Safty chains on your trailer

[gershum]

I know it required to have safty chains on our trailers. But has anyone out there ever have a trailer come off while towing? Have they seen the results of this happening? My guess it would put the bike out of control, resulting it the drivers death, passenger and maybe others. What if the trailer released and there wrer no chains driver and passenger might control the bike. what are the odds of the small trailer killing someone, maybe a lot less if the were hit by bike and trailer. Just had this thought today. what do you guys think?

[tufftom4]

I had the safety chains on my trailer when the old lady hit me and the cops said if I did not have them on my trailer would have rolled and I would have lost everything as it was it followed my bike down the road into the ditch but stayed on both wheels so I will always use the chains.

[Freebird]

Well, this has been discussed before and there are differing opinions. This is just my opinion. The chains are there to protect OTHER people from a runaway trailer. I would feel pretty bad if my trailer came lose and caused the death or serious injury of another person. Whether or not it is safer or not safer for me is not the point. If a rider feels that using the chains makes it less safe for THEM when pulling a trailer then in my opinion, they should simply not pull one.

[gershum]

The question is what will do more harm if it strikes somebody else, a trailer a bike and two human bodies, or a trailer by itself? what happens to the bike when the trailer releases and the chains stay? Just asking because I don't know . Can we control the bike with a loose trailer? Is the end result the same

[Freebird]

If the chains are connected properly and of the correct length, you would not likely be dealing with a loose trailer. They should be crossed under the tongue and short enough to suspend the tongue of the trailer. If all is done correctly, there is a very good chance of controlling the bike.

[painterman67]

The question is what will do more harm if it strikes somebody else, a trailer a bike and two human bodies, or a trailer by itself? what happens to the bike when the trailer releases and the chains stay? Just asking because I don't know . Can we control the bike with a loose trailer? Is the end result the same

 

 

there is also the other senario. What if you lost your trailer unchained and still lost control of the bike. Now you have trailer going in one direction and bike and passengers gong possibly in another. Now there are at least 2 runaway vehicle to miss.

 

For me I will always carry my trailer chained to the bike. Hopefully corectly so I dont lose control but one never knows. As freebird has already stated. Id hate to think that worrying about my own safety I jeperdised someone else.

 

david

[dacheedah]

Your chains should be crossed and set to length so that if the trailer came unhitched it would cradle the tongue and keep it off the ground. This gives you the ability to safely pull over and reconnect. It may give you a jerk but not much more than if it was connected to the ball. Going forward your tire would kick the trailer back away. Just like a blown tire, if your trailer came loose you stay off the brake and throttle and steer to a stop.

[KeithR]

I may have mentioned this before but back a few years my son was struck by a snowmobile trailer that. A guy didn.t use safety chains. The trailer got loose and struck him while walking on a sidewalk......brusied kidneys.......lacerated liver.....nice scar the length.of his chest......

So yes you need to use chains. Not a motorcycle related accident but. An example of what can happen.

 

Keith

[playboy]

Our first close call on our venture was trailer related. A guy on his way to pickup his buddies broke down Harley lost the trailer he was going to use. The nut came off of the ball and the trailer hit the pavement because the chains were to long and violently detached from the pick up truck pulling it directly in front of us.

[Pegasus1300]

You know this is very interesting speculation,better to chain or not chain.Who knows? But it is all moot as the law at least in Utah says you will chain and there will be 2 chains and they will cross under the tongue to support it. Until we get some empirical evidence to the contrary I don't think we are going to change very many legislators minds in very many states.

[XV1100SE]

Did a search and found an article from U-Haul that has lots of info. *** comments on how to properly measure tongue weight ***** U-Haul and others recommend that 60% of the weight be in front of the axle of the tow vehicle.

 

Master Lock study - http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/uploads/Towing_Troubles_2006_Study.pdf

 

 

NHTSA info :

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/equipment/towing/index.htm

[Marcarl]

In my opinion: the shorter the chains the better, and you might be surprised as to how short the chains can be. What I did was to jack-knife the trailer and then make the chain as short as possible, amazingly, they barely hang. I figure when the chains are short then the drop of the tongue will be the shortest, the pull of a detached trailer will be minimized, and the effect of the tongue getting involved with a rotating rear tire will be less dramatic.

[Mel]

Did a search and found an article from U-Haul that has lots of info. *** comments on how to properly measure tongue weight ***** U-Haul and others recommend that 60% of the weight be in front of the axle of the tow vehicle.

 

Master Lock study - http://www.dangeroustrailers.org/uploads/Towing_Troubles_2006_Study.pdf

 

 

NHTSA info :

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/problems/equipment/towing/index.htm

 

 

I looked but could not find the 60% weight thing in the links. Do you maybe mean 60% of the weight in front of the towed vehicle's (the trailer) axle? I don't know how to get 60% of the weight in front of the tow vehicle's axle unless maybe using a fifth wheel. Sorry, but I don't understand.

