Trailering Your Ferrari (Photos)

Thought the following might be helpful for future reference to those looking for pointers on trailering their cars (and who know how to use the Search function). Just adding to the general body of knowledge of FChatters

Disclaimer: Although I have trailered a variety of my exotic cars for thousands of miles without mishap using the super secret methods described herein, I suggest that you use your own wisdom when loading/trailering your own cars. Everyone has an opinion about tie down methods. I am not a professional transporter; I am a whimpy desk jockey, who likes to load expensive cars in my trailer an wander aimlessly about. Your experience may vary. Do not try this at home, and don't blame me when you car falls out of your trailer after reading this post etc.

The first photo is of the strapping system I use, in red, of course. Short ratcheting tie downs with hooks, and wheel straps with a super soft velour sleeve. You will need four of these, one for each corner. The straps are Mac's, and they are the best you can buy; ultra well made and top quality materials. Not cheap, but worth it.

The second photo is of the winch. Unless you like to crawl out of the window of your car after driving it into the trailer (unless your trailer has a side access door) this is a must. I don't like to drive ANY car into the trailer; there just isn't enough room for error between the wheel wells. The winch lets you go nice and slow, without burning your clutch up. Dragging the side of your shiny Ferrari against the sharp wheel well structure is a day spoiler, at least for me.

The third photo shows the cable attached to the tow hook on the F430. The tow hook is found in the tool kit, and it threads into the socket on the passenger side nostril. Like a nose ring, and about at attractive. Make sure the car is in Neutral, with the parking brake off. The winch will pull the car forward in first gear with the brake engaged. Your car will not like this. Ask me how I know. I like to leave the driver's side window down so that I can adjust the steering as the car comes up the ramp. On my trailer, it is a close fit, but the nose clears with AT LEAST a nipple hair of clearance. And that's not much. Raise the tongue of the trailer with the jack if you need to eash the angle a bit.

The fourth shows the car coming into the trailer. I use the remote winch controller so that I can monitor the progress. I check each side at least 433 times as the car moves into the trailer. Adjust the wheel as necessary for a perfect balance between the wheel wells. When the car is in position, I like to reach through the window and set the parking brake. Some guys don't like to do this. I do. I like to do things that other people don't do. I am special.

Next, take your baby soft velour jacketed wheel strap and carefully thread one end through the wheel spoke. Join the loose end clips into the the strap hook.

Fasten the other end of the strap and attach to your e-track tie down clips or floor hooks. Ratchet with your ratchets. If you like the ratchety way it sounds, release and ratchet it it again. Us office workers like the sound of ratcheting tie down straps. It makes us feel like truckers. Trucker are tough. They wear gloves. Repeat on all four corners.

This is how it will look when you are done. I like to use a wheel chock behind the rear tire(s) in addition to the straps. I also leave the cable attached to the tow hook with light tension. However, its the rear straps that are going to need to show up for work if there is a problem. Hitting hard objects with the tow vehicle will make said vehicle stop quickly and your Ferrari in the trailer will want to keep going and join you in the cab for a visit. The rear straps will prevent this. The front tie downs are important if you are towing your Ferrari with a top fuel dragster. Or if you plan on being rear ended.

Note: Lots of guys say you MUST cross the rear/front straps to prevent side-to-side movement. I have never done this, because I fear that it tweeks the alignment when you crank on the wheels for the side angle. I have never had a problem on six hundred mile pulls over rough roads. Please read the disclaimer above.

I like to check the straps after a couple hundred miles to make sure all is well. I also like to look at my car in the trailer. It looks like a carefully protected jewel in there, all strapped down and safe. I like jewels.
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How the pros do it
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Excellent post.........I just bought my own trailer for transporting my cars. It's being shipped now from Germany.

These are pictures of a trailer of the same type and make which I purchased and it also comes with a built-in winch.

W. Mitty......can you please post external pictures of your trailer......thanks.
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very nice systems,
not like te Carrera Gt that i saw last time....

 

I remember that one .

 

Very cool!!

 

LOL... It's funny that pros need 2x4s. I'm surprised that they don't use the tow hook either.

 

My photos but not my cars or trailer.
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An F40 coming off
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An F430 going on
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I like the license plate on that trailer.

 

Nice catch on that one! That is a pretty awesome plate!

J

 

Tarek K., as you requested:
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yes nice pics guys,
but here i have a Answer how can that guys that drive in the trailer come out or open the door do they thay inside the car till it arrives.

 

They open the door and get out. It's just a tight fit.

 

Good post. A couple of suggestions, though.

First, keep an eye on between which spokes in the wheels you thread the wheel strap. If, as in you pic, you thread the strap through fairly far back (away from the front where the tie-down ratchet strap is pulling, it has a couple of effects. The good effect is that the wheel strap is kept low to the trailer floor, which will prevent the strap from rubbing against the bottom or sides of the front bumper.

