wstar's Journal

wstar · 01-16-2014, 01:14 PM

Basically this, except I'd go one spoke further up/forward on the wheel (but where I happened to set the car in just now, the valve stem is in that spot, I'll have to figure out how to avoid that):

sig11 · 01-16-2014, 06:13 PM

I put my tires on my counter. Have only had them fall one time... I just need room for more than four.

I strapped them down (too tight probably) a few times and had a pair hanging halfway off the shelf though.

etrack on each wall and bars across that are what I want to do. I finally did some googling and found this thread: Rennlist Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Trailer Balance L-R that's very similar to what my buddies did. Some of them strap through the wheels some just let them ride. One of the guys is using the bars to hold a bed after he unloads the tires!

wstar · 01-16-2014, 07:12 PM

I did pick up an e-track shoring beam as well (just one). I still feel like, as heavy as tires+wheels are, I'd rather have them sitting on the floor one way or another. I still haven't done any work on cabinets and/or work surface up in the front area either, so... for this initial setup, I'm basically going to run E-track down low along the driver's side up front, and also in front of the door for a couple of feet on the other side. Then I have basically a large plastic cargo bin (full of tools, winch, chains, whatever) and 5x wheel/tire to keep from sliding around the floor. I figure one of the two can be strapped to the long wall of e-track near the floor, and for the other I can put against the shoring beam up front and then strap to it.

wstar · 01-16-2014, 07:14 PM

travisjb's link to that seal-krete stuff is making me rethink my floor plans, though. Maybe I'll ditch the tread plate and find something like that at Lowe's this weekend.

travisjb · 01-16-2014, 07:43 PM

I'm a big fan of crossing up the straps for safety at the front and rear... assuming you still have the OEM tow hook points behind the front wheels, it's really not difficult to reach under there and hook up, if you get the wheels ~4" off the floor... your approach is probably fine, and I know you wouldn't do it if it wasn't structurally appropriate, just wanted to give you and alternative to think about. i also like that my doors clear the wheel wells, that's a big plus getting in/out

wstar · 01-16-2014, 10:18 PM

I've never even looked at/for the points behind the front wheels. I feel like I've stared at that area of the car a thousand times from underneath before, but I can't picture them because I've never looked for them

I'll go look again and see how it works out. I'm planning to cross the rears in any case, it just didn't seem easy to cross the fronts (without lifting, or removing the bumper or something).

Re: doors, do you have an escape door on the trailer? I made it out of the car door once successfully, but it didn't seem like a very pleasant experience, even if I had been able to crack open the door a little wider over the fender. I figure I'll probably winch the car in.

sig11 · 01-17-2014, 07:01 AM

I wear cowboy boots at the track so that I can take them off when I crawl out of the car. So much easier climbing out the window barefoot.

wstar · 01-17-2014, 08:19 AM

I had to stand on my door bars on the way out

Actually, I was wearing a heavy coat when I tried too, it was cold that day. Might not be so bad with the extra 3 inches of door opening and lighter clothes.

wstar · 01-17-2014, 03:43 PM

Yeah so, travis, I found the front OEM tow hook points, duh. The clip-hooks on my existing ratchet straps get through them, but not cleanly - they hang up at an odd angle where the tension would be trying to bend the hook sideways (it's those blade-shaped hooks you can see on the blue ratchet strap in the picture above). I think I can fix it with some larger, more rounded hooks I have here (which has a clevis pin on the other end), and link them with one of those chain links with the screw connector on the side (all rated for the car's load of course).

And yeah, raising the car makes the door much easier to deal with, and the tow straps. I have a solution now (as you recommended!) with some 2x12 lumber, I think I'm just going to nail the lumber down in place so it doesn't slip as I drive over it.

wstar · 01-17-2014, 03:49 PM

Related pics:

The 2x12 board config (a 4 ft section with a 2ft section nailed on top at the end, so I can step up in increments), setting about where I want to nail them down at. Plus the hook attachment stuff mentioned above:

All the rest of my tools and install-related junk currently sitting in the front. All I've managed to install so far is the pitpal cabinet on the right and a pair of front D-rings closer to the car.

