Trailer Death

Seen 2 trailers come off a vehicle in my time. First was when I was 9 - my Dad was towing his ratty old timber trailer to drop off a BBQ he had borrowed from the local Bowls Club for a party. Only around the corner, so he didn't bother with chains - the trailer ended up upside down in a park on top of the BBQ - oops, but could have been a lot more serious, as we asked if we could ride in the back of the trailer - thankfully Dad said no.

The second was a work mate in front of me with a K19 diesel engine in a tandem trailer. I was following in my van. The trailer was secured properly to the tow bar, and there was even a safety clip through the side bit that locks the coupling down, but the cast bit on the side of the coupling that the lock bit goes over broke (no idea how) and the trailer popped off the tow ball when he hit a bump. Thankfully the chains kept the trailer from going AWOL, but it scared the **** out of him, and almost dragged his van and trailer off the road - he was doing 90KPH. If that had come off, I shudder to think of the consequences.

So out of those 2 - one was negligence, and one appeared to be an accident. With all the stories being shared on how common this seems to be, it sounds like we are lucky there aren't more nasty incidents.

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Originally Posted by bacicat2000

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So out of those 2 - one was negligence, and one appeared to be an accident. With all the stories being shared on how common this seems to be, it sounds like we are lucky there aren't more nasty incidents.

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But the second one, the chain prevented it becoming an accident - that is why it should be fastened even if you are only shifting the trailer a few feet - make it an invariable habit.

I do not think it is common - but if it happens to you or you see it, it is something you are very unlikely to forget.

I was always taught to cross the safety chains - in effect creating a cradle for the trailer to "rest" on.

One time when I was a teenager we went to a neighbours place to pick up an old 58 Buick special. Dad had a special trailer he made up out of an old cultivator frame that we could take the wheels off and slide the trailer under things, then jack it up and fasten the wheels back on. Due to the vehicle previously being partially taken apart we were not able to get the vehicle onto the trailer as far up as we could. About 3km from home the trailer popped off of the ball. After trying unsuccessfully to get the trailer back on the ball my dad said bugger this and drove home with the safety chains - we only were going around 10km/hr and we were on back roads which you were lucky to see another vehicle on it in a day.

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Originally Posted by mick88

This is something I actually emailed Vicroads about maybe twelve months back. Namely the quality of shackles and clips being used reguarly on supposed "Safety Chains" by people towing trailers ect.
Vicroads never responded to my email.
One morning on my way home from a nightshift I witnessed a trailer detach from the towing vehicle towing it!
I knew the owner/driver so went over to assist. There was only one safety chain on the trailer and it was or had been held on to the vehicle with one of those cheap springy carrabineer type hooks. When the trailer uncouple it sped up and puctured the rear right tyre of the towing vehicle, then careered accross to the adjoining carriageway and proceded on for another 100 or so metres before coming to a halt on the roadside. Any pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists coming towards it would have been cactus. This same motorist often tows horse floats! This all happened in a 60 Kmh zone...immagine what it would do in a 110 kmh zone.

Cheers, Mick.

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This is a huge issue, even the fuel variety stores are complicit in the issue. They do sell "D" shackles, usually mild steel of about 1/4" capable of supporting a small pot-plant on a chain but not much more. :mad: :mad: If they are selling items to motorists then the items they sell should be appropriate for use on vehicles. (Chain of responsibility. (excuse the pun!))

Then there are the people who use small pad locks (any pad locks)! :mad:

When caravaning with my folks back in about 1970, we witnessed a bondwood caravan become uncoupled from a valiant sedan. The safety chains stayed intact and caravan took over control of the car, with the two eventually coming to rest in the centre plantation, as it was on the duel lanes between Ballarat and Melbourne. The valiant stayed on her wheels, but as for the van, well it was just some twisted angle iron hanging off the R send, and a couple of hundred yards of splinters.

Had it totaly parted company with the car, things may have been a lot worse...maybe even fatal.

Cheers, Mick

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Originally Posted by isuzutoo-eh

The drawbar could have come off the vehicle-safety chains won't do anything then...

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safety chains are meant to be secured to the towbar proper, not the tow hitch

the biggest things that worry me is the number of trailers built with "safety" chains that dont meet the requirements, in that the chains are NOT load rated, and are often simply welded to the drawbar of the trailer

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Originally Posted by Sprint

safety chains are meant to be secured to the towbar proper, not the tow hitch

the biggest things that worry me is the number of trailers built with "safety" chains that dont meet the requirements, in that the chains are NOT load rated, and are often simply welded to the drawbar of the trailer

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I sthere another way that the chain needs to be attached to the trailer? I thought that welding was the standard way of doing this.

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Originally Posted by slug_burner

I sthere another way that the chain needs to be attached to the trailer? I thought that welding was the standard way of doing this.

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Correct, they have to be welded to meet the standards. The chain has to be rated. We register 100's of trailers a year at work, and we often have to get chains fixed/uprated when we buy new stuff, as you would be suprised by the amount of trailerable equipment that has non conforming chains, and other things on them.

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Originally Posted by slug_burner

I sthere another way that the chain needs to be attached to the trailer? I thought that welding was the standard way of doing this.

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Back in 1980 I built my car trailer and was told I had to bolt the safety chains on. I used the hydraulic brake coupling front mounting bolts, 1/2 inch high tensile.

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Originally Posted by Sprint

safety chains are meant to be secured to the towbar proper, not the tow hitch

the biggest things that worry me is the number of trailers built with "safety" chains that dont meet the requirements, in that the chains are NOT load rated, and are often simply welded to the drawbar of the trailer

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Actually ADR 62/00 specifically allows welded chains for trailers under 2.5T.

8.4.4. the provisions of Australian Standard 1872-1976 “Safety Chains for Trailers and Caravans” . Where attachment is by welding, the weld must
extend around 50% of the circumference of the link and the adjoining link must have free movement Vehicle Standard (Australian Design Rule 62/00 - Mechanical Connections Between Vehicles) 2006

Only when you go over 3.5T do you need rated chain (which can't be welded).
AS 4177.4-2004 specifies the specifications for the links. AS 4177.4-2004 Caravan and light trailer towing components - Safety chains up to 3500 kg capacity