Any suggestions for loading a 68 Charger R/T onto a trailer?

[OldGuy]

We found a 1968 Charger R/T about a year ago and the guy has finally decided to sell it after hounding him for a year.  (Will post up more details after the deal is done, it is loaded up and sitting in our back yard).  It has been sitting for about 25 years – engine has been torn down, tires are flat and I don't know if the front and/or back wheels will roll due to sitting.  We are going to try to put some wheels and tires on it to see if it will roll.  The plan is to pull it up onto a flatbed car trailer and trailer it home.  The question is – has anyone ever tried to pull a non-operating car up onto a car trailer and what is the best way to do that?  I have an 8,000 lb. hand winch (come-along) and two strong sons who are going to help.  Would you pull it up rear end or front end first?  Any other suggestions would be helpful.

[Blown70]

Well you could do it the hardest way and push it......

Winch?

Or comalong and chain.... slow but works.


Tom

[70charginglizard]

Carl!

Thats a sweet find. Should make for another awesome car in your guys charger collection. Congrads. 

Kelly

[41husk]

we have used a come along and chain and pulled them up front first, if it rolls two strong sons can push it up on the trailor.

[Judhudson]

I was in the same position as you, OldGuy.  A come-along really did the work.  My dad worked the come-along, I pushed and moved the steering, and the guy that I bought it from helped push.  The tires were all flat, so it was a tad difficult pushing it up the trailer ramps - that's where the come along kicks in.  Also, I had the front end towards the front of the trailer, so when I parked it and unloaded it, it backed out nice into our driveway.

I do recommend changing the tires if you have spares.  Flats are no fun.

[41husk]

yes and I forgott to say, "great find, Congratulations!"

[derailed]

I would load it on the trailer nose first, otherwise you may not have enough tongue weight and it may get a little squirly on you going down the road. Like the others said, maybe you can get another set of wheels on there for the time being to help load and unload, a come along should work fine.

[Troy]

If it's been sitting a long time the brakes are likely stuck. You'll need the come-along plus the two boys but it can be done. Without the engine you can load it on the trailer either way. It may be best to put it on backwards though to get more weight on the tongue (depending on the length of the trailer) and just in case you have low air pressure in the tires you won't snag the trans crossmember on the rear of the trailer. Don't ask me how I know this. I'm sure this sounds self-explanatory but be sure to tighten the straps completely before you drive off. I swear almost every car I saw leaving the show yesterday had at least one tie-down flapping in the breeze!

Troy

[Troy]

I would load it on the trailer nose first, otherwise you may not have enough tongue weight and it may get a little squirly on you going down the road.

It doesn't seem to have an engine in it or I'd agree.

Troy

[last426]

I would get a couple of cans of fix-a-flat and shoot'em in there and yank away.  Kim

[bull]

I loaded mine with no engine or trans just using a come-along, or hand-operated cable winch (whatever you want to call it) wrapped around the K-member onto a U-haul flatbed. It took some time but went on very easy.

[8WHEELER]

Hey congrats Carl 

Time to put JR back to work on these Chargers. So the entire car is still there it just has the heads in the trunk still right?
Yes buy all means you can use a come along, I have done it 3x with friends cars because I was much bigger than they
were. I would get it off the ground first and put some good rolling tires on it, keep blocks of wood with you to put behind
the tires, because you will have to unhook and start over on the come along several times.

Or do what I do now, ask a friend with a trailer that has a winch on it and never break a sweat 
I actually bought an 8k winch from Harbor Freight runs off 110, bolted it to a 8ft square 2 1/2 box tubing
and winch it up, that way if I don't have that trailer, and there is a power supply, its easy something to think
about.

Good Luck Carl

Dan

[Silver R/T]

Is that origininally Silver with black stripes? Nice find.
Winch should work, guy that bought my 57 Chevy wagon used one to get it on his trailer (with 3 flat tires) and it worked fine

[OldGuy]

Dan:
It's still all there - the heads and other engine parts are still in the back seat area.  It will be Eric's car - he hasn't been able to sleep much since the guy okayed the deal.

Silver R/T:
It is metallic silver with a black stripe - black vinyl top and black interior.  Like I said earlier - once the deal has been closed and the car is sitting in the backyard, I will give more details about it.

[41husk]

More pics too please!!!!

[bull]

Dan:
It's still all there - the heads and other engine parts are still in the back seat area.  It will be Eric's car - he hasn't been able to sleep much since the guy okayed the deal.

Silver R/T:
It is metallic silver with a black stripe - black vinyl top and black interior.  Like I said earlier - once the deal has been closed and the car is sitting in the backyard, I will give more details about it.

Ooooo! Very nice color combo. That's a definite keeper.

[OldGuy]

We are scheduled to go pick it up this Saturday, 10/7 - 140 miles away.  As indicated, I want to close the deal first and get it in the back yard before I post up more details.  After that I will post up the fender tag decode and add more pictures. 

[OldGuy]

Okay update - we picked up the 68 R/T today.  Thanks for all of your suggestions.  The car had been sitting in the same spot for over 25 years and we were concerned that the brakes and/or wheels could be locked up.  Also, we didn't know if we could get the old rims and tires off to put some good ones on to move it.  Well everything went much better than we expected.  The lug nuts spun right off so we were able to put on a foursome of good tires.  Both the front and rear wheels turned with no problem and even the emergency brake still worked.  We used two (2) 8000 lb. come alongs with chains to pull it up onto the trailer - no sweat.  We then chained it down front and rear.  We drove back home 140 miles and it didn't budge an inch. 

Okay - you all have been asking for more details and pictures.  I will start a new thread titled "WIW 68 Charger R/T, 440, 4-speed, #'s matching".  Will post up pictures, decode of the fender tag and other details.

[OldGuy]

Side view of Charger while loading.

[OldGuy]

Charger is loaded on the trailer.

[OldGuy]

Me and the Mrs. following along behind on the way home.

[OldGuy]

Backing the Charger into the side yard.

[OldGuy]

My two (2) sons that did the job - Spencer and Eric.  Eric is on the right and he is the one that bought the car.  It is his dream car.

[skip68]

    NICE !!!  Did you get a good deal on the price?   

[terrible one]

GREAT! And again, awesome color combo! That looks like a real solid project.

[Silver R/T]

awesome, makes nice sister for my 68 R/T

[blackcharger]

I would load it on the trailer nose first, otherwise you may not have enough tongue weight and it may get a little squirly on you going down the road. Like the others said, maybe you can get another set of wheels on there for the time being to help load and unload, a come along should work fine.

been there, done that, it ain't fun! I usually take four good wheels and tires. Take a small torch set, those lug nuts sometimes need a litle help to come off. Make sure you have a good six point socket and cheater bar. The come a long has worked well for me.

[OldGuy]

Last426 suggested we get a couple of cans of fix-a-flat and air them up to move the car.  Don't think it would have worked on these puppies.  At least we got two (2) of the original 500 rims and the spare rim.