Saftey Chain Hook Up

[KeithR]

I have the Diamond R hidden Hitch and find it a pain hooking up the safety chains. Am I missing some thing or is there another option other than the 2 holes on top of the hitch inside the fender?

 

How do you guys hook your chains on the hitch? I have been thinking about something like the picture below.....is this advisable?

 

Keith

[zooer]

I just bought a couple of big snap hooks and drop them over the horizontal bar on both sides. You really can't use the ones on the hitch at all.

[Condor]

The R-Marks have a couple of places on the hitch plate to deal with that issue.

[Snaggletooth]

The picture looks like it would work fine. Just remember to cross your safety chains under the hitch so if you would have a break-a-way the ball hitch will drop into the cradle.

 

I've seen a couple riders that ran their chains so tight I don't know how they could turn. Not good.

[Flyinfool]

While that bracket may get you past the scrutiny of a trooper driving by, it defeats the purpose of the chains.

The chains should be attached to a permanent part of the tow vehicle so that if the ball unscrews or snaps off, or the hitch pin falls out of the stinger, the trailer is still chained to the tow vehicle.

 

You could add a couple of repair links to the hidden holes to make them more accessible.

[Condor]

While that bracket may get you past the scrutiny of a trooper driving by, it defeats the purpose of the chains.

The chains should be attached to a permanent part of the tow vehicle so that if the ball unscrews or snaps off, or the hitch pin falls out of the stinger, the trailer is still chained to the tow vehicle.

 

You could add a couple of repair links to the hidden holes to make them more accessible.

 

I guess the class 5 hitch on my truck won't pass muster either?? Same set up installed by U-Haul, and they should know. You can't plan for all 'what if's'. Basically the chains are there to keep the trailer under controll and behind the tow vehicle instead of wandering off into oncoming traffic and killing someone.... I've towed a lot of trailers over the years and I have never heard of or seen a ball snap, or seen a stinger shear off a hitch pin. I have seen couplers come off balls because the driver forgot to engage the clamp, but even that's really rare.

[Flyinfool]

True the most common disconnect, is between the ears, of failing to properly attach the coupler to the ball.

I have had a ball stud snap once on the trailer used to haul my stock car. The chains did their job and the only damage was a couple of small dents in the bumper of the truck while stopping.

[sarges46]

Errrr....not that rare......

[BOO]

Of course this didn't happen on the motorcycle but I had an equipment trailer that used a 2 5/16 ball and the boat I pulled around to fish in had a 1 7/8 ball. I had a ball that you could change just the ball so one day I backed up to the equipment trailer and one of the guys hooked it up for me. Nothing on the trailer but you guessed it, it bounced off the ball but the chains caught it but what a pain getting it back on the hitch.

Chains do work but they need to be heavy enough to hold the load while it banging around behind you. I don't think I would want that to happen behind the bike.

BOO

[Marcarl]

I've seen a ball snap off for no apparent reason and more than once seen them unscrew. Just don't think that it will never happen to me.

And that trailer belongs behind the tow vehicle, not in somebody else's face that had nothing to do with it.

The trick is to keep the chains as short as possible. Just put them on and then jack knife the trailer to see how short they really can be, you might be surprised how little room is necessary. When the chains are short, there is very little drop and so minimizes the effect on the tow vehicle, I'm not saying there will be no effect, but it should be controllable. If the chains are too long then the tongue will have more room to swing around and cause havoc, or worse, drop to the pavement and upset the apple cart and everything on it or in it.

If you really want to tow a trailer, and I do, then it's our responsibility to ensure the safety of those around us,,,, sure we really don't want this thing coming off and then be swinging behind us and causing us to travel in unplanned directions, but then what would we say if somebody else's trailer came off their unit and run straight into our path causing us to do a rough and tumble.

JMT

Carl

[crockettrider]

I tow trailers on my venture and have the Diamond hitch set up. It is a bit of a pain but I lay on my back for a few seconds and slide the hooks up in there. It is a bit of a pain but I have got it down pretty well. Maybe I need to train the wife to do it?

[CaptainJoe]

Just my two cents...

 

Whenever you chain your trailer to any vehicle....

 

You cross the chains between ball and receiver and twist chains to until they will still allow for a full turn but the slack is taken up. Then you connect to permanent points on each side of your reciever.

 

The theory here is, if the tongue of your trailer drops for any reason, it shouldn't be able to reach the road and start plowing into the road and flipping the trailer (and possibly you). It should be suspended above the road until you can safely stop.

 

At least thats what I've been told by a wreck examiner in PA.

Edited April 11, 2011 by CaptainJoe

[slick97spirit]

I guess the class 5 hitch on my truck won't pass muster either?? Same set up installed by U-Haul, and they should know. You can't plan for all 'what if's'. Basically the chains are there to keep the trailer under controll and behind the tow vehicle instead of wandering off into oncoming traffic and killing someone.... I've towed a lot of trailers over the years and I have never heard of or seen a ball snap, or seen a stinger shear off a hitch pin. I have seen couplers come off balls because the driver forgot to engage the clamp, but even that's really rare.