This worked out well - a set of RaceRamps made for trailer doors with notch cutouts. I got everything down at a low enough angle to allow for a future splitter:

Megan370z · 01-17-2014, 04:17 PM

lucky you !!!

still waiting to find a good deal on a similar trailer

wstar · 01-17-2014, 04:47 PM

I hear you. From what I've seen so far, the best idea is to trawl racingjunk.com, craigslist, nasa/scca forums, etc. Eventually you'll see a used one that's already all decked out about the way you want it for $5K or less. I waited and searched ads for a month or two, but all the ones I saw at the time had something wrong with the trailer or the deal one way or another (or maybe I'm just too picky!), and I got impatient and just bought a new one to set it up myself so I can get going on other things. I definitely could've gotten more trailer+setup for less cash+labor if I waited longer searching all those ads, though.

wstar · 01-17-2014, 04:51 PM

Oh I had a nifty idea about hooking up to those OEM front tow eyes. The main problem clipping into them isn't so much ground clearance, it's just that the trailer walls are kinda tight around you. If you could lay on the ground next to the car, you can reach them no-problem...

What I'm thinking about trying next time I load the car is clipping the front tie-down straps onto those before I load the car, while it's out on the pavement, and running them up front and hooking them to the car's own front tow hook and take the slack out. Then drive the car up into the trailer and just move them to the trailer D-rings.

SPOHN · 01-17-2014, 07:02 PM

Yea I'm going to be working on a setup also. Course I have a open trailer but it's all the same. But my trailer has a open center, thus easier to work with and getting up under there to work. With the Stillen fascia and wind splitter I'll need a double hook system to keep strap low till the exit the height of the front clip. I'm also about crossing the straps.

travisjb · 01-17-2014, 09:48 PM

perfect! you pretty much have the same setup as me now... i'm actually 2x12 also, misspoke earlier... and have them stacked the same way. i added a bezel the front to make it easier to drive up each "step", by routing a 45 degree angle... i also built a little ramp at the end to ensure i don't run over. this is important, you're going to be tired at the end of track day and makes it easy if you can just bump up against where it needs to be without worrying about running over.

might consider screwing them down with cabinet screws instead of nails

01-16-2014, 01:14 PM	#1 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Basically this, except I'd go one spoke further up/forward on the wheel (but where I happened to set the car in just now, the valve stem is in that spot, I'll have to figure out how to avoid that): __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-16-2014, 07:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	I did pick up an e-track shoring beam as well (just one). I still feel like, as heavy as tires+wheels are, I'd rather have them sitting on the floor one way or another. I still haven't done any work on cabinets and/or work surface up in the front area either, so... for this initial setup, I'm basically going to run E-track down low along the driver's side up front, and also in front of the door for a couple of feet on the other side. Then I have basically a large plastic cargo bin (full of tools, winch, chains, whatever) and 5x wheel/tire to keep from sliding around the floor. I figure one of the two can be strapped to the long wall of e-track near the floor, and for the other I can put against the shoring beam up front and then strap to it. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-16-2014, 07:14 PM	#4 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	travisjb's link to that seal-krete stuff is making me rethink my floor plans, though. Maybe I'll ditch the tread plate and find something like that at Lowe's this weekend. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-16-2014, 07:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
travisjb A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: GSO Posts: 2,803 Drives: VIR Rep Power: 189	I'm a big fan of crossing up the straps for safety at the front and rear... assuming you still have the OEM tow hook points behind the front wheels, it's really not difficult to reach under there and hook up, if you get the wheels ~4" off the floor... your approach is probably fine, and I know you wouldn't do it if it wasn't structurally appropriate, just wanted to give you and alternative to think about. i also like that my doors clear the wheel wells, that's a big plus getting in/out __________________ 2009 370Z #104 For Sale

01-16-2014, 10:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	I've never even looked at/for the points behind the front wheels. I feel like I've stared at that area of the car a thousand times from underneath before, but I can't picture them because I've never looked for them I'll go look again and see how it works out. I'm planning to cross the rears in any case, it just didn't seem easy to cross the fronts (without lifting, or removing the bumper or something). Re: doors, do you have an escape door on the trailer? I made it out of the car door once successfully, but it didn't seem like a very pleasant experience, even if I had been able to crack open the door a little wider over the fender. I figure I'll probably winch the car in. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-16-2014, 06:13 PM	#2 (permalink)
sig11 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit Posts: 1,294 Drives: 09 370Z Red Sport-MT Rep Power: 18	I put my tires on my counter. Have only had them fall one time... I just need room for more than four. I strapped them down (too tight probably) a few times and had a pair hanging halfway off the shelf though. etrack on each wall and bars across that are what I want to do. I finally did some googling and found this thread: Rennlist Discussion Forums - View Single Post - Trailer Balance L-R that's very similar to what my buddies did. Some of them strap through the wheels some just let them ride. One of the guys is using the bars to hold a bed after he unloads the tires!

