#and then i need to make the belt attachment with hardware installed so my friends fursuit tail doesnt drag on the floor

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i made a collar 😵‍💫

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The GeoZilla GPS Tracker Will Find Your Stuff Nearly Anywhere Josh Hendrickson Most trackers like Tile or Chipolo communicate through Bluetooth. That’s great for battery life and size but terrible for finding your lost thing more than a room or two away. GeoZilla’s GPS tracker uses 3G service to contact you anywhere—well, almost anywhere. If you’re prone to losing your keys or your dog is an escape artist, tracking devices sound nice. Most of them have a laughably short range, though, usually no more than a room or two. And though they boast crowdsourcing to expand that range, the truth is there aren’t enough trackers out there for the guaranteed coverage everywhere you go. Whether or not it will help is a game of luck right now. You might have lost your tracker near other people with compatible trackers, but it seems just as likely that it will be somewhere alone unable to communicate. GeoZilla is trying to solve that with a sensible approach: a combination of GPS and 3G service. You buy the $50 hardware and subscribe to a data plan to activate the 3G service. You can choose $5 a month, $50 a year, or $99 for three years. Given that spread, three years makes the most sense. Once you have a plan, the tracker pings at set intervals so you can find your lost widget anywhere. Mostly it works well—when the app doesn’t let the hardware down at least. Simple Effective Hardware GeoZilla Generally, trackers should be small, unobtrusive, and lightweight. This GPS tracker is larger than Bluetooth trackers like Tile or Chipolo, but that’s understandable given the extra radios it contains. It’s about the size of a keyfob, though, so it will still fit in your pockets or most other places you’d want to stow it away. The face has three buttons—one for SOS and two that don’t do anything currently. I’m not sure what they’re for, as none of the instructions or the app mentions them. Pressing the SOS button for four seconds sends a text message to chosen contacts with a google map location link, while anybody with the app installed and linked will also receive a similar notification. It’s simple hardware, but that’s all it needs to be. Josh Hendrickson The tracker itself has small holes for the included lanyard but won’t fit a standard keychain setup. It comes with two cases that will take care of that. The first is a hardshell case that adds to the overall bulkiness of the product. It is satisfyingly solid, though, and seems like it’ll protect the tracker form any hard drops. The other is a soft case with a belt loop, perfect for attaching to a dog collar, purse, or even a kid’s belt. The soft case also adds a loop you could connect to the included lanyard. All in all, it’s fine hardware; the tracker is everything it’s needs to be and not an inch more. And I prefer that to something over-engineered and complicated—like the tracker’s app. A Dual-Use App With Unnecessary Subscriptions Really not a fan of these (unnecessary!) premium messages you can’t avoid. Unfortunately for the GPS tracker, GeoZilla’s app (available for Android and iOS) needs work. Instead of creating an entirely new app for the GPS tracker, GeoZilla folded it into the company’s existing app. Think of GeoZilla’s app as a cross-platform Find My Friends on steroids. Unfortunately, the very first thing the app greets you with on the first launch is a premium subscription offer and trial. Read the remaining 16 paragraphs https://buff.ly/2M5ZcsV

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The Right Way to Tie Down Your Hot Rod for Towing

You know how it goes. Every now ’n’ then, poop happens. If and when it does we might find ourselves far away from our own trailers in need of roadside assistance. If by chance you’re a card-carrying member of a roadside-assistance insurance company, think twice or more before placing your trust—and your pride and joy—in the hands of the first driver your “club” dispatches. Those drivers are on rotation, meaning whichever towing company is up next is the one that gets the call—and some of those drivers are rough. If it’s your daily door-slammer, fine. If it’s your pride and joy hot rod, street rod, custom rod, call the shots and call a towing professional you’re comfortable with. Granted, that’s only possible where we know the players—like close to home, but, statistically, close to home is usually where poop happens anyway.

Now, I don’t exactly recall mentioning this here before, but years ago I was a tow-biz professional myself. With that bit of experience I solidly believe that I know what to look for at tow time. If it’s painted, plated, and/or polished, it doesn’t have to take a beating from a reckless slob with greasy J-hooks and a big ol’ paint-scratchin’ ring of keys hangin’ from a belt loop.

