From Trackpedia

The article describes how the author tows his Porsche 996 C4 to HPDE events. Professional advice should always be sought to do this. Do not use this article as the basis for towing one.

Here is a list of the current towing equipment:

• GMC 2500HD 6.0L V8 Petrol Truck
• Tie down hooks for Porsche 996
• Featherlite open aluminium trailer with 4 D-rings
• 10k lb tie downs.

Contents 1 The truck 2 Brake controller 3 Securing the car on the trailer 4 The tie downs 5 Securing the trailer 6 The trailer 7 Emergency break away for trailer 8 How to tie down the car 9 Ramps 10 Positioning the car 11 Experience, towing the car

The truck

I bought my 2002 GMC 2500HD SLT extended cab truck with a 6.0L v8 gas/petrol engine. It's rated to haul 10,300lbs. It's pretty comfortable inside, all leather power seats. It has OnStar also which is cool but an expensive way to make calls. I had a 1998 Ford Explorer V6 before this which was rated at 5600lbs but it's too short to haul a car for a long distance.

Brake controller

I bought a Prodigy brake controller to control the trailer brakes. Noone has ever said a bad word about them. It cost me 140 bucks including install. It's actually pretty small, it's mounted in my truck over on top of the driver foot well.

I set it to 3.5 when my trailer is empty and 8.3 with the car on the trailer. At these levels the trailer brakes are at the point where they almost lock up but don't at full braking, this is what Prodigy recommends.

You can find more information on this controller at the product web site

Securing the car on the trailer

This was the most worrying for me, I wanted to be sure the car was secure on the trailer. I'd heard lots of opinions on securing the car with belts through the wheels, some said put them around the lower A arms on the suspension. I had to choose in the end between lug nuts with tie down hooks or the frame mounted tie downs. I was worred the lugs would make the car too wide for the trailer or would get damaged bringing the car on and off the trailer so I went with the frame mounted tie downs.

Installing them was pretty easy. The front ones use an existing bolt on the frame, it's visible in the picture. Unbolt it, put some medium/blue loctite on the bolt and then secure the bolt with the hook again to 88lb/fts of torque. The rears use a bolt/nut just under the sway bar. Unbolt the nut, attach the hook and then tighten the nut to 74ft/lbs of torque.

The tie downs

I have Simpson 10k lb tie downs. They are 50 bucks for a pair. So, a 100 bucks in total. I bought them from Jim at http://www.apexspg.com. I don't cross the tie downs. I just run them straight from a corner d-ring to the closest tie down.

Securing the trailer

You'll need to buy some pad locks for the trailer. Apparently, people like stealing ramps, fenders and trailers. I bought 3 locks at Home Depot. I got a pack of 3 Weather proof (level 3/6) locks for the ramp doors, all with the same key. I also bought a normal (level 5/6) lock for the hitch. I don't see any way of locking up the fenders besides putting them in the bed of the truck.

The trailer

I bought the following flat bed featherlite trailer from Valley Feather Lite, ask for Josh

It's a 2006 Featherlite 3110, all aluminum car hauler, 8'6" wide, 17'6" long, removable fenders and ramps. The removable fenders are handy as it makes loading the car easier and you can open your doors with them off. The trailer can haul 5200lbs of cargo. My cost was 5180 including sales tax, pre tax cost was 4800 USD.

Emergency break away for trailer

For some reason, my trailer just has a steel wire with a loop, no hook attached. You'll need to buy a caribiner (also in Home Depot) to attach this to the truck. You can't attach it to the hooks for the safety chains, it needs to be independantly attached to the truck.

How to tie down the car

There seems to be debate on this. I use my tie-downs straight, no crossing over. This works best with my tow hooks.

Ramps

Once you figure out where to put the ramps to get the car on the trailer then mark the ramp position on the trailer, saves a lot of time the next time you do it. I also needs two pieces of wood (2 inches x 12 inches x 24 inches). I use these at the end of the ramps to help the car clear the ramps. Longer ramps would probadly eliminate the need for these.

Positioning the car

I'm towing the car with the engine at the back of the trailer. I'm moving the car as far forward as I can. I'd like some weigh to measure tongue weight to get the best setup though and then just mark the car placement on the trailer.

Experience, towing the car

The whole setup is very good. You wouldn't know you're even towing at times. It's very stable, plenty of power. I get 14.6mpg over a 500 mile trip at 70-75mph on the highway. My tranny temp is a little higher when the trailer is on, maybe 170 instead of 130-140.