Safety Chain Provisions

[homeroast]

I have a 50deg. hitch setup using 2x2x1/8" HSS.
My welder is coming over in a few days and I wanna be prepared.
What provisions should I have on the trailer for safety chains?

[homeroast]

Can I just loop each chain around the opposite HSS and back on itself?

[madjack]

...your safety chains will need to be affixed to the frame...either bolted(preferable) or welded.............................

[KA]

Hi Madjack,
Another of my many newbie questions...Why is it preferable to bolt your safety chain instead of welding it?
Kris

[Ken A Hood]

I would think if the bolt broke, or you had to do repairs you could DIY. And on the road it's easier to track down a broken bolt than a welder to fix it.

[KA]

HI Ken A Hood,
Thanks for the reply. Your response makes perfect sense to me.
Kris
p.s. I'm a fan of beautiful Canada!

[Gage]

Besides, welds break when you really want them to hold. A pair of 'U' bolts work great.



Have a good day.

[KA]

Hi Gabe,
Ouch....egaads! That is one of those "says a thousand words" pictures. The trailer is beautiful, tho. Hope no one was injured and that the trailer wasn't damaged too badly from the weld failure. Hope the weld failed when you were off the side of the road, rather than driving at highway speed. That would be a rather horrifying rear-view mirror experience.
One of the good things about building a teardrop is that you can at least fix it when something goes wrong.
Thanks for the warning.
Kris

[asianflava]

Why is it preferable to bolt your safety chain instead of welding it?

I don't know for certain but these are the reasons why I bolted my chains.

Bolts are of a known strength. Welds depend on who is doing the welding. If improperly welded, the heat can remove the tempering in metals. Just read any of the threads about annealing aluminum, we heat it up so that we can bend it.

[KA]

Hi Asianflava,
Thanks again for the input. I appreciate it.
Kris

[Melvin]

Besides, welds break when you really want them to hold. A pair of 'U' bolts work great.



Have a good day.

What happened?

[Gage]

What happened?

Didn't have the tear totally on the ball. Went thru a flash flood dip at about 60mph, the tear lifted up and when it came back down it missed the ball. Snapped the safty chain weld on the tear and preceded to go it's own way. It went up the bank, thru that big bush that's behind it, turned and came back to the road and parked itself where you see it. The only damage done was to the trailer jack. Ground off about 6". The only thing that really scared me was when it headed for the desert. I could just see it going end over end. If that had happened, because it was only about 70% complete, the whole teardrop thing would have been scraped. I had to much money in it to start over. Besides I still had my Dalton (a 1956 'canham').

Have a good day.

[angib]

I thought the Aussie trailer rules said something about safety chains, and here it is:

12.4 Drawbars Safety Chain Attachments
The chain must be permanently attached to the trailer, shackles are not permitted.

For trailers up to 3.5 tonnes ATM, the safety chain attachment can be by welding. The weld must extend around 50% of the circumference of the link and the adjoining link must have free movement.

For trailers over 3.5 tonnes ATM safety chain attachment must not involve welding or deformation of the chain. Suitable pin-lock couplings should be used.

The safety chain attachment must be located as near as practicable to the coupling and where 2 points of attachment are required they must be mounted one on either side of the centreline of the drawbar.

The safety chain attachment must withstand the following minimum forces, separately applied, without incurring either any residual deformation that would interfere or degrade the function of the assembly, or any breaks, cracks or separation of components
Longitudinal tension (N) ...................... 9.81 x ATM (in kg)
Vertical Load (N) ................................ 0.5 x 9.81 x ATM (in kg).

I thought the part about welding 50% of the link's circumference was interesting.

ATM is the same as GVWR, so the longitudinal tension requirement at the bottom is 100% of the trailer's GVWR and the vertical load is 50%.

Andrew

[vairman]

Well here in TX. safety chains can't be welded they have to be bolted, to many failures due to poor welds.. And if yo look I have my safety chain run behind my A-frame coupler and bolted to the sides.. so there is no way the chain can come off even if the bolts were to fail..




Greg

[Melvin]

The only damage done was to the trailer jack. Ground off about 6". The only thing that really scared me was when it headed for the desert. I could just see it going end over end. If that had happened, because it was only about 70% complete, the whole teardrop thing would have been scraped.

Some good luck that your jack was strong enough. I'd bet if it broke off your tongue would have dug in and the feared endo would have ensued.

I've owned a utility trailer that a triangular loop of flat bar about 8" high mounted underneath the tongue just behind the coupler. Seemed like a good idea to me.