Hoods' Car Hauler Thread

[Duck]

As I've mentioned in other threads, I'm in the process of getting a car hauler trailer ready for future long distance Cadillac shows and the Woodward Dream Cruise in Detroit which happens the 3rd week of August. I missed this years cruise.

Anyway, this is my latest. I was asked if the truck tailgate would clear the jack on another forum so I just C&Ped from that thread to this one.


Yes, the tailgate clears with a lot of room to spare.

I also pretty much finished up what I wanted to do to it this week and then put the car up on it for the first time.
The box is mounted on the deck. It's just a few inches too deep to get it on the tongue, but that's not an issue.

A deep cycle battery was mounted inside the box on a cushion with a strap securing it. Then the pigtail from the truck was tapped into to run a hot lead to the battery to keep it charged and also boost the power to the jack.

On the first try with the car, I ran it all the way up to a few inches the cam box. No good. This without the spring bars in place. I wanted to see what it would do to the trucks suspension. It just about set it down on the frame. So I backed it up a little, then looked and did this a few more times to where I was still putting a fair amount of weight on the truck, but not killing it. I set the wheel stop chocks there, backed up to where the trailer was then lifting the truck, then set the spring bars into play.

Now, I brought the car back to the chocks and got out the tape. I now have the rear of the truck riding 1/2" lower than unladen and the front up 1/2", while still putting plenty of tongue weight on it for stability. Next, I have a few truck stops within 20 miles of me with scales. I want to get a tare weight and then get a loaded weight to see if I need to redistribute the weight differently.

The glory of this E-Track system is the ability to adjust the load 2" at a time either way. I followed the instructions for the initial hitch set up to the letter and made my coupler and hitch height settings just right. I also found out I don't have to remove the drivers side fender. The car door clears it by almost 4".

Attached are a few pix of where I am now. Still open to all suggestions to those that have used these hitches. I'm curious how it will go around a corner.View attachment 90536View attachment 90538View attachment 90539View attachment 90537

Is that your house? The white with blue trim?
Wait, of course it's yours.. There's a section of drywall missing from the rear wall of the garage

Anyway I was just thinking that roof design is probably the closest thing to ideal for hurricanes. It's aerodynamic from all directions.

I zoomed in on the windows and it looks like there isn't a single pane of glass bigger than maybe a square foot.

A friend down there recently posted on Facebook that his windows were going to cost tons of money and I told him I just replaced one for $200. He said they've got to be hurricane rated.

How's a hurricane rated window different than a regular one? Thicker glass, or polycarbonate, and stronger framework?

 

[389 Hood]

Is that your house? The white with blue trim?
Wait, of course it's yours.. There's a section of drywall missing from the rear wall of the garage

Anyway I was just thinking that roof design is probably the closest thing to ideal for hurricanes. It's aerodynamic from all directions.

I zoomed in on the windows and it looks like there isn't a single pane of glass bigger than maybe a square foot.

A friend down there recently posted on Facebook that his windows were going to cost tons of money and I told him I just replaced one for $200. He said they've got to be hurricane rated.

How's a hurricane rated window different than a regular one? Thicker glass, or polycarbonate, and stronger framework?

LOLOL!! The section of drywall is missing so the car fits in the garage.I needed just a few more inches so the garage door bracing would clear the bumper. So, I have to be real careful on that last inch. I already popped the skim coat off of the guest room wall on the inside.

The roof shape is known as a 'hip roof'. There are no gables anywhere and it gives you the sleekest design to not trap winds. It also gives you a really good discount on the windstorm insurance. That section over the front door gives me a mitigation reduction because it has the ability to trap winds coming at it. But they only classify it as a 7% reduction. Not a big deal.

The windows are rated at 200mph. A fairly hot .44 won't penetrate it. It just flattens the load and it falls to the ground. They are full plates at 24" X 36". Single hung that tilt in too. That design is strips of plastic in between the two sections of 'glass' with Argon gas in between under a vacuum. I honestly don't know what the window material is. The framework is a polycarbonate and it's fastened to the block every 6" with Tapcons. The 'glass' is 3/16" thick and there are 2 plates, similar to northern storm windows. I know they are damned heavy.