Around the tow yard and out on the streets we see dangerously sloppy performances by Brand-X tow services. Thinking back, one of the worst loading procedures I’ve personally witnessed involved a guy many of us know. When his Model A coupe cracked an axle housing, a call went out to his towing insurer. As requested, a driver arrived with a rollback, but his bed was coated with motor oil and antifreeze with a sprinkling of broken glass. I watched in horror as that driver lowered his bed to the asphalt and instructed the car’s owner to drive it up onto the truck. That’s nuts! A qualified driver would never relinquish control. From here let’s switch to positive; take a deep breath and relax as we watch a true tow pro in action.

For the purpose of illustration, let’s raise the hood of a car that’s not really broken down. Then let’s search for a payphone. Then let’s search for a payphone that works and call a towing company owned and operated by real hot-roddin’ car guys who get it. Yes, qualified tow truck drivers are out there—perhaps in your area too. Just a little homework, just ahead of tow time, can save you some grief. On that note, let’s begin with our dramatization. Granted, every situation is different. Granted, there’s more than one way to load a hot rod, but for the job at hand, this is how we do it in the city of Riverside, California.

Inevitably, when it happens, it’ll be in some scary place. Sure enough, this time it’s right here at home. At times like these it’s good to know who to call. In this instance it’s my tow-truckin’ friend who’d prefer to remain anonymous, Gary “Wizbang” Estee.

So, in tow terms, here’s a nylon bridal and a couple nylon D-ringed straps. These things are only the beginning of this particular loading procedure.

Whenever a job demands it, additional padding is affixed to the nylon D-ringed straps. Clean cloth diapers will work, but these days we pretty much prefer softer, microfiber toweling, like the kind we’d find at Harbor Freight.

So, here Estee begins his hookup. From a down-low perspective we can almost feel the pressure. That axle is ground smooth and painted as pretty as any topside part of this car. A more thoughtful builder might have incorporated tow-time hookup provisions, but this car’s builder (yours truly) didn’t think that far ahead.

Scrutinizing his hookup as he goes, Estee chooses to keep his nylon bridal straps clear from this car’s chrome-plated custom nerf bars. Once again the aforementioned microfiber toweling comes into play between nerf bars and a fairly proper length of 4×4-inch wood.

Estee’s truck positioning is spot-on. Two lengths of 4×6-inch wood are used to decrease the loading angle for the lower cars we haul. Around here we call ’em “approach ramps” and if your driver rolls up without, make another phone call.

With the initial front hookup completed, Estee operates his winch just enough to take up cable slack. This would be a good time to put your shifter in its neutral position and release the park brake partially. Why partially? Because we’re working on a slight downhill.

To this point we’ve witnessed a good amount of TLC toward the front end of this car, but what’s happening out back? Any tow pro should know to watch both ends while loading. If yours is draggin’ tailpipes, tell the fool to put your car down and make another phone call.

Back when I was towing, basket straps were not yet in vogue. According to Estee, these have gained popularity since new cars today don’t have much to hook to. Here in this hot rod application, securing tires rather than shiny, painted underpinnings makes sense too.

Once all four corners are secured via basket straps, the initial upfront hookup (cable, nylon bridal and padded D-ringed straps) can be loosened up a tad or two, as we won’t depend on cable tension while rolling down the road anyhow.

For positive security, two ratcheting safety straps are employed up front. These are now hooked into the same microfiber-padded D-ringed straps that our hookup all began with. If this were an actual emergency, we’d be just about ready to roll.

The preceding dramatization was only intended to illustrate safe ’n’ proper loading by a tow-biz professional who knows what he’s doing and cares. Although operators like Estee are the minority, you just might have one in your area. Go on, do your homework and get to know your local tow pro—before tow time.

Trailer Tips for Do-It-Yourselfers

“If you want it done right,” call the right towing company or do it yourself. In times of lesser emergency when we have our own way, it’s tough to beat the safety and security of our own trailers. During the course of most any homebased build, a project will likely be trailered from place to place for this or that. After the build we might still trailer a finished rod or custom, at least on occasion. In this instance, after a marathon detailing session, a little Deuce five-window is about to be loaded into an enclosed trailer for the Grand National Roadster Show.

