Tricky tie down question.

[Wmoater]

I have a question for those of you who have ran a strap over the rear wheels while towing. I ran into a situation and want to reinsure myself. I have a toy hauler and need to run 2 spyders at once. This will only happen once in my life but 6000 miles. The problem is the new RT series is 2.5 inches longer center to center front to back on the wheels. Getting both in is not the problem. One forward one back. I had to move the mounting blocks to strap rear tires of both. So “both” rear tires CANNOT move Front-back/side- side / up-down, it’s impossible for either back tire to move they are both strapped/bolted down . The new one (spyder) has front wheels chocked so It can’t move anywhere. That spyder has all 3 strapped straight down. In theory the trailer could be upside down and the spyder would hang there. The older can’t use chocks because it’s shorter so here is my question. I have a tie down exactly 9 inches “directly” in front of each wheel. If I run a strap through wheel to tie down, will it move side by side? I think yes. It would take 30 seconds to do this addition step just a thought. What if I remove the shock bolt and replace with bolt and eye bolt from lamonster. Then can I run a strap also from the shock bolt but crisscross under frunck so left shock to right tie down in front of wheel and right shock to left tie down. Not sure if the frunk is even high enough to do that but then there would be front pull and side to side pull with 4 straps. I have 1.5 inches of wiggle room defore the spyders hit side to side, nothing to hit front to back. Plenty of Rome in front. The new RT CANT MOVE! It’s literally bolted to floor on all 3. It’s the front only of the second one. I only have 1 tie 9 inches in front of wheel. I can’t bolt a board to rubber floor in front of tire as chock either. Only straps is the option. Maybe one on each wheel straight forward is enough. Any suggestions?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I have a question for those of you who have ran a strap over the rear wheels while towing. I ran into a situation and want to reinsure myself. I have a toy hauler and need to run 2 spyders at once. This will only happen once in my life but 6000 miles. The problem is the new RT series is 2.5 inches longer center to center front to back on the wheels. Getting both in is not the problem. One forward one back. I had to move the mounting blocks to strap rear tires of both. So “both” rear tires CANNOT move Front-back/side- side / up-down, it’s impossible for either back tire to move they are both strapped/bolted down . The new one (spyder) has front wheels chocked so It can’t move anywhere. That spyder has all 3 strapped straight down. In theory the trailer could be upside down and the spyder would hang there. The older can’t use chocks because it’s shorter so here is my question. I have a tie down exactly 9 inches “directly” in front of each wheel. If I run a strap through wheel to tie down, will it move side by side? I think yes. It would take 30 seconds to do this addition step just a thought. What if I remove the shock bolt and replace with bolt and eye bolt from lamonster. Then can I run a strap also from the shock bolt but crisscross under frunck so left shock to right tie down in front of wheel and right shock to left tie down. Not sure if the frunk is even high enough to do that but then there would be front pull and side to side pull with 4 straps. I have 1.5 inches of wiggle room defore the spyders hit side to side, nothing to hit front to back. Plenty of Rome in front. The new RT CANT MOVE! It’s literally bolted to floor on all 3. It’s the front only of the second one. I only have 1 tie 9 inches in front of wheel. I can’t bolt a board to rubber floor in front of tire as chock either. Only straps is the option. Maybe one on each wheel straight forward is enough. Any suggestions?

I read your explanation 5 times and am not sure Exactly is going on .... that being said ... your floor is not RUBBER it is Covered with rubber ..... I think you could place a piece of plywood on the floor ( wider than the front wheels ) drive the Spyder onto that .... place two wood blocks on either side of the front tires and screw them into the plywood .... the front wheels won't move side to side .... the weight of the Spyder will keep the plywood in place .... the blocks will keep the wheels in place ... good luck .... Mike

[Wmoater]

Here is a drawing. The blue lines are literally Bolt-On bar-chocks that quick release that allows for a strap to go directly around the tire. The left spyder will not move its strapped down. The right spyder’ s “rear tire” can’t move its strapped down. Notice the 9” in perfect alignment with the tie downs on the front on the right spyder. I just need to keep the front from shifting side to side. It can’t go forward or back because its strapped on the rear. I have a custom made Fuzion fifthwheel 14’ garage. The rubber floor sits ontop of steel decking no wood. It was made to carry SXS and off-road bike or possible a jack lift system to stack snowmobile ontop of each other. I can’t bolt anything to floor. Will 1 strap through each front wheels on the right spyder keep it still or do I have to do some kind of criss cross?