[XV1100SE]

Sorry... missed adding the U-Hual link - http://www.uhaul.com/Articles/Tips/122/Trailer-User-Instructions

Load your trailer with at least 60% of the cargo weight in the front half of the trailer. Do this by loading the heaviest items first (such as appliances, toolboxes, boxes of books, etc.) in the front of the trailer, then load your lighter items near the top and to the rear. The centerline of the trailer box is marked on the inside of the trailer. Pack all items closely and firmly and secure with rope to the tie-downs in the trailer. This will place the proper amount of weight on the hitch (tongue weight).

From what I've read the tongue weight should be between 25-40lbs on a bike. The above from U-Haul would depend on where the axle is on the trailer which would affect tongue weight.

 

If anyone fells this is incorrect... definitely post your opinion/experience.

[Trader]

I believe most folks on this site recommend 20 lbs tongue weight on the bikes. (at least for the HF tag along trailers)

I've done very little trailering so far...and usually very light loads

[Rick Haywood]

I believe most folks on this site recommend 20 lbs tongue weight on the bikes. (at least for the HF tag along trailers)

I've done very little trailering so far...and usually very light loads

 

Mine is usually around 30 pounds give or take a few pounds

[dacheedah]

More weight forward keeps the trailer from being tail heavy, if it's tail heavy it will wag side to side in addition to pulling up on your rears. The only solution is to slow down or reload. I can tell you that most boat trailers are probably hitch heavy and we move the axles forward or the boat back. I'm not sure that 20% is the magic number and my bike trailer is not that heavy but if you pulled a camper that would be a lot of tongue weight.

 

The other reason to have chains is if the trailer did come off and you were forced by traffic to stop quickly, the trailer doesn't slam into the towing vehicle uncontrolled. The chains need to be long enough to make the widest turn but not touch the ground. If you are using hooks they should be rated at or above the chain strength.

[friesman]

a quick tip to get the chains the right length is to twist them around and around, kind loke when you would twist a rubberband around and around to make the propeller on a toy airplane spin. As tou twist the chain it becomes shorter until you get the length you need.

 

Brian

[MAINEAC]

I saw a magazine article on a guy with a Harley lost his trailer with chains at slow speed... it was a dirt road... by the time he got stopped his rear fender was bashed and he holes in his saddlebags... From the tongue of the trailer rocking back and forth on the chains...

 

The big thing is keeping your tongue latch assembly tight and it can't come off the ball... Also put some kind of pin or lock in the latch so it can't pop up...

 

I've done about 30K miles with a trailer and haven't lost one yet...

[Bob and Mary]

Yes if the chains are the correct length and cross under the trailer tongue they will allow you to keep control of the trailer while you find a place to pull off the road. Also for what it's worth, the trailer I pull is a small home made trailer I borrow from a friend. He rides an HD and has dumped the bike with the trailer attached and the hitch has stayed attached to the ball. So if your hitch and ball are in decent shape, the trailer should not break loose to start with.

[MikeM]

In my opinion: the shorter the chains the better, and you might be surprised as to how short the chains can be. What I did was to jack-knife the trailer and then make the chain as short as possible, amazingly, they barely hang. I figure when the chains are short then the drop of the tongue will be the shortest, the pull of a detached trailer will be minimized, and the effect of the tongue getting involved with a rotating rear tire will be less dramatic.

EXACTLY my way of thinking and how I did mine.

[XV1100SE]

...What I did was to jack-knife the trailer and then make the chain as short as possible, amazingly, they barely hang.....

 

Sorry Carl... the jack-knife position test was so you know you can make a u-turn when necessary.

[HGWT]

As a retired cop this was one of my pet peeves. Whenever I made a traffic stop with someone with a trailer attached I would always walk up and stand on the safety chains to insure they were present and properly in use.

 

My other one related to vehicles with a trailer attached was to have proper lighting and for the lights to be in use.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

Chains are fine, but its the way you attach them that makes all the difference.

 

Crossing 2 chains and keeping them fairly short is part of the answer.

 

The other part is: Are you using a quick-link, a hook, or a snap-link? And is the chain attached correctly at the trailer, and is it attached to the same part of the hitch as the trailer ball or the shank of the receiver hitch? Or the frame of the bike?

 

The quick-link will probably be as strong or maybe stronger than the links in the chain, but a hook or a snap-link, depending on size and capacity, COULD end up being a lot weaker than the chain.

 

If you use a snap-link, it will hold tight under normal use, and if an officer steps on the chain, it will hold. But here is the surprise: That snap-link will most likely turn loose in a violent crash, or if the trailer has a very strong force applied to it, such as a car turning just behind you and smacking the trailer.

 

Personally, I'd want the link to turn loose if the forces were that strong. If the trailer waggles under the tandems of a dumptruck, I'd want it to separate from MY bike.

 

But failure of the ball-hitch or receiver shank is NOT a good reason, in my opinion, to let your trailer end up in a soccermoms minivan grille.

 

Just sayin.

Edited July 22, 2012 by tx2sturgis

[Brake Pad]

Here in Florida we don't have yearly inspection. so I replaced my safety clip & chains with plastic. I'm not going down again, because of a trailer popping off the ball.

(Its not open to discussion)