Tie downs for trailering
 

Hey now!

I've got a dual axle trailer with e-brakes for trailering my Miata cross country. My question:

What load tie downs do I need to safely secure the Miata to the trailer? Any suggested brands or places I should purchase from?

Thanks for your guidance!
Jim

I don't know but a guy I work with recently tied-down his Harley in the back of his truck with bunjie straps. After a few miles through the mountains in AR he had to call and make an insurance claim because the motorcycle was at the bottom of the mountain.

When I get a trailer (never at this rate) I will run straight chains at the pack pulled-snug with a winch, then use standard ratchet tie downs at the front, crossed. I like chains at the back because if I were to rear-end something, hopefully it would keep the track car from killing/crushing me in the front.

I've used the Home Depot 10,000# yellow straps and have no complaints.


http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...&storeId=10051

As much as I like the idea of chains, these look like they might do the job at a reasonable price. 10k breaking strength sounds about right too.

Thanks guys!

Judging only by cosmetics, those look fairly similar to the ratcheting nylon straps which are found on all Penske / Uhaul car dollies. Good enough for J. Random Consumer to haul his SUV across the country with.

I use four of these:
http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...8639_200448639

They may not be rated any higher than the HomeDepot straps, but they feel much higher quality.

In the truck box I also keep a couple of axle straps from Summit, 2 lengths of the largest galvanized chain that Home Depot carries (3/8" I think), and a few clevis hooks. I generally only use the chain when I use the winch. It helps to pull the car up straight as you generally don't have a winch point dead center of the car.

i use something similar to above with something similar to this around the axles:

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardw...&storeId=10051

Around the axles or the A-arms?

I'm not actually sure what the weight rating is on the straps I have -- I bought them at the trailer shop when I bought the trailer.

I use axle straps through the front wheels with the straps pointing straight, and crossed straps to the factory rear tiedowns in back.

--Ian

opps my use of the english language nosogood. on fronts i usually put strap under steering arm and loop around forward leg of the A. rear leg of the A on the back.

over the tires or through the wheels...

I bought 4 G-Force racing tie-down straps (with the spring loaded locking hasps so they don't come un-done) with axle straps, that I use through the wheels.

http://www.gforce.com/products/towing.php

Is it safe to use the towing eyes on the Miata, or are you better off with axle straps?

"Tie Down" eyes on the Miata are very strong. I use them instead of wheel straps or other areas under the car except for the ppf. You can crank down on them a lot harder than I would want to pull on the wheels at an angle(could mess with alignment)

Cool. Thanks Olderguy!

The stock tow hooks are indeed strong, and it seems like you can crank down harder on them, but maybe that is because you are actually compressing the Miata's suspension as you tighten the straps?

I prefer to tie the car down using pickup points on the wheel-end of the shock/spring. That takes the Miata's suspension out of the equation. Front straps go through the front wheels and then straight to D-hooks on the trailer. Rear straps go around the bottom rear control arms near the subframe, get crossed, and then to D-hooks on the trailer.

The HomeDepot yellow straps will work just fine. I used 'em for years.

That said, I really like the Mac's tie-downs with integral axle strap:

http://www.macscustomtiedowns.com/category/TieDowns

Great quality, pick your own color, pick your own length, "direct-hook" option to really shorten the buckle side of the strap, and awesome customer service.

All-in price is on par with the HD yellow straps plus axle straps. Of course I paid shipping but didn't pay tax. The quality of the straps (2" is much nicer than the generic HD was; more pliable, yet very strudy).

My trailer box was broken into and looted about a month after I purchased my straps from Mac's. I called them to re-order and mentioned the reason why I was re-ordering so soon. They took pity and totally hooked me up with a deal and on top of that threw in one of their organizer/carrying bags "so you can leave your straps in your trunk instead of the trailer box next time".

Great products, fair price, A+++++++ customer service.

+1 on Mac's