The bad effect is that if you keep the straps nicely taut, whenever you hit a decent sized bump, the 430 will rise and take weight off the wheel - and the tension in the strap will cause the tire to spin, even if only by a fraction of an inch. Tow for long enough though, and the wheel will rotate enough so that the tie down strap will no longer be in tension, and the car will start to roll back and forth. Not good. So, in your pic, you may want to thread the strap forward of that last wheel spoke. You'll want to keep it low on the wheel when you tension it up, but it should still avoid making contact with the front bumper.

Second suggestion - you don't need to cross the front strap, but you will want to cross the rear straps. I have seen a couple of cars "wander" between the wheelwells if the straps are not crossed in the back - enough to scrape wheels, sills, etc. It's good to be concerned about alignment, but the rear is less sensitive - and more importantly, you should not be cranking on the tie down so much that it would cause an alignment issue.

Oh, and lastly, I'm sure you do this but for the record for anyone else - make sure the car is in NEUTRAL. Don't allow the F1 tranny to keep the car in gear. You don't want your motor to be the brake that keeps your car from rolling....

vty,

--Dennis

 

Dennis, very good point about the front wheel rotating in the direction of the strap tension. I've often wondered about this and have kept a sharp eye out for rotation and the accompanying slack that would result. I've never noticed it actually happening. Maybe the suspension is absorbent enough to prevent the weight from coming off of the front tire. Of course, the rear tire is held against such rotation by the parking brake.

Your concern is well founded, and imo, the primary weakness of using wheel straps. Wheel baskets would correct this, but they are a pain in the hiney for other reasons.

I think the best bet is to check your load on a regular basis, especially on rough roads.

 

This is how the yahoo's do it. Carrera GT, but you get the point

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2Ci-4jK4vJA

 

WOW! How bad was the car after that?

 

I have seen if a little movement from vibration or wheel slipping is allowed you could end up with a polished spot on your rim.

 

ever seen the dukes of hazzard?

 

i see all these cars pulled in. when i first got the trailer, it's a 20' pace, i pulled my 308 in and when i got up to 60 mph it started to fishtail uncomfortably. i stopped and backed the car in and all was well. ever since i back in. i then block the tires and tie it down with ratcheting straps crossed side to side.

 

When you pulled the 308 in head first, the weight with the mid-engine layout must have been too far rearward and your tongue weight ended up being too light. Being light like that will lead to fishtailing. IIRC, the weight on the tongue should be approximately 10% of the full up weight of the loaded trailer, so say 500 lbs on a 5,000 lb load.

Sometimes there is enough fore/aft room to achieve the proper tongue weight by positioning the car further forward or back. Other times backing it in is the answer.

John

 

hey there Dennis - Bighead

Great points. Have some other questions. We have a 328 and occassionally trailer for long distances - about 3-4 times per year only. For that few of times, do I really need to get winch? Yes, I do worry about the clutch but I really to not to "ride" the clutch too much and was thinking I could make it without investing in a winch. If anyone thinks I should use a winch what size? strength? 8000 lbs.?

I have crossed the front and rear but AM VERY careful not to make them to tight. I will often just recheck tension "on the trip" and retighten if needed (not to imply that I have them too loose to begin with)

One last question. You or someone mentioned the neutral position. I just pull in, set the ebrake, secure the car then release the ebrake - I heard one is not supposed to have that engaged during the actual transport. I then reengage when I arrive at the destination (so I don't get run over) Any thoughts? Thanks guys for the previous pics and advice.

Michael Brown

 

I was about to highlight this. 8000lbs is waaaaaaay overkill. I have a 9500lbs on my truck and it is a monster, it has pulled all 6000lbs of it through a 8" of muck up 200ft of very steep incline, it only slowed down for a second when I got to a foot tall vertical step. I ripped the bumper (on which it stood) off while pulling a buddy out ... I was strapped to a tree otherwise I would just slide forward. . An 8000lbs winch is enough to rip the trailer hitch off your truck (Class III are rated at 6000lbs, if I'm not mistaken!), enough to rip the floor off, enough to rip the bumper off your car ... remember, I tore off my bumper brackets (which are welded to the frame!) with my 9500lbs (granted it was fully unspooled).

If the car has all 4 wheels, an ATV 1500lbs winch could do the trick! If the car is damaged, make sure you have dollies for the missing wheels. Get a snatch block to double the strength for that one time when you ripped all 4 wheels off and have to pull the car on its skid plate. Now obviously a 1500lbs will be slower and produce more heat, so you could upgrade to 4000lbs or thereabouts to be perfectly safe and quick ... but 8000lbs? Overkill.