Need Help On Towing Viper

[ACRSNK]

Very close to getting my dream car and just need to iron out a couple last details. I plan on purchasing a Viper next week and was wondering if any of you seasoned vets can give me some advice on towing it (its a 97 GTS). Can I get this thing onto a trailer with ease, or will I have my work cut out for me? The most difficult car I have ever loaded to date was my 2000 Cobra R. I actually had to make some ramps and it took almost 2 hours to load, as I did it with the splitter in tact, but it wasn't damaged and that is the important thing.

Any advice or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[InjectTheVenom]

Jimmy and I practiced on loading his gen 1 R/T on the trailer day before yesterday and yes you will be using some long ramps plus tilting the jack at the front all the way up with a block of wood underneath the jack plate. One all that was in place the car got on without touching or scraping.

 

[Kala]

Is the car lowered? or stock height? What trailer make?

Stock height, you should be ok... I have a haulmark... When I had a Gen I, I always tried to get the ramp at a better angle or used some wood planks to avoid rubbing before mid ramp.

 

[Mopar Boy]

A few suggestions:

I gather an open trailer as you said load on not in...

1 - LONG ramps
2 - Drive back tires of tow vehicle onto wide blocks to help lower back end of trailer. Make sure tow vehicle cant fall or shift off of the blocks.
3 - Try to put a skirt or something behind tow vehicle wheels so as to not have stones hit the car.
Make sure you strap the car down well. You will find two hook on places in the rear frame around rear diff area and two behind front tires on frame. These two are hard to see. without removing tire, but they are back there.

4 - TAKE YOUR TIME!!

Other than that, it will be no different than the R.

Congrats on the car! Be sure to post some pics!

 

[Dan Aseere]

Tow my 97 all over the country...will be towing to VOI. Give me a call 513 477 2314 and I can give you some time saving and safty tips..

 

[2snakes4us]

A few suggestions:
I . You will find two hook on places in the rear frame around rear diff area and two behind front tires on frame. These two are hard to see. without removing tire, but they are back there.
QUOTE]

ONLY HOOK INTO ROUND HOLES IN FRAME>>> EASY TOO SEE 2 in front...2 in rear. you can see from rear and front of car lying down. they are on the side of frame.

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[vancouver-gts]

I use my friend's open trailer for towing. The Mustang is lowered and has less ground clearence [ 3 1/2" ]than the standard height Viper ,no problem loading. You need a long ramp with shallow angle and jack up the tongue .

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[RTTTTed]

Take some 2 x 6"s for loading. Find a 'dip' for parking the trailer wheels lower .

 

[past ohio]

Vancouver....curious if this set up you show works good at 65 MPH on the road ??? Looks to me (can't be 100% sure) that you have the mustang a little further forward than necessary, which puts too much tongue weight and you can develop sway going down the interstate ( your tow vehicle looks like it is really squatting, and I think Lincolns have load leveling as well ??!!)...plus you don't have equalizer bars nor a sway bar set up ( that I can see) like driving without pants, I wouldn't leave on any towing event without all bars and sway controls !! My $.02 but sometimes when a big truck passes and just then you get a wind gust, the next thing you see in the rearview mirror is a trailer trying to pass you on the left or right !!

 

[vancouver-gts]

I can have 700 lbs tongue weight and 9000lbs trailer weight with my Navigator .
I tow my 8300 boat trailer combo . Have draw bars too [ WD hitch] when towing in the mountains

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Ps; the 03 Navigator has airbags for levelling.Also there's a switch to turn the levelling off as it is in the picture towing the Mustang ! There's no sway at all towing the Mustang even without the sway bars !I've been trailering for over 40 yrs and never taken chances .

 

[97snk]

All you need is some ramps and a uhaul...here's a video of how to...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHMNZrdh6f4[/media]

 

[SquadX]

Get yourself some 2x4s (wood) and you will be fine.

 

[Jack B]

Vancouver....curious if this set up you show works good at 65 MPH on the road ??? Looks to me (can't be 100% sure) that you have the mustang a little further forward than necessary, which puts too much tongue weight and you can develop sway going down the interstate ( your tow vehicle looks like it is really squatting, and I think Lincolns have load leveling as well ??!!)...plus you don't have equalizer bars nor a sway bar set up ( that I can see) like driving without pants, I wouldn't leave on any towing event without all bars and sway controls !! My $.02 but sometimes when a big truck passes and just then you get a wind gust, the next thing you see in the rearview mirror is a trailer trying to pass you on the left or right !!

+1
in addition, the viper has more body to the front of the tires than the mustang. The trailer in the picture is also a perfect low car trailer, it has a low frame plus has a long ****** tail. If you go to a trailer rental place and get a standard car hauler it is going to be difficult to guarantee you can get the viper on the trailer without doing damage.

Keep in mind you will have two low spots to contend with. One on the ramps and one on the ****** tail. If the trailer does not have a ****** tail I would go to the next rental. As was suggested, cut up a bunch of 24" 2X6 boards. I would also cut a 45 miter into one side of the boards,

 

[vancouver-gts]

My friend has a Ron Fellows race Camaro that he's using this trailer for .It has even less ground clearence with no problem loading it .The trailer and Mustang weighs less than 5500 lbs. Sway bars for the Navigator only needed over 6500 lbs.This subject also has been beaten to death on the boating sites I frequent
Most states or provinces in Canada towing speed limits are set at 55 mph . Lot of people boasting towing at speeds of 65-75
I don't .

Ps; the Mustang vert weighs about 3500 , Viper 3450 !

 

[ACRSNK]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Some good tips! Just an FYI...I will be using an open, not enclosed trailer and was thinking about getting one from UHaul, same as I did with my 00 Cobra R.

