boat falls off trailer

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by paddlers

I'm with Biffer on the chaining the trailer to the car. I'd far rather the thing used the back of mine to stop rather than anybody else !
If you have the load nose heavy as it's supposed to be it'll drag along the road & HOPEFULLY wedge itself under the rear without too much damage.

Here in the US (at least I think it's nationwide), we're required to use a pair of safety chains to secure the trailer to the tow vehicle (crossed under the tongue), plus (for braked trailers) a breakaway cable to actuate the brakes should the trailer still get loose.

Ideally, the chain length is adjusted such that if the coupler comes loose/fails, the tongue drops onto and is supported by the X formed by the chains, preventing the tongue from digging in and pitchpoling the trailer. In theory, it will be sloppy, but you will retain control of the trailer (and anecdotal evidence seems to point to this.)

Chains have to be slack enough to allow for turns, heavy enough to support the shock loads imposed on them, and taut enough to prevent the tongue from dropping onto the ground.


jky

[Festinghouse]

im often baffled as to why people simply loop the breakaway cable or chain around the hitch, as if the hitch itself were to break then it would do no good at all. i always have a separate strong eye on the tow bar onto which i attach the cable or chain.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

im often baffled as to why people simply loop the breakaway cable or chain around the hitch, as if the hitch itself were to break then it would do no good at all. i always have a separate strong eye on the tow bar onto which i attach the cable or chain.

I understand what you are saying - but has anyone here ever seen a hitch that actually failed? (My chains are connected to the bracket the tow ball is bolted to)

[hadd]

Originally Posted by Festinghouse

im often baffled as to why people simply loop the breakaway cable or chain around the hitch, as if the hitch itself were to break then it would do no good at all. i always have a separate strong eye on the tow bar onto which i attach the cable or chain.

If a trailer is balanced right at the tow hitch the trailer should drop down not up if it ever came of the tow ball I've been towing trailers every day of the week for 30yrs now & never had any problems it's up to the driver to make sure the trailer is safe to tow the guy who has just lost the boat it could work out very costly because insurance won't pay out if the trailer is faulty in any way & not only that if he'd killed someone he'd have been lock up as well, so it up to all of us to keep our trailers in tip top condition

[thomas]

Originally Posted by Poly

how would it stop this? people still drive cars without MOTs, cars with MOTs that are no longer roadworthy and badly secured loads on trucks and cars... ...don't see how more paperwork would stop it. It could even make it worse if people think they can simply pass on responsibility to the inspector once a year.

It will help, once you take a trailer out with no MOT your insurance will be invalid, that'll go for the vehicle and boat and you will be liable for all the damage, so at least we won't be picking up the bill on our premiums.

A trailer with corrosion after a year may not be totally road worthy but it will be a lot better than some of the suff out there, at least it's a step in the right direction.

[kerny]

Originally Posted by hadd

If a trailer is balanced right at the tow hitch the trailer should drop down not up if it ever came of the tow ball I've been towing trailers every day of the week for 30yrs now & never had any problems it's up to the driver to make sure the trailer is safe to tow the guy who has just lost the boat it could work out very costly because insurance won't pay out if the trailer is faulty in any way & not only that if he'd killed someone he'd have been lock up as well, so it up to all of us to keep our trailers in tip top condition

Spot on Andy like you say its the drivers responsibility.

Originally Posted by thomas

It will help, once you take a trailer out with no MOT your insurance will be invalid

You don't need an MOT for them to do implement that.

[mick]

Originally Posted by kerny

Spot on Andy like you say its the drivers responsibility. You don't need an MOT for them to do implement that.

Common sense is needed in most cases Steve but you can't educate pork
Classic case a neighbour of mine has just bought a new tintent but will be running about 105 % bit dodgy

[kerny]

Originally Posted by mick

Common sense is needed in most cases Steve but you can't educate pork
Classic case a neighbour of mine has just bought a new tintent but will be running about 105 % bit dodgy

Exactly so asking for trailers to be MOT'd will only add to an unnecessary extra expense IMHO

[mick]

Originally Posted by kerny

Exactly so asking for trailers to be MOT'd will only add to an unnecessary extra expense IMHO

They have been trying to get caravans mot ed for years but it don't get any further I have mine serviced every year as requested by the insurance company else it's not insured.

[paddlers]

Might sound a bit over the top but I spend as much time & care maintaining the trailer as I do the boat & outboard !!! Without it you might as well not have a boat & any cock-up that's our two weeks as a family on the Mull of Kintyre buggered !!!
Boats are an expensive hobby (unless I'm talking to my wife) so a few quid maintaining the thing is money well spent. They're not difficult things to look after provided you're not dipping them in the salty stuff every week. Any shortcut in safety seems a bit pointless when you consider the relatively low cost of chain or a GOOD quality ratchet strap and the few minutes to fit it .