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Here is a drawing. The blue lines are literally Bolt-On bar-chocks that quick release that allows for a strap to go directly around the tire. The left spyder will not move its strapped down. The right spyder’ s “rear tire” can’t move its strapped down. Notice the 9” in perfect alignment with the tie downs on the front on the right spyder. I just need to keep the front from shifting side to side. It can’t go forward or back because its strapped on the rear. I have a custom made Fuzion fifthwheel 14’ garage. The rubber floor sits ontop of steel decking no wood. It was made to carry SXS and off-road bike or possible a jack lift system to stack snowmobile ontop of each other. I can’t bolt anything to floor. Will 1 strap through each front wheels on the right spyder keep it still or do I have to do some kind of criss cross?

OK - I would use the rear tire of the spyder on the left as a fixed object ..... make a small box using 2 x 4's on edge ( with a plywood base screwed to the plywood - to keep it ridged ) this needs to fit between both wheels ... put a ratchet strap through both wheels and tighten. ... that rear tire will prevent the other ( front ) tire / spyder from moving ..... good luck .... Mike

[Wmoater]

That’s a good idea! I should have done a drawing first. I figured it would be hard to picture. I’m not even sure I need a box but lay them flat instead. It will be to close to the muffler. My main concern is running a strap through the front wheels and messing up my brand new alignment. It’s pretty tight I will play around tonight. They’re in there right now. I only have 1.5 inches between the front fenders and rear saddlebag. I’ll still take any more ideas. I have till June 17th. I’m planning ahead on this one! If dads new toyhauler would have come in I wouldn’t have this problem.

[canamjhb]

In stead of straps through the wheels, and stressing your steering system, I would cross strap the front of the bike on the right. Attach the straps underneath the bike to a secure point at the frame. ie; Where the lower control arm attaches to the frame......? My Spyder has been sold so I can't look to give you exactly a good place. If you're still concerned about the bikes crashing together, place something between them such as moving pads, boat cushion, dog bed padding, etc. Good luck..... Jim

[Wmoater]

Thanks Jim. I am going to put a moving blanket tweeter just not super tight. I don’t want to buff the my blue saddlebag. I don’t care about dads fender just joking! I’ll look under there. The only tie down I saw I could get ahold of was the shock tiedown. The Passenger foot pegs are to far back unless I take off the two plastic panels just above the oil which means taking everything apart. They wrap around the side air intake panel and are the first of 3 ontop of it.

[Peter Aawen]

Thanks Jim. I am going to put a moving blanket tweeter just not super tight. I don’t want to buff the my blue saddlebag. I don’t care about dads fender just joking! I’ll look under there. The only tie down I saw I could get ahold of was the shock tiedown. The Passenger foot pegs are to far back unless I take off the two plastic panels just above the oil which means taking everything apart. They wrap around the side air intake panel and are the first of 3 ontop of it.

If you're still looking at those shock tie-downs, you aren't looking in & under the Spyder far enough!! You really need something on the FRAME, preferably not one of the frame 'out-riggers' either, so get down low & look UNDER the middle of the RH Spyder - see the main spar of the frame?? Find something/somewhere on that or as close to that as you can on each side of the spar where you can solidly secure a ratchet type fitting, allowing you to then cross the straps under the frame and run them out to secure to the opposite side tie-down you already have in front of each wheel. Tighten them up evenly and enough to compress the suspension some, and those crossed straps running under the Spyder to the diagonally opposite tie-down from where they're secured to the Frame will tie that Spyder down so tight it CAN'T move! That'll do the job!

Anything you secure thru/to the wheels or anything on the outer ends of the swing arms (like those shock bolt eyes) will possibly mess up your alignment &/or damage suspension or steering components, possibly expensive components at that!! . So those lower shock bolts or eyes attached to them really aren't an ideal place for securing things for too long - they'll work fine in the very short term on a smooth road, or as a 'gentle tow point' to let you hook onto in order to pull the Spyder up onto a flat-bed - if you have a long enough harness so the 'pull angle' is small, but they really aren't ideal as tie-down points.... do you really need to ask me how I KNOW this is so?!

Mike's suggestion of fitting a spacer between the rear tire of the other Spyder & the adjacent front tire of the RH Spyder & then securing is a good idea that could serve as another means of making absolutely sure the two machines never touch panels; and doing that'd probably also remove the need for any 'padding' or wrapping & therefore remove the risk of potential rub marks on either set of tupperware too!

Hope your trip goes well!

[Wmoater]

Peter is this safe? Look at the picture below. There are 3 holes on the steel frame U bracket. This u bracket channel is where the sway bar slides in. It takes a bunch of work to hook it. Your arms need to be 4’ long. I have very little space to lay in front of the spyder and no room to lay beside each side. I can hook it though. In that case, no problem cross crossing left side to right tie downs and right side to left tie down. I like it if that’s a good hook place.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

That’s a good idea! I should have done a drawing first. I figured it would be hard to picture. I’m not even sure I need a box but lay them flat instead. It will be to close to the muffler. My main concern is running a strap through the front wheels and messing up my brand new alignment. It’s pretty tight I will play around tonight. They’re in there right now. I only have 1.5 inches between the front fenders and rear saddlebag. I’ll still take any more ideas. I have till June 17th. I’m planning ahead on this one! If dads new toyhauler would have come in I wouldn’t have this problem.

