MTFCA Forum

1) most trailers have smooth wood floors. Is it a good idea to put some kind of non-skid where the tires ride to reduce the tendency of the car to slide to one side or the other? 2) Once the car is positioned and the straps tightened, should the hand brake be set or should you leave the car in neutral, held in place only by the straps?

Most folks cris-cross the tie-downs, making it almost impossible for the tires to slip around.

In terms of the hand brake, leaving it on makes it less likely that the car will roll off the trailer when you un-do the straps. Seems like a good safety idea.

My old trailer has a narrow door and I only have about an inch clearance on each side. I put guide rails on the floor to keep me straight going in and out, and it also keeps the car from moving around as you fear.

Setting the hand brake can be a useful practice.

Tim, my open trailer has a smooth steel deck, not even checkerplate. The key to stopping movement on any surface is to tie the car DOWN. Wheel baskets do this. Short tiedowns at 45 degrees do like wise. Long tiedowns at low angles will stop fore and aft movement, but will allow the car to shift sideways. Likewise, tiedowns used around the frame will be alternatively loose and tight as the suspension works, again allowing the car to shift around.

Others may have different experiences.

Allan from down under.

Tim,

Attached are several photos of my open and closed trailers that both use 2" wide, 3 ft. long metal straps with two angled wings (3rd photo) that go over each tire to hold my T down during transport. I do use the hand brake in addition to the tie downs. The enclosed trailer channel on the right in the 2nd photo and on the left in the last photo is 6" wide 2X3s so the T is always centered and will not move. The angle cut on the inside 2X3 is to aid the rear wheel to enter the channel. Let know if you have any questions that I may be able to help you with excluding next week's winning lottery numbers.

Have a great day,
Dom

Tim

I painted my floor with Benjamin and Moore grey deck paint. Someone here on the forum suggested it and it is GREAT.

I've also found that the ramp is the slickest thing on the planet when wet and when I took delivery of my trailer, on my own belief that it would be a good thing, I applied 2 coats of roll-on pickup bed liner on the ramp. BEST THING I EVER DID. Tremendous grip wet or dry and takes abuse and shrugs it off.

Scott Conger beat me to it! I was going to make the same suggestion for a non-skid coating on the bare wood trailer floor. He mentioned "pickup bed liner" and that's what I did. Something like Rhino Liner or Linex makes a very tough and very black non-skid floor coating which is impervious to oil, gasoline, anti-freeze, etc, etc. I had a Linex coating put on my entire enclosed trailer bare wood floor and ramp when the trailer was brand new. It's pretty expensive, but the dealer I bought the trailer from had a "half-price" deal with the local Linex place and half price makes a big difference! A trailer floor & ramp is a much larger surface than the average pickup truck bed, and I'll bet you could convince a Rhino Liner or Linex dealer to work with you on a better "price-per-square foot" rate on such a large surface. Still pretty expensive, but it sure makes a very tough floor, and I think, worth whatever it costs! FWIW,.....harold

Regarding covering a wood trailer floor ....

Horse stall rubber mats - 4 ft. x 6 ft.

Available at Tractor Supply or other farm & garden
retailers @ $40 a mat.

Easy to replace if torn or damaged by gas or solvent spills.

This wood trailer floor is (10) months old and sees
daily use - yet maintains it’s “ good looks.

By spacing my etrac to accommodate the floor mats - shifting is minimal.

Vehicles to not wander on the rubber mats
if secured properly to the


FJ