Some of you have been asking questions about T height and trailer opening size. This is what happened to me today! I've had T's for over 35 years, and this trailer for 7 years. After my wife and I spent the day giving our 15 a good cleaning and polishing, she watched for me as I drove it into the trailer -- literally!. We discussed lowering the top several times as we were cleaning today, but, thought no more about it until the top came down on my head as I attempted to drive into the trailer. I'm betting that replacing the broken bows and fixing this top is going to be a lot more trouble than installing the top the first time! Looks like 2 new wooden bows, a new set of straps, and R&R about a million staples and tacks and it'll be good as new. I'm planning on leaving SC for FL with it to make the Fort Walton Beach car show (in Niceville this year) 8 Sep 2012. Any suggestions on repairing broken bows?
ouch
Mike,
Sorry to see/read that.
Check today's classifieds - you might find what you need there.
Dave
Very sorry to see that Mike. I watched a guy drive a gorgeous 1914 touring into a trailer at the T Centennial in Richmond in 2008 who had the same results. A lesson learned.
Argh!
No driving for me, I winch on and watch what's going on, just finished putting guide rails on the floor of my trailer.
I stopped before I did that much damage. Only the forward upright bow was broken. Drilled the center of the bow and down into the end in the iron and fitted a hardwood dowel, epoxied it into place. Saved having to strip it down to the beginning. and redo a full new install. Good luck in the repair. As I found out, it is possible to fix this fowpaw.
Big OUCH! But take heart. Years from now you will tell of this and laugh. (Probably trying to convince someone else to be careful with their trailer.)
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
Mike,
This won't help you now ....
But I winch on and off every vehicle that I transport regardless of the condition.
There are remote control winch add ons
available online - I install one on every
winch so I have remote control operation.
Just a thought .....
Jim
Stuztsman in Baltic Ohio can make new bows for you, They may need the old ones though
Been there and done that...twice, only not to that extent. Get the taller trailer and you'll never regret it. Last time I did it it was starting to rain and I got into a hurry. I have a trailer with almost 8 ft. of door height now.
Mine was a different experience. On our way to a national tour in New South Wales, with to American couples as guests, my wife was towing my 1915 tourer on my open trailer. She stopped at the Motel and booked in, leaving the car in the driveway, as she felt it might not clear the carport.
Along came yours truly in my roadster with US passenger with me, and parked in front of our room. I went and drove the tow car and tourer in, pulling down the carport beam, the refrigeration lines from the plant room, and a whole heap of electrical cabling, by snagging it on the wind breaker on the trailer. The tow car and the tourer were unharmed, but we were going nowhere until a builder came and propped up the beam and an electrician came and disconnected the power, all witnessed by the local Rotary club members meeting in the dining room.
The only saving grace was a local car club member came to my rescue to rebuild the wind breaker, and he got me my first site at the Bendigo National Swapmeet.
Yours in embarassment.
Allan from down under.
I can help you with the bows and straps. PM me.
rvmodelt@netsync.net
And yet your top still looks better than mine!
Someday I'll actually get a top that has more top than holes.
Mike,
Im very sorry that happened. It is a good reminder to all of us that just because the car normally just clears the entrance into the trailer it may not work if the trailer is parked at a different angle and half inch clearance is now gone. That is also true for the garage door especially if it is a roll up type. If the garage door comes down just a little for any reason -- the clearance is gone.
That is also why it is called an accident we surely would not plan for it to work out that way. And as such it or some other type of accident can happen to any of us. By the way, the tall top and the low opening has been experienced by many of us. My Dad was not happy about his young teenager lowering the top by driving into the garage door. I only did that once and like forgetting to retard the spark it made a lasting impression on me.
You mentioned you need two top bows so I would assume you have broken two of them. Depending on how they are broken, you may be able to repair them without replacing the entire bow. For example if the break would allow you to replace the damaged area with a similar size and type of wood using a scarf joint with waterproof glue you may want to consider doing that. (Scarf joints are approved for use in the wooden spars in aircraft wings so when done properly they are a reliable repair. They are also used during wooden boat building. From memory and that was a long time ago I believe the instructor said the joint was actually stronger than the original wood. I.e. when overloaded / stressed the wood next to the joint should fail rather than the wood bonded together for the scarf joint. I may have remembered that incorrectly but it is a good strong joint when properly done.
Because the bows are wrapped/covered you can do some repairs that do not have to be as aesthetically pleasing as you would if they were clear varnished and open to inspection such as the wooden dash on the 1914 and earlier Ts. If it is only in the straight section, you could possible even get a metal channel bent to fit the bottom part of the bow, and fiberglass the bow into the metal channel and have a sort of composite bow.
Again, if the breaks are in the straight sections, a very quick fix to help you on the way to the Ft Walton event would be to use some wood screws and small angle iron or angle aluminum. You might even be able to use some small C clamps to hold the metal angle onto the bows. Fold the top and straighten out the bows and install the metal angle. Leave the top folded and the top material will hide the metal angle and prevent further damage. Display the car with the top down. Caution this invites thunderstorms if you have a car that you cannot put the top up on
. You could then repair it properly without being rushed to get it done quickly. Actually if you do not have other commitments you probably have time to fix it correctly either scarf joints or new replacement bows fitted. But obtaining the bows quickly would be a key requirement. RV Anderson may be able to ship them quickly and if so that would be a good option.
Good luck and thanks for sharing your lesson learned.
Respectfully submitted,
Hap l9l5 cut off
One other point for those with an enclosed trailer or any covered frame trailer make sure the height is high enough especially if the T has a solid roof (sedan, coupe etc)
If you hit a big enough bump while towing the T may have enough travel in the springs to bounce up and hit the roof.
Allan, remind me to tell you of my experience, not pulling down a Motel carport but a garage roller door on one of our Model T friends who graciously let me use his garage when we were heading to Richmond for the Centenerary in 2008.
And if you borrow a friends enclosed trailer, make an inspection first of the insides.
One such adventure, the trailer was fitted with overhead fluorescent tube lamps, thought that a nice night time touch.
Until arrival at destination, and a tube had fallen out, and tore a hole in the top cover of a nice '26 Tudor.