trailering my Viper, tie downs?

[MKB96Viper]

Good Afternoon,
Where should I attach the straps to tie my Viper down? My trailer is solid with tie down rings. Suggestions?? I am trailering to Bradenton.

Thanks,
Keith

 

[Simms]

I tied to the a-arms. I crossed the straps in the front and left the rears straight.

 

[Janni]

There are specific trailering holes in the frame of the Viper that utilize R hooks. that's how your car was designed to be tied down - that's how it comes from the factory. I do not recommend using the suspension to tie the car down as you don't compress the shocks and you put undue stress on the a arms as the car wobbles around.

pick up some R hooks at www.awdirect.com (I think the part number is cc-1) and use standard straps with hook clips at the end. Ratchet down and compress the suspension.

Tens of thousands of trailering miles with multiple Vipers this way.....

 

[Viper Wizard]

Hi Keith,
On your frame rails, on the outboard side, just in front of your front wheels and just rear of your rear wheels you'll see oval holes 1" X 2" with an extra plate welded around them. Those are you hooking points for you tie-down straps. Put your hooks through them and cross tie your Viper. That's how I do mine. Stay clear of your control arms. Hope this helps?


[You guys type faster then me!]

 

[MKB96Viper]

Thanks guys!! See you Sunday!

 

[Simms]

Nice to know I completely tied my car down wrong!
Atleast I only trailered it once and it didn't move at all. Next time I will look for the holes!

 

[Toby]

Nice to know I completely tied my car down wrong!
Atleast I only trailered it once and it didn't move at all. Next time I will look for the holes!

thats it...return my GTS...NOW!

 

[Simms]

Nice to know I completely tied my car down wrong!
Atleast I only trailered it once and it didn't move at all. Next time I will look for the holes!

thats it...return my GTS...NOW!

No way! You can't be a hog and have two GTS's.

 

[Gus Strakes]

What Janni and Chuck said is the way to go. In addition, I have found connecting the front straight, and crossing the rear will make it easier to disconnect the ratchet straps. I use the 10,000lb rated straps, and when I cross the front, sometimes (with our low front ends) I have trouble disengaging the Ratchet, because the front facia gets in the way of opening the ratchet fully. Not so when connecting straight.

 

[Viper Wizard]

What Janni and Chuck said is the way to go. In addition, I have found connecting the front straight, and crossing the rear will make it easier to disconnect the ratchet straps. I use the 10,000lb rated straps, and when I cross the front, sometimes (with our low front ends) I have trouble disengaging the Ratchet, because the front facia gets in the way of opening the ratchet fully. Not so when connecting straight.

Hi Gus,
How about running your straps the other way, put the ratchets near your eyelets on the trailer. That way you can cross tie both ends. When I tie mine down in the front, before I pull the straps tight I lay a packing blanket on top of the straps so the straps don't rub the front fascia.

 

[RavenFan_94]

All hail the wizard. Be sure to do it right if it is going to be up there for awhile. My car was shipped across the country and was tied incorrectly. Bent the rear of the frame. No major damage, but could have been avoided.

 

[V10 MOJO]

either the slots specifically made for it or just loop around a frames, either works just fine

 

[Russ M]

The wheels.

Wrap the straps through the wheels and cross them if you cant get at the frame.

The factory hooks are worthless since there is no way to actualy attach to them in an enclosed trailer.

 

[Janni]

The wheels.

Wrap the straps through the wheels and cross them if you cant get at the frame.

The factory hooks are worthless since there is no way to actualy attach to them in an enclosed trailer.

Please explain what the heck I have been doing for the past 6 years and what every other Viper Days participant does?

You buy the "R" hook, place "R" hook in factory frame holes, attach standard hooked tie strap to "R" hook on one end and trailer tie down "D" ring or similar.

We've set up a few enclosed trailers and noone has ever accused us of doing the impossible.

 

[J DAWG]

are these the "r" hooks?

 

[Snake Bitten]

are these the "r" hooks?

That would be them....

 

[Gavin]

I'm with Janni - Find a trailer dealer in your area that sells Sloan trailers - these trailers were built with the Viper in mind - they will have the chassis hooks

R hook has a T end that slots into the Chassis
Strap hook then hooks on to the chassis hook
Run the front straps straight and cross the rear straps
I use a Sloan tilt trailer and have had both my Vipers on it tied down in this manner - have hit some awsome bumps and never had either car move

WARNING - HAND BRAKE ON - CAR OUT OF GEAR

I always drive about 10 miles then tighten the straps.
I have a winch on the front of the trailer and always leave it hooked to the front toe hook.

luck
Gavin

 

[J DAWG]

I believe I normally leave my car in gear, but you are saying to leave it in neutral with the e-brake on?

 

[Janni]

I would take your car out of gear as you do stress the tranny when you crank down the tie downs - for example, I have seen it very difficult to get a car out of gear when tied down as this is cranking pressure onto the gears / tranny.

 

[J DAWG]

thanx

 

[V10 MOJO]

never leave it in gear, no play. ebrake at best. cars got to have some play in it

 

[Gus Strakes]

Chuck - Thanks for the tips, especially on the packing blanket. I'll give it a try next time.

Gavin - What kind of winch do you have, and what is it rated (e.g. 6000lb pulling weight)? I'm looking for a 12V winch, and am not sure what to get. I've seen them from $50 up to several hundred. I only want it in case of an emergency (break down at the track), and hope that I will never use it. I guess I would want one that connects to the battery with alligator clips because I want the winch to be removable as the trailer sits out in the weather. Thanks for any info you can provide.

 

[Jay Lopez]

Chuck - Thanks for the tips, especially on the packing blanket. I'll give it a try next time.

Gavin - What kind of winch do you have, and what is it rated (e.g. 6000lb pulling weight)? I'm looking for a 12V winch, and am not sure what to get. I've seen them from $50 up to several hundred. I only want it in case of an emergency (break down at the track), and hope that I will never use it. I guess I would want one that connects to the battery with alligator clips because I want the winch to be removable as the trailer sits out in the weather. Thanks for any info you can provide.

I have a Warn winch mounted to my trailer floor. It is a model similar to this one http://www.gowarn.com/m6000-winch.asp .

I had mine mounted to the floor, off-center in the trailer. I had backing plates made of steel to really anchor it well. I had it mounted off center on purpose to line up with the tow hooks I mounted on the front and rear of the car (from Archer Racing). I wired up the winch to run off of it's own deep cycle battery. I use the winch when loading/unloading the car from my enclosed trailer. I also painted stripes in the floor that are lined up with the tires, so it helps me load the car straight in by myself.