What's the best/safest way to tie down an ATV on a trailer? Do you use racks/frame and just compress the suspension or grab the tires/axles/arms and let the bikes suspension move freely?

 

Straight to the frame is best. don't do tires and such. could break or bend stuff. lowest parts of the frame are best spots

 

I prefer to tie mine down and keep lateral tension. For example on my Warrior there is a round "hole" between the front a-arms that I put tie-down(s) through. (I only use one if I'm going camping and it's in the back of the truck with other stuff. I'll use 2, one each side, if it's a day trip (nothing much else in truck) or if it's on a trailer). These I tie down going to the "back" tie down points (behind the rear). Then I run straps from the holes in the heal guards to the forward points.

This way any bouncing really doesn't change the tie down lengths. I'm not holding the quad "down" but in a front-to-back tension. With a more vertical strapping, I worry about the bouncing causing a strap to come loose. And I also had a strap cut once going over the bumper. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

And I also only use ratchet tie-downs and not the cam-lock style.

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Frame for the most part.
But on some quads it can take an engineer to tie it down.

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: DaveD912

What's the best/safest way to tie down an ATV on a trailer? Do you use racks/frame and just compress the suspension or grab the tires/axles/arms and let the bikes suspension move freely?</end quote></div>

Your going to get a lot of opinions on this as many folks think their way is the best. That being said this is my method that seems to work well. For me at least.

What really counts when securing any load is do it in such a fashion as to hold things in place when the unexpected happens.

I prefer to tie to the centerline of the frame down as low as I can get or to the axle below the suspension. I use a chainbinder and 5/16" chain on the rear of the solid axle hooking to the hitch and a tiedown point on the trailer. Pulling straight down at this point allows the quads suspension to work and absorb most of the road shock transfered up from the trailer. The disadvantage of this, and most tie down methods, is if one or both of the rear tires go flat the tie down will go loose. Because of this it is important to make provision to hold the binder and chain in place if they do come loose. Junk falling off trucks/trailers is a hazard to other vehicles.

For the front I prefer to have the front tires against a stop and a ratchet type strap, a full 2 or 2 1/2" wide strap not one of the little cheap 1" ones, pulling forward and down from, as I mentioned, low down on the frame. It would be better to tie to the lower ball joints but this could cause A arm damage. By pulling the front tires against a stop this helps hold the quad rigidly in place. The down side of this method is the suspension is somewhat compressed and not allowed to work, and absorb shocks, as well.

I avoid hooking straps to the racks as hitting a large object with the hauling vehicle can cause the quads suspension to compress loosening, and possibly unhooking, the straps. There is also the very likely possibility that the rebounding quad could break the tiedown straps, if the little red cheap ones are used, or bend the racks.

Considering the price of our toys it seems logical to spend a few extra bucks and use quality equipment to keep them in place. Aside from protecting the toys there is also the problem of possible lawsuits if we fail to do a reasonable and thoughtful job of securing the load we are hauling.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I like the idea of making the straps pull against each other instead of trying to pull the quad down. I was concerned about having the bike bounce and the suspension compress enough to make a strap come loose.

 

I always tie down low below the suspension - use chain and turnbuckles as in my pics.

Jaybee

 

I do it different ways depending on whether they are in the truck, on the trailer, sideway, frontways, etc. I don't like using the rack/bumper, as my Scrammy has a nack for busting loose and trying to jump off the trailer. It looked back once and she had her front tires off already!!

It's best if there is something that will keep them from rolling off the trailer. On the Honda, if it on the trailer sideways, I run a long strap from the side of the trailer over the back axle, through the front a-arm, to the other side, but I don't tie it real tight. I've not found a good way to tie the Scrammy that doesn't involve compressing the suspension and thus risking it bouncing the strap loose.

So, I'm still looking for the best way myself!

 

If you use the cam-lock style tie down straps (like I do) be sure to tie a safety loop in the end of the strap, so it will only slip a small amount if the cam-lock looses its grip. Without the safety loop tied in the free end of the strap they can loosen completely. I almost lost a KTM 525 off the side of a trailer from that happening once. And it was with a cheap set of tie down staps.

There are good quality cam-lock style tie down straps that do not loosen, and there are cheap-*** cam-lock style tie down straps (like the ones Walmart sells). Avoid the cheap ones, because the loss of your bike or ATV will cost a lot more than the few dollars you save with the cheap, made in china, tie down straps. I like the soft tye style from Power Tye.