[Poly]

Originally Posted by thomas

It will help, once you take a trailer out with no MOT your insurance will be invalid, that'll go for the vehicle and boat and you will be liable for all the damage, so at least we won't be picking up the bill on our premiums.

contrary to internet rumour, driving a car without an MOT does not automatically invalidate insurance, so neither would it with your trailer. If you knowingly and negligently drive a car which is not roadworthy that could invalidate insurance - but the same would apply to trailers today. In any case who do you think picks up the bill for uninsured drivers? everybody does. Look at the damage in the pictures. The tow car is presumably not harmed. The trailer is possibly repairable and like sea riders, Pac 22's can be fixed with duck tape - the innocent* motorist in the red car was the one who came off worst - doing anything that might make it harder for 'her' to claim seems absurd. That is also where the insurers will be most worried, a death or disability caused by the trailer is likely to be very expensive.

Trailer accidents are rare, insurers don't load premiums on those with tow bars so I don't think in the actuarial sense its a big issue. However once you start licensing/registering trailers as separate entities don't be surprised if the insurers cotton on - and start charging you a whole separate policy - per trailer. Still sure you won't be paying?

A trailer with corrosion after a year may not be totally road worthy but it will be a lot better than some of the suff out there, at least it's a step in the right direction.

I disagree - look at cars - plenty of people driving round with dodgy cars that have an MoT cert (its not a year's worth of corrosion - the test for an MoT is was it acceptable on the day - I week later could be too much). But once a year someone else checks it and It still will do nothing for wrongly loaded, incorrectly coupled,

I also think some of the very rarely used (or maintained) trailers would be very unlikely to get tested - because the probability of a stop is low.

At £100 and no points for not having the paperwork its not a MAJOR disincentive over an MoT which costs c. £50, if it is unusual to be caught. Construction & Use however can carry much higher fines and points or even a ban. In all but the worst cases, because no MoT is very easy to prosecute they only deal with the paperwork infringement.

[9D280]

Originally Posted by biffer

They do bang about a bit, I can live with that, the advantages outweigh the disadvantage, if it doesn't jump off you could lose control of the lot, but I've seen car and trailers/ caravans flip without coming off, I'd much rather it jump off the hitch with it chained on it, at least it will follow the car, would make a mess of the back of your car stopping the whole lot but it would be manageable.

Maybe if you are driving a huge tow vehicle, but see my comments below re. smaller cars.....

Originally Posted by biffer

I had a trailer jump off years ago because of a mismatch of ball and hitch, my old dad drummed it into me about chaining and likely it was, the trailer dropped to the floor and scuffed along to road behind my van and I just took my foot off the accelerator, put a few good dents in the bumper but that was it

Ah, the old 2" / 50mm scenario......

Would you try to ram a flat pin shaver plug into a round pin socket? Yes, it can be done, but......

I have only ever met one 2" hitch in all my years of driving, and that was when my friend bought an ancient Enterprise. the first thing he did - (before towing it home) - change the hitch on the trailer.

Originally Posted by kerny

Funny enough you have to use a chain on unbraked trailers, so why not braked.

Because unbraked are by definition a maxuimum of 50% of the towing vehicle's weight. Let's say you have an 850KG car draging an upturned 400Kg carcass down the road - that is a feasible and allegedly controlable scenario.

Now, If say it's a 1100Kg braked trailer - if chaned onto an 850Kg car is a little less likely to be controlable!

(I have chosen those numbers to illustrate the point)

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Here in the US (at least I think it's nationwide), we're required to use a pair of safety chains to secure the trailer to the tow vehicle (crossed under the tongue), plus (for braked trailers) a breakaway cable to actuate the brakes should the trailer still get loose.

Chains have to be slack enough to allow for turns, heavy enough to support the shock loads imposed on them, and taut enough to prevent the tongue from dropping onto the ground.

Makes a lot of sense, but your average car over there is the size & weight of a medium sized van over here!

[Deekus]

I always use a fixed chain from the trailer hitch to the towbar on my unbraked trailer purely as a failsafe reassurance.
Am i right in assuming that this is a legal requirement for an unbraked trailer anyway??

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Deekus

I always use a fixed chain from the trailer hitch to the towbar on my unbraked trailer purely as a failsafe reassurance.
Am i right in assuming that this is a legal requirement for an unbraked trailer anyway??

You are correct.

[Deekus]

Thanks Kerny

[rocknrolla]

Originally Posted by kerny

You are correct.

Looey i recall a ribeye on a road in wales, trailor and van a good 5m away, i dnt know his name can u guess

[kerny]

Originally Posted by rocknrolla

Looey i recall a ribeye on a road in wales, trailor and van a good 5m away, i dnt know his name can u guess

It wasn't yellow by any chance Looey.

[tony t]

Originally Posted by rocknrolla

Looey i recall a ribeye on a road in wales, trailor and van a good 5m away, i dnt know his name can u guess

He won't thank you for that looey he don't need reminding

[rocknrolla]

Originally Posted by kerny

It wasn't yellow by any chance Looey.

:whistling

[kerny]

Originally Posted by rocknrolla

:whistling

Not seen him for a while is he still getting out Looey ?