IF the wood box or a few/many boards are TIGHT with the tires that are strapped together ... I'm sure your alignment / suspension won't be affected. .... good luck ... Mike

[Wmoater]

I’m going to use the board idea for sure. Want to strap it to tie downs also and crisscross if possible.

[Peter Aawen]

Peter is this safe? Look at the picture below. There are 3 holes on the steel frame U bracket. This u bracket channel is where the sway bar slides in. It takes a bunch of work to hook it. Your arms need to be 4’ long. I have very little space to lay in front of the spyder and no room to lay beside each side. I can hook it though. In that case, no problem cross crossing left side to right tie downs and right side to left tie down. I like it if that’s a good hook place. Can’t rotate picture even though I already did it in my photo gallery.

That LOOKS to be a pretty good spot to secure it, but without a wider shot &/or a Spyder in front of me to work out exactly where it is, I can't be positive - but like I said earlier, if it's close up to the main spar of the frame & you are crossing the straps from the left of the Spyder to the tie-down in front of the RHS front wheel & vice-versa, then it should be good.

And you shouldn't really need to have 4' long arms, cos you should be able secure the Spyder end of the hooks/straps in place BEFORE you push/ryde the Spyder into it's final position - maybe even while you've got the front wheels just on the edge of your toy-hauler's tray &/or ramp. That way it's a much shorter reach, & you might even be able to do it from underneath, then leave the trailing ends to slide along the ground/tray, move the Spyder back into it's travelling position before crossing & securing the trailing ends to the tie-downs - make sense??

[Wmoater]

Makes sense. Dad and I pulled it out tonight in 5 minutes. I’ll pull it in with the front wheels over the transition then hook up and tuck it. The transition is really close and the hook would grab I’m sure. Once it’s in, there’s a lot of jockeying. I put plastic under wheels and slide around. Then pull plastic out. It’s tight but I only have to do it 4-6 times. No worse than sleds. Anybody who says you can’t put 2 spyders in an 8x14 trailer can learn from this.

[Steve W.]

My humble opinion on the situation: With straps through the wheels and going 9" away, you will also be pulling DOWN. That would increase the grip of the tires on the floor and it should not move.

If you want to be SURE it won't move, make a box or block that will rest against the side of the rear wheel of the "left" Spyder and keep the right-front wheel of the "right" Spyder far enough away.

One other possibility is to use two straps 'forward' on the "right" Spyder, then use a third strap from the right-front wheel to the floor anchor near the left-front wheel to cross-brace it. That strap does not have to be tight enough to upset the alignment, just enough to keep the bike from sliding over.

One final thought: Having driven a moving van cross-country for several years, I learned that anything loaded into a truck or trailer tends to migrate foward and/or to the right. That would move the two bikes away from each other, so cross-brace in that direction, too.

.

[pauly1]

With the back wheel located, all you need is a bit of restraint to keep the from end from moving laterally. I would cross tie using a soft tie from the lower ball joint, connected to a ratchet strap, to the opposite tie down point. We have used that tie down scheme with success in keeping the front end stable on GS, ST and F3 models. Currently, I back the Spyder into a wheel chock, strapped down from the frame tube to tie downs on either side. The front end is located using a 3/4" board, 1x4, on the outside of each wheel, fastened to the aluminum floor with 3M VHB acrylic tape (and no front end straps).

We had an incident on a trip where the pickup and trailer were driven into the ditch, while braking hard, to avoid an accident: both bikes remained upright and the front ends were between their respective blocks.

[Wmoater]

All set. There’s no way they can move with the block and 4 tie downs on the front. I also put an eyebolt in the stacked box. I Ran an extra strap from back wheel looped around eyebolt and then around front tire. So they literally are all 3 are one unit. It’s so tight fitted I can’t get any Picts that give it any justice to show you. One more quick question! I’m not concerned about it right now, both spyders are perfectly clean, waxed and tires foamed. I have a brand new rubber floor, it’s light grey and smooth wood grained looking. After using the spyders a few times out west, the tires will have sand and grit in the treads etc. Also rain is predicted all next week. So the spyders will be a mess. Does anyone in enclosed trailers put a rubber bottom carpet under their tires to not blacken the floor? I don’t care about cleaning it out. A simple hose, dollar general awesome and wheel spray foam clean the garage. Just wondering about the floor getting blackened. Both spyders have brand new tires.