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.

[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.

[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.

[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)

[dacheedah]

like giving a guard a gun with no bullets, and that beaner doesn't look like it's rated to hold if it were chain.

 

I'll agree to disagree. I investigated an crash where a farmer was pulling a trailer loaded with watermelons to market and the trailer came loose from his pintle and wend down hill through a living room. People were hurt and he's lucky no one died because they were close and he was going to be charged with negligent homicide. He had some chain on his trailer that looked about the size of the chain I have on my tag along. His pintle was defective because he didn't do the basic maintenance and his chain was what he had laying around. Knowingly violating the law open you up to more serious legal charges and could render you penniless and un-insurable. The last I knew of the case, and we were in court many times, and he had exceeded his million dollar blanket policy and was loosing the farm that had been in his family for generations. He did save a couple bucks in oil and some time from maintenance and about $20.00 in chains. His worst that could happen in his head went from a $95.00 ticket to a life changing event for him and his family and the people he never knew or thought about.

 

You are making a decision to pull a trailer and you own the consequences of your actions. The law isn't there just to protect you from others, it's also there to protect others from you. I have seen an old trailer ball snap before and I was surprised it isn't one big casting , things do brake, the chains are our backup or the bullets for our guns.

 

Here is your Florida law on the chains ( every state will have these and they are similar they are based on federal requirements) (2) When a vehicle is towing a trailer or semitrailer on a public road or highway by means of a trailer hitch to the rear of the vehicle, there shall be attached in addition thereto safety chains, cables, or other safety devices that comply with 49 C.F.R. subpart F, ss. 393.71(g)(2)(1) and 393.71(h)(10) from the trailer or semitrailer to the vehicle. These safety chains, cables, or other safety devices shall be of sufficient strength to maintain connection of the trailer or semitrailer to the pulling vehicle under all conditions while the trailer or semitrailer is being towed by the vehicle. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to trailers or semitrailers using a hitch known as a fifth wheel nor to farm equipment traveling less than 20 miles per hour.

[Guest tx2sturgis]

I'm not going down again, because of a trailer popping off the ball.

(Its not open to discussion)

 

If you post something on a public forum, it IS open to discussion.

 

Because YOU are discussing it...and so can we.

 

Probably you actually mean that your mind is made up. I can respect that.

 

Here in Texas, motorcycles are not addressed in the trailer towing codes, so while they are not specifically exempted 'per se'...they are in the category of ignored by the code, when it comes to safety chains (or cables) on motorcycles and the trailers they pull.

 

So we have a choice here, but of course, crossing state lines changes that situation.

 

On my single wheel home-built trailer, I use TWO attachment methods, and forgo using a chain.

 

If somehow BOTH solid attachments let go, that trailer will NOT be able to roll on its single wheel independently, so it would probably become a tumbling projectile. In this case, a safety chain and its attaching links would simply be twisted off, unless I used a chain that is super heavy duty, and that chain would have to be attached to the frame of the bike somehow. If the trailer laid over and was simply being dragged sideways by its chains, its more likely that me and the motorcycle would lose control and be a hazard to nearby motorists. And most of us are aware, that the main frame of a motorcycle does NOT extend to the tip of the rear fender, thats only a subframe for holding up the fender and the saddlebags. And so attaching the chains to the 'frame' of the bike is not really practical.

 

I feel that if I was in a situation where both hitch attachments failed, or the hitch u-joint failed, that the trailer would pose more of a hazard to myself and others around me because of that tumbling effect and the subsequent carnage as it broke lose (but still attached with chains) and would pose a greater threat to those around me if myself and my bike ALSO lost control and became a tumbling projectile in traffic. I think a 100 pound hurtling projectile is probably less dangerous than a combined 1000 pound hurtling projectile.

 

And my mind is made up!

This trailer can NOT keep rolling behind me if the only attachment is a chain. The trailer WILL lay down and become an uncontrollable mess (chains would not remedy that). For that reason and for the stability of the trailer, I use a double attachment method. If either fails, the trailer will still remain attached to the bike.

 

With any luck, I wont ever have to test my assumptions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2012 by tx2sturgis

[dacheedah]

ALL 50 STATES, Every state accepting federal funds must follow the federal guidelines, included in those are safety chains ( except agricultural implements, 5th wheels and semi tractors ). To get your Federal Motor Fuel Tax Funds your state comply's with this. and all 50 do!!

