Trailer breakaway cables :eh:

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by CJL

Not long enough for a towing bridle plus I don't want to take the paint off the outboard shaft!

I would have hoped you'd buy a bit of hosepipe off the monkey or you could use it to secure the boat to the trailer with a padlock.

[ADS]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

that's still very butch for a ribtec looks good.

Do you need any drivers for those seariders?

Looks like its on the market Rogue:

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/F83132

nice package,


Alex

[Rogue Wave]

It's a nice boat but i thought you meant the searider

[ADS]

[CND]

Originally Posted by CJL

Now what the hell can I re-use a 2ft wire strop for???

Chris

Cheese Slicing?
Piano Strings?
Speaker Cable?
Hanging Baskets?

The opportunities are endless.....

[Big surf]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

monkey correct!

Emnployer norty not overkill just kill

Honest upon hitch separation you have no directional control of trailer so it can go one way and the car goes another Trailer will flip car over very easily or spear the rear end and possibly fracture the tank.

You owe the monkey a Banana

Sorry

I would strongly disagree. You do not want trailer separation to occur. Chains should be used to prevent separation and keep the hitch of the ground. You will have a good chance of recovery if chains are used. Without, a trailer hitch separating, tongue hitting the pavement, braking,etc will likely flip and kill other people as well as guaranteeing the loss of the trailer. Also runaways on ramps can be prevented. I don't think 300 million North Americans are wrong on this one.

[MikeCC]

Originally Posted by Big surf

I would strongly disagree. You do not want trailer separation to occur. Chains should be used to prevent separation and keep the hitch of the ground. You will have a good chance of recovery if chains are used. Without, a trailer hitch separating, tongue hitting the pavement, braking,etc will likely flip and kill other people as well as guaranteeing the loss of the trailer. Also runaways on ramps can be prevented. I don't think 300 million North Americans are wrong on this one.

No, but the local constabulary and your insurance company might not agree if they apply the relevant laws. Have 300m Americans got trailers - wow - thats like one each!
I have unbraked trailer with restraint cable attached to tow bracket (not the bit that bolts on with the tow ball).

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by Big surf

I would strongly disagree. You do not want trailer separation to occur. Chains should be used to prevent separation and keep the hitch of the ground. You will have a good chance of recovery if chains are used. Without, a trailer hitch separating, tongue hitting the pavement, braking,etc will likely flip and kill other people as well as guaranteeing the loss of the trailer. Also runaways on ramps can be prevented. I don't think 300 million North Americans are wrong on this one.

i guess you have to be in an accident with a secured out of control trailer to really know the answer. I wonder if its worth doing a search and finding out. ROSPA is our safety accident site whats it called in America. by the way If 300 million Americans can't be wrong why is George Bush in power sorry couldn't stop that one

the point of the breakaway cable is to apply the brakes on the trailer if the coupling fails and then to breakaway, cos that's the way we do it over here. if it was meant to be an other way then the cable would be stronger

I believe American trailers to be the best made by far but the trailers are illegal to use over here. in all honesty I believe the African hoe or Nato hitch is the best coupling and don't feel good about the Amrican coupling system

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Big surf

I don't think 300 million North Americans are wrong on this one.

I think you will find towing regulations are harmonised across Europe. So 300m Americans are right but 450 Europeans are wrong?

[Simon B]

I like the nato hitch too wish they'd make it cheaper or easier to swap from nato to ball again, must be possible surely!

Did the monkey get his banana?

[jyasaki]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

by the way If 300 million Americans can't be wrong why is George Bush in power sorry couldn't stop that one

300 million Americans didn't vote for him. The number was probably more like 50 to 70 million (if that); in any case, slightly less than the number voting for Gore.

jky

[Big surf]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I think you will find towing regulations are harmonised across Europe. So 300m Americans are right but 450 Europeans are wrong?

It looks like this discussion has already been made.
Here is a link to a previous discussion.
http://www.rib.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-9328.html
The story this fellow tells would be exactly what I would envisage a runaway trailer causing. I wonder who's insurance would cover the trail of carnage left behind.

On another note, it sounds like trailer chains "secondary coupling" are permitted under the European EC94/20 rules but are not required.

I just can't see how dropping a trailer into following traffic can be thought to be safer then keeping it attached. Once that tongue drops into the pavement at 60 mph, brakes or not, the trailer and everyone behind/beside it is history.

I have had a four place enclosed snowmobile trailer with four sleds, around 7500 lbs detach on a steep and rough logging road in the winter. Slow speed mind you, but it was a simple matter to rehook. Without chains, it would have slid backwards, perhaps over the embankment, regardless of brakes or not. The thought of it detaching loose on the highway is the stuff of nightmares. I've never seen it happen, however the chances of a successful ending would be much higher with safety chains then without.

