Tieing down sleds... Haven't seen a thread like this yet....

[Gold5th]

I did look, haven't seen one, unless I'm blind, which could be tis 3:30am...

In my 1 place trailer I've figured out a good way to tie down my sled... but on this 2 place I've borrowed for Christmas break.. I dunno.. I think I have things tied down good.. but not sure, wondering how other people do it.

What I have is I have that metal bar you put over the ski's in front of the suspension assembly.. ok fine, but the sleds still wanted to slide back and forth.. so I took 2 tie downs and wrapped them around the posts or whatever that the ski's attach to, and pulled the sled forward, thy're crossed for side to side stability... then on the back, I used 2 more tie downs to snug the rear track assembly so it doen't move side to side, but will also help hold the sled back if I have to panic stop... so each sled has the metal bar and 4 - 1200lbs winch straps.... I plan to tow the sleds about 150-175miles to the inlaws.. then back again.

Also anybody have some suggestions of how to place them best on the trailer? the sled on the pass side is a 03 Poo Pro X 700, and on the drivers is a 97 Rmk 700, so the Pro X is a little wider, and the rMK, is a little longer.

Currently, the outter ski's are near the edge of the trailer, so they match in each side, to the outside of the trailer... the track on the RMK is 16.75" in from the edge of the trailer, while the Pro X track is 18" in from the edge of the trailer.

The trailer pulls decent with the sleds on it at low speeds... about 35mph, haven't tried faster while loaded... the other night I was doing 75mph, with a wood box(about 120lbs) on the trailer going down the highway with a fresh 2-3" of snow on it with 0 problems.

Tomorrow I leave, so I can try to get pics and post them.. shoot may try now so I can get some feed back by the time I leave.

Thanks

 

[Gold5th]

 

[the fix-it guy]

Looks plenty good to me. I have seen em towed over a 1,000 miles with just the hold down bars. Just take your time on icy roads.

 

[irydcat]

I would say you got it covered I pull up through some nasty passes very rough rodes and all I use is the front bar and one tiedown.

 

[Extreme-One]

That should work... we had a friend for years never tie down his sleds on the open 2 place trailer with out shields. One day he had to hit the brakes pretty hard. The deck of the trailer had about three inches of snow on it and his new 07 Rev passed him on the highway. He watched it for a while and then it flipped onto it's side and made a mess. Good idea to tie the sled down. He know bought a small 2 place enclosed... We'll see if he ties them down in there.

 

[NDflatlander]

I don't even think I own that many tiedowns.

 

[skibreeze]

I don't even think I own that many tiedowns.

No shat!

 

[OCDsledder]

I tie down my sleds in my enclosed trailer. When I had open trailers I only used the bar across the skis. The only time that was an issue was when a girl decided that stop signs were an option. She T-Boned the pick-up and the trailer went over the hood of her car. The bars across the skis both broke and the sleds went flying. You should not have any problems. Most flat bed semi's aren't tied down that well. Take it slow and easy. The weight of the sleds and the trailer behind the car will make it a challenge if it's slick.

 

[noob]

save ya a little bit of time on tying down the rear of the sleds, just run one of the ratchet tie downs from one side of the trailer, through the rear suspensions (on top of the rails) of both sleds and to the other side. they don't bounce up and down, or side to side. I think you've got it covered though.

 

[ArcticBoy]

I'd be more worried about chainin up the tow rig. I don't use that many straps on 4 sleds.

 

[NWGooser]

Looks pretty good. One suggestion, on the rear of the sleds, run the tie down over the rear bumper. Slightly compress the suspension and away you go. Makes for a nice secure tie and the sleds won't bounce around.

 

[Jaynelson]

More than I used on my open, and I'm pretty anal about tieing shat down. I think you'll be fine. Loving the landau roof on the tow rig!

 

[EastcapeAngler]

I don't even think I own that many tiedowns.

Tie-downs are like fat girls at a party.... You can never have enough of them.

 

[ChickenMan]

Looks pretty good. One suggestion, on the rear of the sleds, run the tie down over the rear bumper. Slightly compress the suspension and away you go. Makes for a nice secure tie and the sleds won't bounce around.

We used to do this, but if you hit a bump and the suspension compresses the strap may come loose on ya. We now tie to the suspension to make sure nothing will bounce off on those rougher roads. IMHO

 

[Insaneboltrounder/sjohns]

That should work... we had a friend for years never tie down his sleds on the open 2 place trailer with out shields. One day he had to hit the brakes pretty hard. The deck of the trailer had about three inches of snow on it and his new 07 Rev passed him on the highway. He watched it for a while and then it flipped onto it's side and made a mess. Good idea to tie the sled down. He know bought a small 2 place enclosed... We'll see if he ties them down in there.

must be one dim witted mofo.

 

[MARCUSO]

Holy shlomozzle Batman!!

Tie-downs are like fat girls at a party.... You can never have enough of them.

