'd also imagine that a seriously out of level trailer would attract the attention of the police on a slow day. Best to get the appropriate drop hitch to keep the trailer pretty level.

I'd say it's best to strap to the tires / axles. Strapping to the body / frame would allow the straps to go slack on the bumps as the car loaded down on it's suspension, with the potential for a strap coming loose at that point.

The trailer has brakes and the truck has a proper brake controller I hope? Certainly the trailer will be over the legal limit for brakeless operation anywhere in the US and a 1/2T truck doesn't really have the excess braking capacity to compensate either. Also with that old a truck, I'd check shocks and suspension (i.e. leaf springs) as I expect they may be a bit to geriatric to handle the towing load well.

There was an issue that the NACE often referred to in this context, and that is, IIRC, "fretting" corrosion. Cars were shipped from the factory, and because of the way they were snugged down to the transporter, the wheel bearings were more prone to fail because of the fretting.

By changing the method of snugging the cars down, this was essentially eliminated.

I believe, but cannot remember for sure, that they started snugging the bodies down rather than snugging only the wheels. This kept the movement against the bearings to a minimum.

Maybe this will ring a bell for somebody else.

Thanks. It's a dual 3500# axle with electric brakes. I'll go for level to make sure both axles are loaded fairly equally.

Ok, but new cars come strapped down at the frame - that's why I'm wondering. FWIW, I'll probably end up doing whatever works best - 2 straps in front, 2 in the rear.

Yup, the trailer has brakes and the truck has a brake controller which needs to be re-wired at the back. Father in-law's old farm truck, so it only had a 4pin trailer connector and an additional connector for the brakes - I'm going to redo it all nice. It may only be an old pickup, but it's about as close to a 3/4 ton as you could get in a 90 Chev, it's got the factory HD stuff on it, but I have already concluded I'm going to need new shocks in the back. Of course, it would help if the roads around here weren't so bad. At least it's flat, so I don't have to worry about towing in the mountains. My buddy's 02 Silverado is definitely a heavier duty truck - that's one thing I've noticed about trucks in the last 10 years or so... the base model "1/2 tons" are about what a 3/4 ton were, and something like a new F350 is about 2x the capacity of a 15 year old F350.

Thanks for the advice, I'm definitely a big believer in "safety first" when towing, especially after seeing a Chevette jacknifed in the ditch trying to tow a 10 foot utility trailer....

Ray

apart from what others have mentioned loading the car by yourself will always be iffy with that much of an angle. Can you count your manual trans (or automatic parking spall) to hold the racecar on the trailer? Get the correct drop hitch, a good investment.

I doubt your racecar has much suspenison travel, but it's "float" will make your trailer's work easier. If your racecar is "tub"ed or an all out tube frame construction, strapping it by the frame (vs. the tires/axle) won't matter much. But if you have a stock (that vintage was a wierd mix of full frame/subrfame chassis?) chassis it is a bad idea to strap it down and put stresses where they weren't designed to be placed. My racecars always got tied down via either the wheels, or the axles/control arms (IRS datsun 510 semi-trailing arms), where such loads were intended to be placed...

Electric brakes for the trailer are nice. If not, I'd definately upgrade the tow vehicle's front brakes w/Porterfield, Hawk, Performance Friction or the like pads, and give yourself HUGE distances in front of you in the rain...

--Ken