This year once again we’ll borrow a friend’s enclosed trailer. The trailer is a nice one, but last year we struggled with our friend’s catchy ratchet straps. This time we’ll save some skin, as we’ve just received a shipment from Mac’s Custom Tie-Downs. For the job at hand we’ve chosen a Pro Pack, which is a popular Summit staple as well. Since our friend’s trailer is already equipped with floor-mount recessed D-rings, Mac’s fixed (direct hook) ratchet straps fit the bill. Next time we might use a trailer with E-tracks installed in its floor, so we’ve ordered additional bits for that application. Made right here in the U.S., this is high-end stuff, designed specifically for folks like us, by folks like us. From here let’s begin at the beginning. It’s time to load up.

Same as before, we’ll need to pay attention to changing ground clearances at both ends as we load. When loading a lowered-enough vehicle into and/or onto a trailer with a drop-down door or ramps, we’d best pay attention to the underside as well.

This time our tow vehicle is a 3/4-ton shop truck equipped with airbags, so we can raise its tail end to decrease the apex as necessary. Without the airbag option, Plan B might involve driving the truck’s rear wheels onto approach ramps, like the ones we saw used earlier by our tow truck driver.

So, here’s what we’ve just received from Mac’s. This Pro Pack consists of four 10,000-pound 2-inch-wide ratchet straps, four 10,000-pound axle straps, four strap wrap storage straps, four protective fleece sleeves, and a heavy-duty padded bag to boot. Also as a side order we have four E-track ratchets, which fit the bill for the other trailer.

Here’s a closer look at both ratchet styles we’ve ordered. The E-track style on the left is self-centering. The fixed (direct hook) style allows a close connection to trailer floor D-rings, which gives a nice advantage for loading a lowered rod, custom, and so on.

There really is a difference. If you visit Mac’s website you might see company founder Colin McLemore spinnin’ a ratchet’s hub. It’s an impressive demonstration, worth trying here and now. Let’s give this one a spin, and another, and another—just because we can.

While we’re playing with our new toys there’s a little Deuce five-window in the trailer just waiting to be tied down. Now, I don’t know about you, but I love the sound of Velcro. On that note, let’s outfit Mac’s axle straps with Mac’s protective fleece sleeves.

The soft side is microfiber. Attached this way the sleeves will protect paint and plating. In addition, they’re easily detachable when not needed. At the ends of these ratchet straps, Mac’s unique snap hooks give another advantage, as their top-mounted thumb release feature is a skin saver as well.

A few extra wraps on any ratchet’s hub will help prevent slippage, so we’ll begin ratcheting with a little slack in the straps. Now this is where we notice another difference—the smooth and easy operation of Mac’s ratchet mechanisms.

At this stage our new tie-down hardware is only slightly snugged. This would be a good time to pull this tall gennie shifter into its Neutral position. Then we’ll make the rounds to each corner for a final tightening down.

In this instance our straps are fairly far extended to reach the outermost D-rings. Ordinarily we’d prefer to have the straps parallel with the vehicle’s frame, but this arrangement enables us to keep pressure off of Pete and Jakes’ chrome-plated shock absorbers.

For the rear hookup, the straps are straight but still fairly far extended, so there’s only a little over a foot’s worth of excess. For rolling down the road in an enclosed trailer this is fine. If we were using a regular flat trailer, however, we wouldn’t want our excess strap ends dangling loosely.

Now, let’s just imagine we’re using a regular flat trailer. Let’s also imagine we have a longer length of excess strap. We surely wouldn’t want that blowin’ in the breeze. In such situations we see knotted messes all the time. Here Mac’s dual-purpose strap wraps are a tidy alternative.

By the way, we did OK at the show, and while we were there we purchased a second Pro Pack to keep. For our needs, the Pro Pack is indeed the proper choice. For other applications, Mac’s offers plenty more, including custom applications.

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