Securing a Vehicle to a Trailer

Thought those where wheel straps, nope, just a single strap around a wheel. With the vehicles both having real frames, no need for this. Chain em tight!

 

What's also interesting is the local wrecker drivers, use one chain to the rear, and the V chain on the front hooked to the opposite side... and that's it.
When the guy towed my car in Arizona ( 34 miles, not that far), he used the double chain on both the front and back, and the tire straps on all 4 tires.

Kinda was hoping it would fall off the wrecker, but no suck luck. Don't ya just hate it when your vehicle dies in the middle of BFE, Az? sigh....

mary

 

And here's the crazy thing according to the load securement regulations in the book this load is secured legally. 4 points of tiedown is all that is required. I do understand where you're coming from though driver. I don't have car hauler chains but it's 4 chains minimum and I agree suck the frame down to take the lateral movement out of the car. I have hauled cars the lazy way before on my gooseneck with only 2 chains. 1 over the rear diff, 1 running between the a arms on the front suspension. Never left the city though and it was only a 5 mile trip. Never moved an inch. Hauled a 40 chevy to south Carolina the same way as well never moved an inch although the 40 sat pretty low and had a low center of gravity not much pitch an roll and the tires we flat. Hell of stiff suspension too.

The issue is a lot of people don't like chains on cars for whatever reason. A lot of people are pushing for wheel nets instead of hooking to the frame because hooks are being ripped out and damaging frames. I have seen what happens when strapping cars and light trucks it's not a pretty sight. I personally will never strap a car. I have seen many ways of strapping or securing vehicles some work others don't it's funny what people come up with. However if you read the regs sadly he has this secured legal enough for DOT. Just have to shake our heads and wonder who comes up with this crap. Hell you can watch a video on securement and even they tell you to do it wrong with axle straps and crap like that. None of it solves the movement and taking play out of the suspension when the securement manufacturer's tell people the wrong way to do things what can you do?

 

On the bright side, he could've been using a reefer or dry van.

 

Ive saw a guy haul with just left front and right rear strapped. not even all 4. Each had a 2 inch wrapped around.

 

There is nothing wrong with the securement on either of those vehicles, perfectly legal and safe. Most car haulers aren't using chains anymore, they are using straps over the tires.

 

I tend to agree and I have hauled hundreds of cars on step decks.
As long as there is something stopping the strap from slipping off the tire its okay.
On the one through the rims as long as there is protection for the strap to rim contact.
Chains on light vehicles like this cant be pulled tight enough with out damaging the vehicle to be effective.
Straps over wheels leaving the suspension supple works well.
Even on class 8 trucks I like to leave the frame and just chain axles putting down force from the axles down.
On off road equipment that is top heavy obviously the frame has to be rigid with the trailer.
Cars are designed to handle the road bumps and turns with out flying off.
As long as you are holding the wheels in place the rest of the car will go nowhere.

 

Nothing illegal about this.. Perfectly fine way to strap... Like mentioned before car haulers mostly use tire netting straps now and days... That's all I mostly see around here in my area is tire straps or netting... One strap/tire, although on car haulers the strap is is going right over the tire (front to back) which I like better then the pictures you have because what if the stap came loose it would be able to just slide right off the tire onto the trailer.. But still it's legal... Tire netting is nice cause it actually covers the whole tire..

Chains are no good on cars now and days... It will wreck them besides by strapping the tires down you allow the suspension to do what it was designed to do... When you strap down the suspension on a car, you are compression the shocks/struts beyond what they are suppose to compress to... I don't like it and I don't think it's really good for the suspension.. A short haul is a different story Like I did it on my motorbike when I strapped it down to get it to a mechanics shop.. I only went 6 miles..

Here is a good flatbed tire tiedown system


Here is the way car haulers do it around here now

 

throw a strap over the roof and roll.