 

 

 

A motorcycle IS a motor vehicle and falls under this statute " or another motor vehicle" used to discribe anything not a car truck semi . . . . and no exception is granted for motorcycles.

 

I was surprised but Texas is actually one state where It requires them to be crossed and gives a lot of details

 

In Texas that is:

Title 37 Part 1 Chapter 21 Rule 21.5

(a) A person may not operate a passenger car or light truck while towing a trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or another motor vehicle on a public highway unless safety chains of a type approved by the department are attached in a manner approved by the department from the trailer, semitrailer, house trailer, or drawn motor vehicle to the towing vehicle.

 

(b) Exceptions.

 

(1) Does not apply to trailers, or semitrailers, used for agricultural purposes.

 

(2) Does not apply to trailers, semitrailers, house trailers, or drawn motor vehicles operated in compliance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.

 

(3) Does not apply to trailers, semitrailers, house trailers, or drawn motor vehicles which are equipped with safety chains installed by the original manufacture before the effective date of this section, August 18, 1994.

 

(4) Does not apply to fifth wheel or gooseneck semitrailers.

 

© Definition of Terms.

 

(1) House trailer--A trailer or semitrailer:

 

(A) which is designed, constructed, and equipped as a dwelling place, living abode, or sleeping place (either permanently or temporarily) and equipped for use as a conveyance on streets and highways; or

 

(B) whose chassis and exterior shell is designed and constructed for use as a house trailer, as defined in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, but which is used instead permanently or temporarily for the services, or for any other commercial purpose except the transportation of property for hire or the transportation of property for distribution by a private carrier.

 

(2) Light truck--Any truck with a manufacturer's rated carrying capacity not to exceed 2,000 pounds and is intended to include those trucks commonly known as pickup trucks, panel delivery trucks and carryall trucks.

 

(3) Motor vehicle--A self-propelled or towed vehicle used to transport passengers or property upon a public highway.

 

(4) Passenger car--A motor vehicle, other than a motorcycle, golf cart, light truck, or bus, designed or used primarily for the transportation of persons.

 

(5) Safety chains--A series of metal links or rings connected to or fitted into one another, and are inclusive of the hooks, coupling devices, and other connections, necessary in the coupling together of a towing or towed vehicle.

 

(6) Semitrailer--Every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so constructed that some part of its weight and that of its load rests upon or is carried by another vehicle.

 

(7) Trailer--Every vehicle with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying persons or property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and so connected that no part of its weight rests upon the towing vehicle.

 

(8) Truck--Every motor vehicle designed, used, or maintained primarily for transportation of property.

 

(d) Specifications for safety chains.

 

(1) Two separate and individual safety chains shall be used simultaneously in all situations where safety chains are required.

 

(2) The two safety chains will be of equal length, long enough to permit free turning of the vehicles without placing stress on the chains, and attached to the towing vehicle equidistant right and left of the point at which the vehicles are connected. The safety chains must be connected to the towed and towing vehicles and to the tow-bar in a manner which prevents the tow-bar from dropping to the ground in the event it fails or becomes disconnected. In no event will the safety chains be allowed to contact the road surface during movement of the vehicles.

 

(3) Safety chains shall be of sufficient strength to prevent the vehicles from separating in the event the towed vehicle disengages from the towing vehicle under ordinary towing conditions.

 

(4) Safety chains must be attached to either side of the tongue or connecting apparatus of the towed vehicle, equidistant forward and aft of the hitch or connector. They shall not be directly welded to the towed vehicle, but rather shall be connected by means of bolts, pins, or other secure connecting methods, that meet necessary strength requirements.

 

(e) Enforcement Policy. When the use of safety chains are required in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, enforcement actions should be initiated against all persons apprehended who are operating a towing and towed vehicle in combination:

 

(1) without both safety chains securely attached;

 

(2) when safety chains are improperly attached to the degree that one or both are in contact with surface of the road;

 

(3) when the failure of either or both safety chains or the manner in which they are attached allow the vehicles to become disconnected or allow the tongue or connecting apparatus of the towed vehicle to come into contact with the road surface during ordinary towing operations; or

 

(4) when the failure of either or both safety chains or the manner in which they are attached results in an accident.

Edited July 22, 2012 by dacheedah