IMHO of course (and all us North Americans who probabaly do own about 300 million trailers, I own four and my brother in law has six so we make up for a few who have none.)

[jwalker]

In the UK, a means of preventing the separation of the trailer from the tow vehicle is allowed but it must also prevent the trailer tow hitch from contacting the ground so that there is still steerage. However, this method should not be employed along with a trailer breakaway cable. Don't ask me why. However number two is, the traffic police I spoke to did not know this. So, if it is not well known you take your chance.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by jwalker

the traffic police I spoke to did not know this. So, if it is not well known you take your chance.

Not sure I understand. If you get stopped with a perfectly legal towing arrangement (and you KNOW for sure its legal) then whats the traffic policeman got to do with it? He's a policeman not a judge and jury. So if you get stopped and KNOW you are right then you're not really taking a chance at all - other than possibly having to go to court and make the aforementioned traffic cop look stupid (although its unlikely to get that far as when the fiscal/CPS get in touch you would simply write to them highlighting the relevant regulations showing you are right and they would go away).

[Jackwabbit]

I have actually seen a caravan flip onto its side & take a fully loaded land cruiser with it, without coming un-hitched and aftermath of other incidents where trailers were still attached. In 33 years of towing I have not had or seen a trailer come un-hitched while going down the road (that’s not to say it doesn’t happen, I just think it’s probably rarer that trailers flipping the tow vehicle) It would be interesting to know how many of these types of incidents happen during the course of a year, & in the case of trailers coming un-hitched was it down to bad maintenance?
So come on, does anyone have any facts & figures?

[Big surf]

Safety chains are flexible and won't flip a tow vehicle. The trailer can be laying on its side and still not apply a rotaional force to the tow vehicle through the chains. In the instance above, torque from the trailer on the hitch itself likely flipped the vehicle, but since it didn't detach, this would happen with chains or no chains. The only instance I would want to the trailer to detach is if it was sliding sideways and was dragging you into a ditch. I'm surprised that people would consider allowing the trailer (and everyone behind it) to be so easily written off without even a fighting chance of recovery that a set of safety chains crossed below the hitch will give you.

There was already three instances of detached trailers described on this forum, one leading to a death of a small child on a ramp, the other two leading to carnage on the road. What more do you want, use safety chains!!!.

(I guess this topic has become an issue for me, I find it inbelievable that people think safety chains are unneccesary. I would have a hard time forgiving someone who killed someone because of lack of something so simple.Over here, it would be criminal negligence)

[CJL]

I don't think that anybody on this forum doesn't use safety chains/strops.

The issue is in the UK there is some doubt over the purpose of the chain/strop.

Some seem to consider the strop as something that is;

1) designed to apply the brakes then snap, bringing the trailer to a halt and allowing the driver of the vehicle bring the vehicle to a stop seperately

or

2) designed to keep the whole rig as one item in the case of an accident.

To my mind nobody has conclusively given me an answer either way about this.

Chris

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

monkey correct!

Emnployer norty not overkill just kill

Honest upon hitch separation you have no directional control of trailer so it can go one way and the car goes another Trailer will flip car over very easily or spear the rear end and possibly fracture the tank.

You owe the monkey a Banana

Sorry

I'd say that was a conclusive answer, whether you choose to accept it or not is up to you!

Also Chris your original question was is the Monkey correct about the chain and the answer is conclusively yes.

Unfortunately that Silver tounged devil Bigsurf is putting a strong and eloquent case for his side, which has certainly got me thinking. I guess the answer lies within the caravan club

[CJL]

Plus one has to imagine how many people have the right load straps holding their rib to the trailer. Anybody seen that Lethal Weapon Movie where they have a head on and the other car has a surfboard on the roof??? It ends up in the guys face!!

I suspect a 6m rib would do a lot more damage!

I have emailed somebody at the Met Police for a definative answer on the break or brake away cable question.

I will paste the reply on the forum when it comes back.

Chris

[Jono]

Originally Posted by CJL

The issue is in the UK there is some doubt over the purpose of the chain/strop.

I'm not quite sure where the "doubt is"..

A breakaway cable is for braked trailers and is designed to activate the trailer brakes then part contact between the tow vehicle and the trailer (normally by straightening out the snap hook) in the event of a tow becoming detached

A secondary means of coupling (Normally chain for heavier trailers and wire rope for lightweight trailers)) is provided for unbraked trailer to provide some control over the trailer in the event of primary coupling detachment.

American trailers (correct me if I'm wrong please American cousins) have chains that cross over (i.e. two chains) to support the nose of the trailer off the tarmac in the event of separation of the primary coupling. That's the arrangement on the only US trailer I had.. it was unbraked..so I can't comment on there braked trailers.