I am in the process of rigging my Mini out for proper lashing onto a trailer. I purchased Front Tow Hooks and Rear Tie Down Brackets from GB Cars. The Front Tow Hooks are pretty beefy and installed easily although I had to shorten the bolts about 1 1/4 inches in order to tighten them as there were obstructions. The bolts are larger in diameter than the original subframe bolts.

Now for the rear brackets. http://www.gbcarparts.com/rearbracket.htm
Has anyone in the forum done this installation? It seems that drilling will be necesssary pretty close to the edge of the subframe and that there may be interference from the, for lack of a better term, internal I-Beam feature of the rear subframe at that point. (like drilling up through the center of an I beam) Not wanting to do any unnecessary drilling.

Also, have located a manufacturer of trailers for small cars. C and C industries in Gaithersburg, MD http://www.candcindustries.com makes a single axle car trailer, 2500 lb capacity that looks like a fit for my towing needs. I am considering ordering one. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Tom

 

over the tire straps work best. kind of Uhaul style.

 

Those 'S' Racer tow hooks for the Classic Mini look really nice. I made a set for the rear myself out of steel plate. The drilling is somewhat tricky, but it can be done and it holds the tow straps really well. If you don't want to use them you can use axle straps and lace them thru the subframe under the suspension cone.

As far as the front goes, there are holes in the subframe on either side just behind the front axles. You can reach them from the side of the car behind the front wheel. I like this point to strap as it is strong and on the subframe.

I don't really like tire straps as they tend to be single purpose and on Classic Minis you don't have much room. Have not seen any Classic Mini racers use tire straps.

Here is a picture of the setup I used to go to MMW 2005 in San Fransico. Nothing came loose and everything rode great!



I think this will be the same setup going to MMW 2007 in Hood River, just will upgrade the tow vehicle.

 

Reviving this thread. My rear brackets are doing fine, but one of my front hooks snapped off last week as I was lashing the Mini to the trailer. It broke off outside the flange that fits against the front subframe, so fortunately the structure has not been compromised. I probably only used them as a tie down about 10 times. There may have been too much lateral force applied as the pull was about 45 degrees off centerline. I would prefer to add some of the rear versions to the front subframe, but have not quite figured that one out. Image of hooks is here. http://www.sracer.com/catalog/products/srp008f.htm

 

I don't have front brackets yet, but when I do, I will mount those same rear brackets on the front subframe sides facing down and forward. A friend has that configuration and it's very strong. In the interim, I just lash around the front arm where it connects the the front subframe ... very strong enough for the purpose of lashing to a trailer.

Edit: I installed one of those S-Racer front hooks and decided to thread it in to the subframe as much as possible to minimize the possibility of bending it or snapping it off. I will only use that for track extracation when/if that time comes. It just doesn't seem strong enough for me to use as a trailer tie down point.

 

If you can post a picture of your friend's front mount, that would be great.

 

I'm picking up one of these. It folds down. I may have to modify it to work. i'll let ya know.

 

I'm just not convinced that strapping the front of the Mini from tow hooks mounted in the front subframe is the right way to go.

I like hooking the tow strap into the subframe. There are holes already in the subframe, why not use them?

Rear hookups:

... with a plate mounted to the subframe (similar to the S Racer type)



...using an axle strap through the subframe.



... and hooking into the front subframe (photo looking from the front of the Mini back).