The 2 bars should be enough in the front.
I loop mine through the rear suspension, and directly back/down.

Never compress your suspension. A friend bought a used sled from someone and the springs were totally sacked because of that. The sled could not even hold its own weight.

now for you guys who do not tie the back down at all... those sleds can become a projectile, fly into someone's windshield, or rear window during an impact. Secure your load!

 

[Gold5th]

Heh. .I have 2 more "Big tie down, rated at 4500lbs each in the trunk, plus I have a "portable" 12V winch, 2000lbs come-along, a hand crank winch, 25ft recovery strap, 2 tree straps and an axle strap in the trunk, oh and a 3 ton light wieght low profile floor jack... they live there 24/7. I had about another 4 or 5 of those 1200lbs straps, but they wear out quick so I always have spares.

I tied down the rear end of the sleds, cause they looked like they would slide sideways on a corner.

Noob: I tried that in my 1 place trailer once, with the two other rear ones, the track guide or what ever you want to call it cut the tie down, and also it would stop the track from leave the deck, but wouldn't stop any side to side movement.

NWGooser: I didn't get a good pic, but if the rear bumper of the Red sled is bent up(or down rather) from the first guy who owned the sled, he hit the ditch with his truck, the sled was in the bed... no trailer. Also I learned from hauling cars... always tie down the unsprung parts, aka wheels, not the chassis, unless the trailer has sides to stop it from bouncing off the trailer. You'd have to fully compress the suspension to have it truely secure. My other trailer, I tie down similar to this, the trailer has no suspension, just a 6500lbs axle welded to the frame.. we have a section of highway that with anything less than 500lbs in the trailer, it gets airborn at speed, with the sled in there the trailer stays planted and the sled wiggles bounces a bit... but not much.
***Edit*** just remembered the other reason I don't use the bumpers - I was told the rear ones can support the wieght of the sled going up, but not down... like 35lbs or so... you hit one big bump where the sled wants to get airborn and you can bend the tunnel pretty good, or so that's my understanding.


I always over tie down.... perfect example was I was driving a 2000 Dakota 4x4 sport, had the bed full of garbage, and a hide-a-bed love seat on top, only had 1 tie down on the hide-a-bed... I made it bout 1 mile on the highway doing 50MPH and the strap broke... luckily there was nobody behind me as it hit the pavement with authority.

I also check my loads often, I watch them in the mirror for any "funny movement" and on the first leg of my journey it's 100miles straight, at around the 50mile point there's a junction with a left turn, since I'm almost stopped anyhow for the turn, I pull over and check everything, tie downs, if the load has moved, tires, safety chains, coupler, lights.

I am tempted to get a length of chain to run from side to side as a back up should I loose all straps at once... prolly one up front just behind the bar, so on the rear side of the ski's and one through the tracks... I know it's would be over kill, but you know the saying, there's no kill like overkill.... cept I'm only using this trailer for Christmas break... if it where mine or I had a longer trip planned I would do it.

 

[hilinerider]

that tow vehicle will make to the top of the pass? but it will look good gettin there i guess

 

[Gold5th]

that tow vehicle will make to the top of the pass? but it will look good gettin there i guess

3spd A999 auto tranny with a shift kit, 318 Engine putting 200TQ to the wheels... sure not as much as a truck.. but meh... it's got a 2.2rear end. Tranny cooler, electric rad fans, with a manual mode that'll keep them going 50% all the time. plus more if the engine starts to heat up.

I've towed cars before with this thing. got picks of cars on dollies in another thread, end of Sept I towed a car on a flat deck... the only reason I went slower than the recommended 45mph cause I lost one tire on the trailer.

ill it make it yes, well if I was going to the mountain's I'd put studded ice tires on... I'm running Nokian all season truck tires now.. a few spots I can't go, but only a few, So umm yeah it would make it... just not at 75mph... prolly closer to 55-60mph, or on a really steep grade... prolly 50mph in second.



Old cars are great

 

[2001400ex]

I would be worried the weight of your 20 tie downs would be too much for your tow rig...

Nah, my buddy had his trailer come off the ball and was dragged by just the safety chains til he could come to a stop, he was going over 70 when it popped off. All he has was the front bars on the skis with a 2001 summit 800 and 2002 rmk 800 on a 2 place tilt bed trailer. He had zero damage and the sleds did not move. (VERY lucky).

Three weekends ago, I hit a patch of ice doing 80 on a turn. I got lucky and pulled it back on the road, but the trailer was swinging hard back and forth, 4 times really hard, then several more times a lot softer. All I had was a bar on the front skis on my 2001 summit 800 with a tie down on the rear grab bar. My buddies 2007 rev 800 had a tie down on the front bumper and one on the rear grab bar. Niether moved one bit.

Biggest thing, we always set our park brake. You might not think much about that, but I will put my buddies on for him if he does not.

Just my thoughts, don't need a ton, 2 well placed tie downs are better than 20 improperly placed tie downs.