 

I had a friend whose stinger sheared the pin on his boat trailer. Luckily the chains worked as designed.

[wannarsv]

Maybe I need to train the wife to do it?

 

Let us know how that works out for ya!!!

[Condor]

These stories about a experiences with pins shearing, balls breaking, happened because of one reason. Operator error. Most of the time it's exceeding the capacity of the vehicle, receiver, hitch, or coupler with overloads. Like pulling a 10,000 boat with a 2" ball. The equipment is all overbuilt for it's class rating, and for something to break it really has to be abused.... My

[CaptainJoe]

Another way to shear a ball is to get rear eneded at any speed. The faster your going the more imperative that you have it hooked up properly.

 

Imagine someone rear ending you at 35-40 and the tounge dropping and digging into the road........

 

It's not going to be PURDY...

Edited April 11, 2011 by CaptainJoe

[Flyinfool]

These stories about a experiences with pins shearing, balls breaking, happened because of one reason. Operator error. Most of the time it's exceeding the capacity of the vehicle, receiver, hitch, or coupler with overloads. Like pulling a 10,000 boat with a 2" ball. The equipment is all overbuilt for it's class rating, and for something to break it really has to be abused.... My

 

In my case where the ball broke.

The ball was never overloaded beyond its ratings or even close for that matter. The trailer was never hit from behind or anywhere else. The trailer fully loaded was 5879lbs, according to a state patrol checkpoint, (Not including the tongue weight, they only put scales under the wheels) the trailer was rated for 7500 GVW, the hitch and draw-bar were rated for 10,000lbs, The 2-5/16 ball was rated for 10,000 lbs.

Looking at the broken ends of the shank and ball afterwards, there was an obvious flaw in the steel. There was some kind of an inclusion right at the topmost point of the shank. The only way to have known about this inclusion would have been an Xray, but who does that?

 

So yes stuff can happen, even if you have done everything right.

Odds are most people will never have a trailer part company with the tow vehicle but if you are going to use safety equipment you might as well use it correctly.

 

It's like having a helmet in the trunk, odds are that you will not need it, but if you do it sure would have been nice to have it properly installed.

[KeithR]

My son has a nasty scar the length of his chest because a guy just didn't bother to hook up his chains. He was walking home from school on the sidewalk and the guy went past and his snowmobile trailer popped off and hit him in the side......a lacerated liver and a bruised kidney. This was a few years ago and all is well except for the scar. We ended up suing the guy and I believe he did rec a traffic ticket.

 

 

Keith

[crockettrider]

Maybe I need to train the wife to do it?

 

Let us know how that works out for ya!!!

 

 

Heck, I can never get her to lay down?

 

I have tried crossing th chains and quite frankly...the 4" spread doesn't allow for any crossover. I do like the idea of wrapping them but I would imagine you have to be careful not to shorten them too much.

[BEER30]

I have the Diamond R hitch as well. I use cables instead of chains. They are rated for safety chain replacements. I have the large snap safety snap hooks on one end and bolted to the trailer tongue on the other. The cables have a coil shape at which I pass the cable end over the outer sides from the draw bar and back to the trailer tongue. I also twist the cables back into them selves as the go forth and back. The cables are rubber coated, therefore they have not rubbed the finish of the scoot and I get no chain rattle on bumpy roads.

 

BEER30

[Condor]

I have the Diamond R hitch as well. I use cables instead of chains. They are rated for safety chain replacements.

BEER30

 

That's a great idea. I have plenty of coated life line cable available to make up a set.

[CaptainJoe]

The nice thing about using chains is, the more you twist them, the shorter they get... therefore no need to cut.

 

also:

 

I have always used the last link on end of trailer chain to insert a "chain link with threads" (don't know what their proper name is) but you essentially have a link that has threads onto top and bottom of one side of the link that a long Nut connects.

 

Before you use cable I'd check to see what the law says. The ones I've read say saftey chains... Don't give an insurance compny any weasel room...LOL

 

Ride safe guys...

[sarges46]

Maybe I need to train the wife to do it?

 

Let us know how that works out for ya!!!

 

 

 

Didnt work out so well for me!! Lmao! Or at least make sure you check yourself first after someone else has hooked the trailer up!

[Mel]

Yep, put a pair of threaded links on and use them to hook your chains into. That should make it easy enough to reach.

 

To be effective the chains must be crossed and attached to the tow vehicle/receiver, not to the "stinger". If something fails, you want the chains attached to the vehicle. The set-up in the picture with the plate mounted with the ball is the absolutely wrong place to hook up safety chains.