Safety chain strength ratings

I use a locking pin in the hitch latch. I would not travel without a pin of some sort. The lock just makes it a little harder for someone to unlatch when it is parked at a stop.

[countrygirl]

We thought that when the hood type thing closed it was locked onto the ball am I correct in understanding that it is not and we need to lock it closed? If so can someone post a photo of where to do this. And yes...I am using the search tool.

Never mind...I found it in post 7 here:

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru.............Bill to the rescue again.

[Barb&Tim]

Our TM came with no latch pin from the dealer -- just went to wally world and picked up a long shank padlock to use as a latch pin.

Tim

[countrygirl]

OMG...we have NEVER done this...I will buy one tomorrow!

I put a square locking pin (http://www.millerproductsco.com/lock_pins ) into the hole in the coupler latch handle to keep things latched. I was told to do that by the Car Show (and they provided a locking pin as well) when I took delivery of my TM.

It shouldn't vibrate loose, but why take the chance? If I'm wrong about it not being able to vibrate loose and this keeps it attached, it'll have saved me a lot of money and worry. It's an added safety if the primary safety (the locking nature of the latch) fails - and it only takes 10 seconds during hitch-up.

I probably should use a padlock - that would keep someone from unlatching it at a rest stop. It would double as a better-than-nothing theft deterent at the campground when not hitched as well - just leave the coupler locked closed. It won't stop a determined thief, but it would stop a childish mischief maker.

[T and C]

I have a set of these hitch pin and trailer coupler locks.

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...ler-locks/1621

Some clown might pull the little clip out of the hitch pin and then it could work its way out miles down the road. the drawbar would come out of the receiver and I'd have a BIG problem.

Also, a lock in the coupler prevents some clown from popping the latch up while you are eating or whatever. These locks make that nearly impossible.

Tom

[Mr. Adventure]

The Purdue piece casts light on many possible problems at the hitch point, and I'm always a fan of considering possible problems carefully in hopes of avoiding unintentional adventures. I always put a lock on the tongue when the TM is in storage and I can't think of any good reason not to do that when towing.

But I've never had a hitch latch pop open unexpectedly in all those years with all those trailers. And, having calculated it carefully with our WDH discussions, the WDH plus the tongue weight together provide 1150# holding the tongue to the hitch ball, so the odds of the TM bouncing off the hitch ball are already pretty remote, IMO.

Far greater are the odds of forgetting to latch the top half of the door, put the chocks aboard, check the tires, attach the safety cables, or any of those other things we do when hitching up. Because it is so easy to forget things that are no problem at the time, I always do a final walk around before getting into the driver's seat, and another walk around every time we stop enroute.

I always use the locking pin on the hitch to receiver connection and the square pin on the coupler when towing, I didn't realize that there were locking pins of the same design for the coupler too....I need to pick one up, I like those. Thanks for the link Tom.

I don't care about the numbers here...I wouldn't tow with out something in that coupler hood. Even if it was a stick! And it was close a few times to being a stick....

I recently switched from a regular coupler bolt to a locking one made by Masterlock. I also like the idea of locking my coupler when I am unhitched, that way it would make it harder for someone to back up and haul my TM away....

Originally Posted by Mr. Adventure

But I've never had a hitch latch pop open unexpectedly in all those years with all those trailers. And, having calculated it carefully with our WDH discussions, the WDH plus the tongue weight together provide 1150# holding the tongue to the hitch ball, so the odds of the TM bouncing off the hitch ball are already pretty remote, IMO.

Approximately 1970.

Ford truck, towing home built wood/fiberglass, southbound US101, right lane, Sausalito, just before Waldo Grade.

There is a modest up and over in the freeway lanes over a culvert.

Trailer hitch fails.

Safety chains snap.

Trailer with boat turns left, crossing 3 lanes of traffic.

Trailer gets stuck in center guard rail.

Boat snaps all straps holding boat onto trailer.

Trailer remains lodged in guard rail while boat becomes airborne.

While airborne, boat clears 3 lanes of northbound traffic.

Airborne boat collides with front bumper of northbound Greyhound bus, in the right most lane.

Damage to bus, one front bumper.

Damage to other vehicles all around, zero.

Damage to Ford truck that previously had a boat and trailer in tow, zero.

The boat was loaded into the bed of the truck for transport home. The largest piece was about 3 foot by 3 foot.

35 horsepower Johnson outboard motor and trailer were undamaged, not counting a few cosmetic dents and scrapes.

It had been a good day fishing.
It took my brother nearly two years to build that boat.

Probable cause is a boat too large for the trailer.

Question, Given a boat sitting on the ground next to a boat trailer, how do you determine if the boat is too big?

The mass (weight) of the boat is unknown. Difficult to weigh, but not impossible.

The dimensions are measurable.

Rating for the trailer is unknown. Size of the trailer can be measured. Thickness of the metal can be measured.

The trailer has no brakes.

Just as a wild guess, somewhere around 100 people on the freeway had a lucky day.