Help! First Time Towing

[Nicki]

I am moving and need to tow a car 1000 miles. I bought a 16' car trailer(Texas Bragg Classic Car Trailer) It has four D rings welded into the diamond plate top in the four corners. The car is light(Mazdaspeed Miata). Should I tie it down using the shipping hooks on the car(2 in the front and 2 in the back), using a X pattern? Will I need wheel chocks? What kind of tongue weight should I look for? Any other chains, or tie downs needed? Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Nicki

 

[MoparBob]

I am by no means a towing guru so I'm sure some more experienced hands will chime in on this as well.



It's been my experience that using the factory shipping points, attachements and/or hooks should always be utilized if possible. They were engineered into those spots for a reason and you'll be hard pressed to find a better point to tie onto the frame or undercarriage. Crossing the tie down chains/straps does have it's advantages though I can't seem to recall why while I'm writing this. The car should be placed on the trailer in a location that does give it a slight weight forward bias. I know there's a certain figure or chart to determine what the tongue weight should be and I wasn't able to find it. The weight of your miata is pretty low and the combined weight of the trailer and car will be well below your max so a tongue weight of 500 to 750 pounds with the car either centered over the trailers axles or with a slight forward bias is what you can expect. (Like I said... I'm not the towing guru but I've done once or twice).



I hope this helps and I also hope a few others will chime in here with their expertise to help you out. Good luck!

 

[JayWm]

I am by no means a towing guru so I'm sure some more experienced hands will chime in on this as well.



It's been my experience that using the factory shipping points, attachements and/or hooks should always be utilized if possible. They were engineered into those spots for a reason and you'll be hard pressed to find a better point to tie onto the frame or undercarriage. Crossing the tie down chains/straps does have it's advantages though I can't seem to recall why while I'm writing this. The car should be placed on the trailer in a location that does give it a slight weight forward bias. I know there's a certain figure or chart to determine what the tongue weight should be and I wasn't able to find it. The weight of your miata is pretty low and the combined weight of the trailer and car will be well below your max so a tongue weight of 500 to 750 pounds with the car either centered over the trailers axles or with a slight forward bias is what you can expect. (Like I said... I'm not the towing guru but I've done once or twice).



I hope this helps and I also hope a few others will chime in here with their expertise to help you out. Good luck!

I think MoparBob said it pretty well. I haul a corvette in a trailer a lot and I use the factory tie down points. Most guys I race with who haul cross the rear straps and take the fronts straight forward. I don't cross the straps due to the way my trailer is configured, nor do I use blocks/chocks. Tongue weight is critical so the trailer will tow well. If its too light it'll whip. If it whips, move the car forward. That car is light, so getting it balanced won't be hard. I suggest loading up and taking it for a shake down tow to make sure you like the way it tows.



Good luck,

Jay

 

[pwr2tow]

10-15% of weight should be on the hitch. It's really hard to determine what 10-15% is unless your sitting on a scale so just drive the car on the trailer until the truck lowers a few inches. Then take the setup for a test drive before leaving and adjust as needed.

 

[nps]

If you use straps, make sure no part of the fabric is in contact with metal. Over 1000 miles it will rub, wear and then snap.



Make sure you tighten the straps enough to get a good preload on the suspension to take out some of the bounce.

 

[DaveK98]

Also if you use straps don't use the small motorcycle ones make sure they are the large type I think mine are almost 2 inches wide or so... .



I've got a friend who use the motorcycle straps and his van fell off his trailer, no joke... .

 

[Nicki]

Thank You All for the great advice. Feeling alot better about the trailering!

I just need to hunt down 4 good tie downs now.

Nicki

 

[JKinney]

When you shop for the straps get the 10,000 lb min. I have had good luck buying them on ebay but other mail order sites have them.

 

[Sojourner]

It's always a good idea to stop and check all your tie-downs for any loosening after you've driven a few miles, especially with an arrangement you have no previous experience with.