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PostPosted: April 15, 2015, 12:31 pm 
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CHUCK

Ok been thinking about a tie down solution.
How about an aluminum or steel device for each wheel that prevents side to side movement. This could be a removable bolt down from the top fixture (with an under the floor welded nut plate) The front set could chock forward and side movement on the front tires and include both strap attach points using a quick truck cam lock strap. This would be fast and sufficient to keep the front tires in the fixture. The rear fixture could chock all movement except the vertical. Now how to hold the REAR tires from bouncing out of place.
I thought about using an e track assembly for the back tires but by the time you run the strap thru the loop over the tire and clip it down in front, you still have to deal with a strap ratchet. These things make me crazy. A low profile truck tie down winch behind the rear tire ( like JDs friend) might work perfectly. You could drive over it and it would serve as the rear portion of the chock.... So the rear assembly would consist of an e track with a removable LOW PROFILE bolt down winch behind the tire( with an under the floor nut plate ) . To secure the tire, clip an e track strap into the track in front of the tire ....pull the strap over the tire and feed it into the winch.......winch it down with a handle.........or buy a $35 HF electric winch and a bit of engineering to tighten both rear straps simultaneously electrically . The rear chock fixture may even be redundant.

Can you think of an improvement......I have all the parts located.....$98. Still have to build the three sided chocks to fit my tires.

Gale

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PostPosted: April 15, 2015, 12:51 pm 
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Since it doesn't have to be strong enough to hold the car suspended in air. ...
What if you made a flat plate that attached using the same bolts as the shock LCA mount that has a hole in it for a ratchet strap to hook up to?
You could leave the plate in place, it wouldn't add much to the unsprung weight.

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PostPosted: April 16, 2015, 12:55 am 
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Oldejack

I thought of welding a loop under the lower shock mount close to the bottom of the king pin but this car has no scrub and wide tires so the floor mount point would be under the center of the tire. I gave up on that idea.
Gale

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PostPosted: April 16, 2015, 7:26 pm 
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Gale.

I have not forgotten you. I think you plan for the front is OK. Personally, I don't like the over-the-tire strapping. If you mount the trucker's winch (AKA JD's style) on the rearward face of the rear frame, it is clear to drive over with no bumps and no bolting it on to the track after the car is up on the trailer. Just a thought. you can skip the track altogether with a flush D-ring in front of the rear tire and a custom made rod (5/8" OD?) bolted to the floor with a small gap off the floor. The strap could come down from the tire, thru the rod-floor gap, and rearward to the JD style winch. Then you just have to drive over the rod, not too difficult.

You could do the same treatment on the front tires.

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PostPosted: April 16, 2015, 7:39 pm 
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Well the trailer is wired and the floors are in place and secured. I still have a few things to figure out like the hold downs, fenders and hinged license plate. I bought some real nice used ratchet straps on eBay. 4 sets used only once. 27 ft straps for $32 delivered. I just had to try them. Before I could resolve my method of tie downs, I just had to put the car up to see how it sits. Then I could move forward with the plans for the tiedowns.

My wife was watching in case the thing fell on me somehow and to see how much bending occurred on the HF ramps. I can't be driving it up and watching underneath at the same time. My luck- the ramps didn't bow too much. And the car didn't fall down off the trailer either. It has about 1" clearance as it clears the transition off the beavertail onto the flat with me driving it up. SUCCESS!

Oh, I painted the coupler safety yellow so I will see it as I walk around and don't run into it. I also painted the wheel the same color.


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PostPosted: April 16, 2015, 7:49 pm 
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Nice work, that does look real good.

Graham


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PostPosted: April 16, 2015, 9:00 pm 
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FastG wrote:
Nice work, that does look real good.

Yep, like he said! Looks good sitting there.

A friend of mine had some square U-bolts (that make sense?) attached to the bed of his trailer. Like these-
http://www.etrailer.com/Boat-Trailer-Parts/Redline/381344UB.html
Any-hoo, they had enough "slack" in the nuts underneath that they could move up about a half-inch above floor of the trailer. Like you suggested, he hooked a strap over the rear of the trailer, ran the "plain" end of a tie down under one U bolt, over the rear tire and down to another U bolt. Then it went forward to a ratchet hooked on a D-ring. Tighten the ratchet, you're done.

Kinda slick... YMMV...
:cheers:
JD

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PostPosted: April 17, 2015, 2:43 pm 
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Thanks guys.

