Trailering the 135?

[gizmo]

Hi all,

So, around the end of July I'm going to be moving from Portland, OR to Louisville, KY, with my 135. I accepted a new job and once in Louisville I'm going to need to "hit the ground running" - for lack of a better term.

I reserved a large diesel 22ft Penske truck(due to the fact that it is the smallest size diesel), when I probably only need a 10ft truck for all my "stuff". I plan to put the car on a full carrier(obviously), but I'm pretty concerned about rock chips, other debris coming off the back of the truck and hitting my car.

For ~100 bucks, I'm going to get a "bra" and might even do a bit of painters tape action above the windshield. I have heard that if it rains the painters tape can become a problem, any experience?

Does anyone have any experience trailering a car that far? or general advice to make sure she makes the trip unscathed?

TIA

[gizmo]

I thought about the entire cover, but the fact that they are pretty loose and might flap around, couldn't it cause more harm than good, ie flapping for 2300 miles... could become abrasive.

I suppose I could bunch up & zip tie the cover in the spots where there is excess material..

???

[ptack]

Cover the car, but first put blankets on the car, then the cover which you have to secure nice and tight.

[ARES45]

Anybody know if there is a moving company that has trucks that you can put vehicles into?

[gizmo]

So the consensus is - blue painters tape, used judiciously, will not provide adequate protection?

[gizmo]

Originally Posted by ARES45

Anybody know if there is a moving company that has trucks that you can put vehicles into?

If there is such a service, I have yet to find it.

[hbiscuit]

or you could pay the $600-$1000 for a car transport service to transport your car for you inside of a trailer...

[ky_soldier]

welcome to town....i'll be happy to introduce you to the local bmw cca members. :-)

[gizmo]

Originally Posted by alpnwhite96

or you could pay the $600-$1000 for a car transport service to transport your car for you inside of a trailer...

I would love to do it that way, but I'm going to need the car when I arrive in Louisville.

600-1000 gets you an open trailer, which would probably be worse than if I towed it.

~1500 gets you an enclosed trailer, and if I did that, I would have to rent a car for ~2 weeks = $2k, which is too much money for me to justify.

[TPLSM3]

Painters tape WILL come off in the rain....first hand experience with my e36 M3. What I would do is use painters blue tape first, then you can get the clear temporary carpet protector film (can get it at Home Depot) and put over the blue painters tape. The clear carpet film will keep the rain from lifting the blue tape up. This is your best bet as I've trailered my E36 M3 to car shows all over the midwest. I definitely wouldn't use a car cover as it will leave marks all over the car from the wind constantly moving it.

[gizmo]

Originally Posted by TPLSM3

Painters tape WILL come off in the rain....first hand experience with my e36 M3. What I would do is use painters blue tape first, then you can get the clear temporary carpet protector film (can get it at Home Depot) and put over the blue painters tape. The clear carpet film will keep the rain from lifting the blue tape up. This is your best bet as I've trailered my E36 M3 to car shows all over the midwest. I definitely wouldn't use a car cover as it will leave marks all over the car from the wind constantly moving it.

Cool, thats good advice. Do you wrap the carpet film around the entire car? Does it only stick to itself, like saran wrap? Should I just put it over the front?

THANKS

[TPLSM3]

The carpet film has a light adhesive on it. It's not quite as light as the blue tape, but it's not as heavy as duct tape. I always just kept it on the front end when I trailered my E36 M3.

[EODGUY]

Originally Posted by Phiberglass

I haven't heard about the rain and painters tape. The best best would be to put a car bra and painter tape everything else. It may even by wise to put an entire car cover on it and secure it down so it doesn't blow off, if they let you do that.

I can not even begin to tell you how much I don't recommend this. I moved my family from Georgia to Washington State right before I deployed, and destroyed the paint on our Charger. It doesn't matter how tight you get it, it will flap around and rub the paint down to metal if you drive it that far. You can get a car carrier with a shield on the front to protect from rocks and debris.

[ptack]

Folks, you just wrap the car in furniture blankets first. Tape those together then cover the car. It's the same as moving anything with a finish on a trailer.

[JBurer]

x 2.
I highly recommend against the car cover idea.

Originally Posted by EODGUY

I can not even begin to tell you how much I don't recommend this. I moved my family from Georgia to Washington State right before I deployed, and destroyed the paint on our Charger. It doesn't matter how tight you get it, it will flap around and rub the paint down to metal if you drive it that far. You can get a car carrier with a shield on the front to protect from rocks and debris.

[griptruk]

I would also vote against trying to cover the car in any kind of cloth. Over that long of a distance you are almost guaranteed to have problems with it, and you might even get pulled over for looking suspicious or something in these paranoid times. Truthfully, I wouldn't worry too much about it unless you're planning to do a lot driving over gravel. Most likely the truck will have mud flaps and the trailer will take a lot of the other stuff that gets past them. If anything maybe make a small plywood shield in the front if you're handy and have the right tools to make something solid and quick. I would not put a full 4x8 sheet or anything, because the wind will most likely rip it off and cause more damage than the pebbles it was protecting from. the adhesive carpet protecting stuff sounds like a good idea to protect the front edges, otherwise the car will just be dusty and have a little diesel wash and rain spray ( you have to imagine it's going to rain at least once on a cross country trip) A trip through the carwash will take care of that. I see no reason to cover the entire car. Another option might be to get some low tack vinyl from a sign shop, not regular vinyl, or you will have a hell of a time getting it back off. they have this thicker stuff for stores to go on walls and stuff that is a made to come back off somewhat easily.

-Jer