Towing a car

[davenjeip]

Ok, might be a dumb question, but I'd rather not risk anything by trying to pretend that I'm smart.:lol:

Might be trailering my buddies Nissan Sentra later this week, since it's not legal to drive on the road, and trailering a '64 Malibu next month.

Used to solid axle vehicles, where I can just strap to the axles. Towed an IFS rig once, and we just strapped to the lower control arms in the front, but I didn't feel good about it.

So, what do I strap to on a non-solid axle vehicle, without risking it coming loose or damaging the vehicle?

[frosty]

The wheels. Either over the wheel or through the wheel. Give me a minute to find some pics but you might have seen it on car haulers on the highway.

Didnt find any pics but google tire bonnet and it'll give you an idea. I just made a loop out of my regular straps and fit it over the top of the tire and strapped it down that way. Very similar to the tire bonnet but without the middle strap directly over the top of the tire.

I have also strapped through the wheel if the spokes or holes are big enough to fit a strap through. When going this route I try to make the anchor point as close to directly in front of or behind the wheel to minimize the pull on the wheel at an angle. I did not bother criss crossing the straps and have hauled a few cars this way without any issues or movement on the trailer.

[davenjeip]

Neither of the cars have holes big enough in the wheels to fit a strap through.

Does that mean I need to buy some of the ones that go over the wheels? If I didn't explain that well, what I'm picturing in my mind are the ones made of multiple straps that sorta-kinda act like a net, catching the top of the tire.

[frosty]

You can make one that works well enough from your normal straps. Make a loop big enough to fit over the top of the tire and about 1/4 of the way down but not slip off when you tighten the straps.

[eric]

You can go to the tow points off the the subframes/unibodys, thats all most the tow companys do. Or buy the tire straps the go over the top of the tire.

[b4wscrambler]

You could also use the lower control arms. That will work fine on the 64, should be fine on the other car also.