If you want to research the product... newsouthwindows.com I got the best they had. All windows are custom made to the installation. Each of those double windows is classified as 2 windows, so 14 in all around the house. My house in Ft. Lauderdale had 36. It was like an aquarium. In 2018 when I had them done, after discounts it was still $24,000. One of these buy 2 get 1 free deals. Do it today and it's double that cost. The metal roof was $27,000. My insurance company paid for that after Hurricane Michael took a few shingles off. I had a Certified Public Adjuster work the whole deal to get the roof done with no out of pocket from me. It was a gift.

 

[Rigjockey]

That's like a fortress with all those details. No wonder you ride out hurricanes fairly calm.

 

[Duck]

LOLOL!! The section of drywall is missing so the car fits in the garage.I needed just a few more inches so the garage door bracing would clear the bumper. So, I have to be real careful on that last inch. I already popped the skim coat off of the guest room wall on the inside.

The roof shape is known as a 'hip roof'. There are no gables anywhere and it gives you the sleekest design to not trap winds. It also gives you a really good discount on the windstorm insurance. That section over the front door gives me a mitigation reduction because it has the ability to trap winds coming at it. But they only classify it as a 7% reduction. Not a big deal.

The windows are rated at 200mph. A fairly hot .44 won't penetrate it. It just flattens the load and it falls to the ground. They are full plates at 24" X 36". Single hung that tilt in too. That design is strips of plastic in between the two sections of 'glass' with Argon gas in between under a vacuum. I honestly don't know what the window material is. The framework is a polycarbonate and it's fastened to the block every 6" with Tapcons. The 'glass' is 3/16" thick and there are 2 plates, similar to northern storm windows. I know they are damned heavy.

If you want to research the product... newsouthwindows.com I got the best they had. All windows are custom made to the installation. Each of those double windows is classified as 2 windows, so 14 in all around the house. My house in Ft. Lauderdale had 36. It was like an aquarium. In 2018 when I had them done, after discounts it was still $24,000. One of these buy 2 get 1 free deals. Do it today and it's double that cost. The metal roof was $27,000. My insurance company paid for that after Hurricane Michael took a few shingles off. I had a Certified Public Adjuster work the whole deal to get the roof done with no out of pocket from me. It was a gift.

I knew why the drywall is missing but I didn't know about the windows.

The roof is obviously metal but doesn't look like what I've seen up here. For a metal roof we just use ribbed 29 gauge pole barn siding. It's rated for 180 mph wind I think. I dunno, I think the wind rating is going to vary by how many screws you use & the length of the screws.

But the rib pattern looks different than yours.

 

[389 Hood]

I knew why the drywall is missing but I didn't know about the windows.

The roof is obviously metal but doesn't look like what I've seen up here. For a metal roof we just use ribbed 29 gauge pole barn siding. It's rated for 180 mph wind I think. I dunno, I think the wind rating is going to vary by how many screws you use & the length of the screws.

But the rib pattern looks different than yours.

The roof material is what they 'galvalume'. It's an oily galvanized steel with an aluminum look. The panels are 16" wide and have locking joints on one side and a strip down the other with a screw hole every 6". The screws are 1 1/2" long and have to penetrate fully into the roof decking which is 5/8" BC plywood. The only opening in any of it is the ridge vent at the peaks of each section, 4 facing opposite directions.

It is pretty much like a fortress, my only worries being the neighbors trees. But, being a bunch of broke dems, they won't get them trimmed.

 

[AK7]

After losing his 1972 Packers Cadillac to fire, Pittsfield man has a new old ride to keep his Lambeau tailgate tradition rolling

Bart Boyden's green and gold Cadillac Fleetwood was a fixture at Lambeau for 34 years. His replacement made its debut at the Packers-Bears game.

www.greenbaypressgazette.com