That square u-bolt (an oxymoron, no?) looks like the right thing to use.

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PostPosted: May 2, 2015, 8:31 pm 
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Latest update: I decided to use loop straps thru the wheels. As such, the straps that came with my ratchets would not work. Too bad but no real loss. So a bit later, I have the new ones. That let me mount the ratchets it the proper location. I chose to place it in line with the center of the wheels. This gives me future capability to drape the straps over the tires and thru those square u-bolts like we last talked instead of thru the wheels .

In order to fit a short Locost on a short trailer, I had to get rid of the ~18 inch straps mounted to the ratchet handles. The front ratchets are now hitch-pinned to brackets welded to the trailer frame. The rears are bolted to tubes that are hitch-pinned to the frame. This allows for quick removal and to have the tires roll over the rear and on to the ramps without interference.

It turned out that one of the now-surplus 27 ft straps fit perfectly on to the winch, so that is what I did. This will come in handy if I cannot drive the car up onto the trailer under it's own power. I hope that will never be needed! I also screwed 2 wheel stops to the trailer bed to prevent me from driving too far onto the trailer. :oops:

The HF ramps have now found a home on the trailer. They slide into place at the front and are supported and retained at the rear by a hinged frame and a couple of tee-bolts. This design took a few revisions to get it to my liking. This hinged frame also holds the license plate. In the down position, the car easily clears everything on and off the trailer. The process is load the car with this in the down position. Then slide the ramps forward into their front retainers, swing the frame up, install and tighten the 2 tee-bolts. Then I can ratchet strap the car onto the trailer. Violla! Ready for towing.

All that is left now is to build the fenders and wire up the brake controller to the Jimmy.
Attachment:
trailer front ratchet.JPG
Attachment:
trailer tongue.JPG
Attachment:
trailer rear down.JPG
Attachment:
trailer rear up.JPG


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PostPosted: May 2, 2015, 8:42 pm 
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Looks pretty slick, Chuck! Nice work!

:cheers:
JDK

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PostPosted: May 2, 2015, 9:44 pm 
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Nice Chuck. I did not like the width of my H/F ramps so I bolted two together. A lot more comforting to know I won't fall off. You also might pad those front corners because I see a bruised knee coming big time. Can hardly wait til the gathering to see it, Russ

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PostPosted: May 2, 2015, 9:47 pm 
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Oh also you might put some pins (bolts) in the top of the ramps to keep them from sliding out when you load (don't ask how I know that). Russ

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PostPosted: May 2, 2015, 10:31 pm 
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Thanks JD and Russ. My hope is that this effort is not all in vein. My net-28 dollar donor has now become ~ $1k. I stopped counting just in case you-know-who reads my files or looks at the bills. Actually, SWMBO is in full support. She often has told me why didn't you just go out and buy a new trailer. "Now where is the fun in that" I ask.

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You also might pad those front corners because I see a bruised knee coming big time.
Mannnn! That is the exact reason why I painted the tongue bright Yellow. I think I'll see how close I come a few times before I do some padding. Maybe I could invent (and wear) towing shin guards. Coming soon to your local trailer center.

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Oh also you might put some pins (bolts) in the top of the ramps to keep them from sliding out when you load (don't ask how I know that). Russ
Already done Russ. They are welded to the ramps so they will not get misplaced, like the infamous hide-a-Sharpies do. In full disclosure, I did drive up and down without the pins, once. But always planned on having the pins.

Russ, Are you going to be ready to drive yours at the Gathering?

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

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And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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PostPosted: May 2, 2015, 10:41 pm 
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Car is running and driving but having some carb issues. They should be worked out soon. Russ

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PostPosted: May 13, 2015, 7:29 pm 
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As of tonight, the brake controller is installed and works. Hurray! Took the empty trailer for a drive around the neighborhood and can adjust the controller to the point of locking or not locking the wheels. Plenty of output left to have the brakes work harder when it is loaded.

The mold for the fenders is done. In a day or so, I'll be a-makin' fenders! 2 weeks till the Gathering. I'm not cutting it too close, am I? I always need a deadline.

If I find a few hours extra, I have a mini spare that I will mount. Otherwise it will be in the tow vehicle. The mini spare fits well and is about 1/2" larger dia than my trailer tires and is rated higher load too. So if it needs to be used, it won't be overloaded. Still have to drive slower, but it is better than being stranded on the side of the road.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766


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