Tie Downs for a BJ8

[Patrick67BJ8]

I'm going to improve the way I tie down my BJ8 in my trailer and looking at available front Tie Downs and a few suppliers have them and they all look pretty much the same bolting to the inside frame rails.

I have found the factory style rear tie Downs that are easy to install with the removal of one nut on the rear spring shackle. Another kind I heard about and found one source for is the kind that mounts to the rear spring plate.

Anyone have experiences with either setup they want to share?
Thanks

 

[Healey Nut]

Get four nylon lifting slings available from good suppliers and loop them over the frame rails or axles etc wherever is strong enough then put the hook of your ratchet tie down in the loops of the sling and tie er down .
The slings wont mark the paint and no tools needed .

 

[Healey Nut]

And why the **** are you trailering it ???? Drive it like you stole it , no trailer queens allowed !!

 

[vette]

Hi Patrick, as we have discussed in this previous thread, https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?107318-Trailering-A-Healey, after the discussion and some experimentation, i believe the E-track is the best way to go. If you buy enough length of it the car can easily be adjusted fore and aft for weight distribution on the trailer. the disadvantage is that if it is bolted to the trailer for the width of the Healey, it will not fit a Chevelle. The advantage of the E-Track is that it allows you to use the nets or bonnets over the tires.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

And why the **** are you trailering it ???? Drive it like you stole it , no trailer queens allowed !!

one airplane crash, three car crashes were i was hit from behind(I can go on), trailering is not my preferred way of driving my Healey, but my "back" demands it.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Get four nylon lifting slings available from good suppliers and loop them over the frame rails or axles etc wherever is strong enough then put the hook of your ratchet tie down in the loops of the sling and tie er down .
The slings wont mark the paint and no tools needed .

I've had problems with the straps getting stuck on the rear suspension where I've had to jack the car up, remove the wheel, fight to remove the strap, etc. I want an easier secure way to tie down my Healey as well as untie it plus I just don't bend in the middle like I used to.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Hi Patrick, as we have discussed in this previous thread, https://www.britishcarforum.com/bcf/showthread.php?107318-Trailering-A-Healey, after the discussion and some experimentation, i believe the E-track is the best way to go. If you buy enough length of it the car can easily be adjusted fore and aft for weight distribution on the trailer. the disadvantage is that if it is bolted to the trailer for the width of the Healey, it will not fit a Chevelle. The advantage of the E-Track is that it allows you to use the nets or bonnets over the tires.

I liked the E-track idea but I may not always trailer a Healey.

 

[Keoke]

I have no experience trailering.
However , it would seem easy to add standard Tow eyes to the front and use them to anchor those tie dows??

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

I have no experience trailering.
However , it would seem easy to add standard Tow eyes to the front and use them to anchor those tie downs??

A few sources have the Front Tow Eyes and I'm going for them and also the Rear Shackle mounted Tow Eyes. I am going for the leaf spring mounting plate Tie Downs. I'll see if I can post a photo of it tomorrow.

 

[Michael Oritt]

Patrick--

I suggest that you read the earlier string on this topic referred to above. It is highly preferable to tie the car down by the wheels or axles and let it ride on its suspension. Using eyes mounted to the chassis as tie down points puts the suspension into compression during the towing process and places it under much stress.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Patrick--

I suggest that you read the earlier string on this topic referred to above. It is highly preferable to tie the car down by the wheels or axles and let it ride on its suspension. Using eyes mounted to the chassis as tie down points puts the suspension into compression during the towing process and places it under much stress.

The front tie down is mounted to the frame but the rear tie down is mounted to the leaf spring mounting plate(where it attaches with U bolts to the rear axle). On previous towing trips I strapped the Healey in with ratcheting cargo straps connected to the 4 tie down rings on the floor. Trans in neutral and hand brake on. I guess I have half the car on a suspension ride and the other half on a chassis ride.

 

[Keoke]

Using eyes mounted to the chassis as tie down points puts the suspension into compression during the towing process and places it under much stress.

Yeah that is a good thought .Michael

However:
Just do not cinch it down tight.

Chocks could be used to prevent the car from rolling forward and backward.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

The front tie down is mounted to the frame but the rear tie down is mounted to the leaf spring mounting plate(where it attaches with U bolts to the rear axle). On previous towing trips I strapped the Healey in with ratcheting cargo straps connected to the 4 tie down rings on the floor. Trans in neutral and hand brake on. I guess I have half the car on a suspension ride and the other half on a chassis ride.

Here's a couple of photos of the brackets I'm using for rear Tie Down. They bolt to the spring mounting plate.

 

[DerekJ]

I'm pretty sure we just had this tie down discussion a couple of weeks ago. The best solution is to use the special straps which fit over the wheels.

 

[Michael Oritt]

Derek--

We did in fact talk about this extensively but that never stops us from talking about things again...and again.

I'll add that, in addition to all of the reasons posted earlier that militate against tying down a car by the chassis versus unsprung members such as the axles, the force exerted upon the strong points in the trailer floor should also be considered.

If a tow-eye attached to the car's frame rail is used as the tie-down point, unless the car is cinched down extremely tight so as to put the springs/shocks into full compression any bouncing movement is transmitted to the pad eyes and fasteners. The load will be constantly changing--up/down or in shear--and this will lead to failure of the strong point or the bolts used to secure it onto the trailer floor.

I understand that Healeys are not the easiest cars upon which to use axle straps but this is a safety issue and I don't think it can be overlooked. I have never used a tire bonnet but they obviously work. And I seem to recall seeing a setup where someone had fashioned up securing straps that went over the outside end of the wheel hubs and just inside the knockoff.

 

[vette]

The brackets that Patrick has for the rear spring U bolts are a pretty good way to go for the back of the car. I have a set of those but do have some reservation about installing them. But it seems that each method we talk about to secure the Healey to a trailer has its drawbacks. At this point I have decided to wrap a soft strap around the rear leaf spring just forward of the U bolts.
But I am concerned about the best method to secure the front of the car to the trailer. In leu of E-Tracks I am leaning towards wrapping a soft strap around the lower A arm right at the bottom of the swivel pin trunnion or lower ball joint. Last October I did load the Healey and tied it down with this method for the front and took it on alittle tour for about 45 minutes. I drove mostly 2 lane country roads but it included a good amount of hills and curves. I did not get it out on the Interstate or reach any where near 65 mph. Everything stayed stable and tight and it seemed there was no ill effects. My concern is about what someone had said back in the October discussion, that is that they thought there might be a possibility that pulling on the lower A frame might possibly damage the pick-up points of the suspension and pull the wheels out of alignment. I really don't think that this would happen if you consider the stresses put on the pick-up points during typical driving, but I wonder. Does anyone else have an opinion on this? Thanks.

 

[Michael Oritt]

Vette--

I have never trailered my Healey but have probably towed my three race cars 75K or more miles to and from events. All of them use GT6 front suspensions and I secure them with straps around the A-arms at the point of attachment to the uprights. I have never had any problem with alignment. Similarly I secure the rears with straps on the axle tubes or output shafts as close as possible to the wheels.

 

[vette]

Thanks Michael. That's reassuring.