01-17-2014, 07:01 AM	#7 (permalink)
sig11 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Detroit Posts: 1,294 Drives: 09 370Z Red Sport-MT Rep Power: 18	I wear cowboy boots at the track so that I can take them off when I crawl out of the car. So much easier climbing out the window barefoot.

01-17-2014, 08:19 AM	#8 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	I had to stand on my door bars on the way out Actually, I was wearing a heavy coat when I tried too, it was cold that day. Might not be so bad with the extra 3 inches of door opening and lighter clothes. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-17-2014, 03:43 PM	#9 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Yeah so, travis, I found the front OEM tow hook points, duh. The clip-hooks on my existing ratchet straps get through them, but not cleanly - they hang up at an odd angle where the tension would be trying to bend the hook sideways (it's those blade-shaped hooks you can see on the blue ratchet strap in the picture above). I think I can fix it with some larger, more rounded hooks I have here (which has a clevis pin on the other end), and link them with one of those chain links with the screw connector on the side (all rated for the car's load of course). And yeah, raising the car makes the door much easier to deal with, and the tow straps. I have a solution now (as you recommended!) with some 2x12 lumber, I think I'm just going to nail the lumber down in place so it doesn't slip as I drive over it. travisjb and SPOHN like this. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-17-2014, 03:49 PM	#10 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Related pics: The 2x12 board config (a 4 ft section with a 2ft section nailed on top at the end, so I can step up in increments), setting about where I want to nail them down at. Plus the hook attachment stuff mentioned above: All the rest of my tools and install-related junk currently sitting in the front. All I've managed to install so far is the pitpal cabinet on the right and a pair of front D-rings closer to the car. This worked out well - a set of RaceRamps made for trailer doors with notch cutouts. I got everything down at a low enough angle to allow for a future splitter: Megan370z and Mr&Mrs like this. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-17-2014, 04:17 PM	#11 (permalink)
Megan370z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 1,156 Drives: 370z Rep Power: 24	lucky you !!! still waiting to find a good deal on a similar trailer __________________ Megan Journal Click Me ....................One Man Team Motorsport Click Me

01-17-2014, 04:47 PM	#12 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	I hear you. From what I've seen so far, the best idea is to trawl racingjunk.com, craigslist, nasa/scca forums, etc. Eventually you'll see a used one that's already all decked out about the way you want it for $5K or less. I waited and searched ads for a month or two, but all the ones I saw at the time had something wrong with the trailer or the deal one way or another (or maybe I'm just too picky!), and I got impatient and just bought a new one to set it up myself so I can get going on other things. I definitely could've gotten more trailer+setup for less cash+labor if I waited longer searching all those ads, though. sig11 likes this. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details

01-17-2014, 04:51 PM	#13 (permalink)
wstar A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 4,024 Drives: too slow Rep Power: 3595	Oh I had a nifty idea about hooking up to those OEM front tow eyes. The main problem clipping into them isn't so much ground clearance, it's just that the trailer walls are kinda tight around you. If you could lay on the ground next to the car, you can reach them no-problem... What I'm thinking about trying next time I load the car is clipping the front tie-down straps onto those before I load the car, while it's out on the pavement, and running them up front and hooking them to the car's own front tow hook and take the slack out. Then drive the car up into the trailer and just move them to the trailer D-rings. __________________ 7AT Track Car! Journal thread / Car setup details Last edited by wstar; 01-17-2014 at 04:56 PM.

01-17-2014, 07:02 PM	#14 (permalink)
SPOHN A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Covington, GA Age: 46 Posts: 14,844 Drives: Waiting on next Z Rep Power: 222	Yea I'm going to be working on a setup also. Course I have a open trailer but it's all the same. But my trailer has a open center, thus easier to work with and getting up under there to work. With the Stillen fascia and wind splitter I'll need a double hook system to keep strap low till the exit the height of the front clip. I'm also about crossing the straps. __________________

01-17-2014, 09:48 PM	#15 (permalink)
travisjb A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: GSO Posts: 2,803 Drives: VIR Rep Power: 189	perfect! you pretty much have the same setup as me now... i'm actually 2x12 also, misspoke earlier... and have them stacked the same way. i added a bezel the front to make it easier to drive up each "step", by routing a 45 degree angle... i also built a little ramp at the end to ensure i don't run over. this is important, you're going to be tired at the end of track day and makes it easy if you can just bump up against where it needs to be without worrying about running over. might consider screwing them down with cabinet screws instead of nails __________________ 2009 370Z #104 For Sale

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