Securing my Samurai in my toyhauler

I've never hauled a car but lots of quads. Much lighter but in my opinion, the absolute best way to secure a vehicle is to have reinforced D-rings spaced properly so one is in front and behind each tire. Then I run a ratchet strap from one ring over the tire and down to the other ring. Ratchet it down firmly.

This keeps the flex of the vehicle off the strap. Its better for the vehicle's suspension and better for the straps.

Just my .02.

Dang, this thread is not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be. I read the subject line and though you had taken personal protection to the next level and actually carried a live Japanese warrior with you. Oh well, on to the next post.

clicky

This is the best system I have worked with.

Hauled lots of pickups on a flatbed trailer by chaining over the axle, just make sure there are no brake lines between your chanin and the axle. You either want to try and pull the load apart by pulling away from the vehicle on each end or squashing the load together by pulling toward the middle of the vehicle on each end.

Not sure the weight of this vehicle but I would say you will have to do a serious upgrade to the D rings. Any time I've hauled a vehicle I've used heavy chain and chain tensioners as there are a lot of force when the vehicle suspension starts bouncing around on bumps.

Truckers use eTrack all the time, but you need to fasten it securely to be effective. That's a challenge if many Toy Hauler garages. I placed my eTrack on the edge, where the ATV tires would rest. That way besides securing it I had the weight of the RV keeping it down too.

westernrvparkowner wrote:
Dang, this thread is not nearly as interesting as I thought it would be. I read the subject line and though you had taken personal protection to the next level and actually carried a live Japanese warrior with you. Oh well, on to the next post.

Border Guard: "Sir, is this your Samurai?"

Muddydogs wrote:
... Not sure the weight of this vehicle ...

Stock form about 2200 lbs. Full armor (steel skid, EXO Cage, SPOA w/YJs, winch) between 2600 and 2900 lbs.

Wayne

E track is good for 6000#. Definitely upgrade the "D" rings from the usual light weight to as heavy duty you can and make sure they are tied to steel frame. What you will find is you get a lot of bounce with the car riding at the rear of the the trailer and it gets magnified from the spring of the trailer and the spring of the car and it gets real hard on straps and any kind of tie down point. Chains are harder on tie down points when the car hits the end of limit and there is no give so it transmits to your tie down points. Straps give some, but the areas where it is looped and sewn around the hooks will begin to show failure early. Tying down by the tires is easy, but adds to the bounce factor because the suspension of the car will be unrestrained. To really restrain it, go to solid frame points, let some air out of the tires, tie it down as tight as you can, then air the tires back up. I hauled a Suzuki Sidekick in my WW CL 4005 from coast to coast and the interstate highways where the worst for bounce and pulling stuff apart. Paved roads were easier on equipment. Don't go light duty on floor parts or straps, it will pay in the long run.

Thank you for everyones replies, I picked up some 2" straps yesterday and I think I will go with upgrading the D Rings, rather than e track. Do you thing these rings bolted to the steel angle iron cross members will be sufficient? I would use grade 8 hardware but want to make sure the cross members look strong enough.







The original D Rings are tec screwed into the frame as well.

You're getting the general ideas. Smart move on the D rings. The ones I got from e-trailer were 11,000# rated for a dollar or two more. 2" straps and grade 8 bolts good idea! The factory tec screws are a joke, should be better than that for what you pay for a trailer. My bigger worry was always a panic stop or accident and having enough holding power to not tear up the inside of the trailer when things went gunny sack.