 

[RTTTTed]

I bought an enclosed trailer because my GTS wouldn't fit on my open car trailer. The size was exactly the width between the wheel wells. Drove GTS onto trailer and gave 1/2" clearance on D side. Passenger side touched the fenerwell and scratched my side sill about 1 1/2". If you don't have a LOT of clearance bewteen the trailer and you car ... Swaying and bumps will dent your sidesills.

Better make sure that the trailer is wide enough for your car. The back of the GTS is much wider than the front.

My enclosed car trailer has lost of clearance and the fenderwells are about 3" per side more clearance.

Ted

 

[Boxer12]

If the ramps aren't long enough, or are too steep, put a 2x4 under the end of the ramp and/or lay your ramp extending planks on top of the ramp. This will keep the front from hitting. Don't leave the car in gear, engage the parking brake, strap her down good on the wheels if you can.

 

[Magnus_]

!!!! VERY IMPORTANT !!!!

ONLY USE R-HOOKS (i think they are R hooks) when hooking into those holes in the frame. Those holes are designed for the R (mabye they are J) type hooks.

These hooks go into those holes, then you hook your ******** to the end of the R hook.

If you simply hook in normal type tow straps into those holes you will bend that metal. Then, when you eventually get the proper R hooks, they will be very hard to use.

If you don't have those R hooks, hook it around something else until you get them.

 

[Magnus_]

Towing Hardware - Forged Mini R-Hook

Thats what they look like. Not sure what that mini link is that they are talking about but I use those hooks in my car and tow a lot.

 

[93VIPERBOY]

I purchased the hooks at AWDirect. I also use wheel straps on long tows as well as frame tiedowns. Cris cross across rear. My car would slide slightly sideways and on my trailer I have very LITTLE clearance on sills.

 

[1TONY1]

!!!! VERY IMPORTANT !!!!

ONLY USE R-HOOKS (i think they are R hooks) when hooking into those holes in the frame. Those holes are designed for the R (mabye they are J) type hooks.

These hooks go into those holes, then you hook your ******** to the end of the R hook.

If you simply hook in normal type tow straps into those holes you will bend that metal. Then, when you eventually get the proper R hooks, they will be very hard to use.

If you don't have those R hooks, hook it around something else until you get them.

Would it be T-hooks instead of "R" ?? The R doesn't look right to me.
Towing Frame Hooks | Truck n Tow.com

 

[Jack B]

My friend has a Ron Fellows race Camaro that he's using this trailer for .It has even less ground clearence with no problem loading it .The trailer and Mustang weighs less than 5500 lbs. Sway bars for the Navigator only needed over 6500 lbs.This subject also has been beaten to death on the boating sites I frequent
Most states or provinces in Canada towing speed limits are set at 55 mph . Lot of people boasting towing at speeds of 65-75
I don't .

Ps; the Mustang vert weighs about 3500 , Viper 3450 !

This is not debatable, if you load the trailer incorrectly it will sway. I have a similar trailer to the one you posted, if the tongue weight is not in the 10-15% range it will cause a resonant sway. A sway bar disrupts the resonant condition by adding negative energy to the equation, therefore breaking the resonant cycle.

I trailer our car quite often and there is no issue now because the car is set in one place by permanent wheel chocks in the front. When I first set up the trailer threr was a wide range where it would sway. I ended up getting a tongue scale from a RV store. This assures you have the correct tongue weight the first time. Many of us will carry significantly different weight depending on how far we are trailering or what type of racing we are participating in. In some cases you have to adjust the cars position due to carrying added weight in either the car or trailer.

I do not see what a sway bar has to do with weight, is it possible you are confusing a sway bar with the draw bars on a load leveling hitch.

 

[past ohio]

I use the equalizer bars, AND I have a sway bar that helps take any swaying out....they work !

 

[vpower01]

All you need is some ramps and a uhaul...here's a video of how to...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHMNZrdh6f4[/media]

Oh my god that was the best!
Thank you sir.

 

[ACRSNK]

All you need is some ramps and a uhaul...here's a video of how to...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHMNZrdh6f4[/media]

O man!!!!!...I hope that's not how it goes down.

 

[past ohio]

" Towing capacity increased slightly over the previous model year to 8,600 lb (3,900 kg) in two-wheel drive models and 8,300 lb (3,800 kg) in four-wheel drive models" from the Ford manual for Navigator.....I AM NOT getting into a war of words with you, just that when towing you have a lot of forces that will work for you as well as work against you ! I once had a friend that bought the Hummer II and he bragged that the towing was 9000 lbs....he tried towing a 28' enclosed trailer on some hilly country, and I thought several times he was going to totally lose it in trucks passing him, plus he spent almost the total time out of high gears...I once had a Jeep that says it tows 8000 + but the wheel base and placement to the hitch is so short, the jeep was hard to keep straight...IF you drive in the US, and towing you usually have to maintain 65 or get blown off the roads....just my $.02....good luck !

 

[Magnus_]

Tony, they are definitely the R hooks, 100%.

Also, the link you posted shows the R hooks without the little loop on attached, like these:
Towing Hardware - Forged Mini R-Hook

That dangling loop makes it a lot easier to hook your straps into.

I tow my car to the track almost every other weekend.

 

[Jack B]

Tony, they are definitely the R hooks, 100%.

Also, the link you posted shows the R hooks without the little loop on attached, like these:
Towing Hardware - Forged Mini R-Hook

That dangling loop makes it a lot easier to hook your straps into.

I tow my car to the track almost every other weekend.

I have been using the T-hooks for almost ten years on two different viper, they have worked flawlessly