Re: Trailering Alfas

[Jay Mackro <jmackro@domain.elided>]

At 01:06 AM 3/5/99 -0500, Terry and Sharon Akins wrote:

Use a flatbed trailer for these,but watch out for clearance problems
>when unloading.Make sure the flatbed has a ramp of some sort to ease the
>extreme angle you'll get when unloading;you'll scrape the car everytime
>otherwise.) 

Hey, I've got a "trick" to solve this problem.  It'll work on
any trailer that has a "tongue jack" - one of those vertical
cylindrical thingys up near the hitch, with the folding crank
at the top, and a "foot" at the base, that you use to jack up
the trailer's tongue.  Here's the drill:

As you begin to back the car off the trailer, once the car's
rear wheels get onto the ramps - ie, when you have most of
the car's weight back on the rear of the trailer/ramps - stop
backing for a bit.  Go to the tongue jack, maybe put a couple
blocks of wood beneath it, and crank it down - ie, raise the
trailer's front + the tow car's rear as much as you can.
This will tilt the trailer, and result in a much smaller
angle between the ramps and the pavement.  Don't forget to
release the jack after you have finished unloading and
before driving the tow vehicle off!

Now, my critics are going to point out: Yea, but doesn't this
put a lot of stress on the ball & hitch?  You are essentially
picking up the tow vehicle by its ball (ouch, it even sounds 
painful!).  My answer is, well, yea, but 1) it's a static load, 
and 2) if you aren't confident that your ball & hitch can stand 
that much force, then do you really trust them to pull your 
Alfa?

Happy Towing!

Jay

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