Trailer Cuffs, Trailer Chains, Brake Cords: Trailer Hitch Aspects

[BushWacker]

Trailer hitching effectiveness should be an important concern to anyone pulling a trailer or caravan.
If the trailer comes off one worries about rolling, damage including to other cars and pedestrians .
If the trailer has a blow-out and becomes out of control or roll prone, one probably wants it to detach and not compromise control of the towing vehicle ... to some extent the towball is designed to yield/break and facilitate detachment. Some trailers have 360deg rotation capability so a rolling trailer is less likely to impart a turning force on the towing vehicle ...

etc etc

Some trailers have a chain attached to the trailer that loops around or through the tow ball/hitch
... some have a brake cord that automatically brakes a trailer (with brakes) when it detaches
... and now there are trailer cuffs... I've just bought one and will describe it in an accompanying note in this thread.

https://ibb.co/tqpk74s

So what thoughts/thinking do you guys have on these hitching / de-hitching aspects and whats the way to go ... what other considerations are there ???

Discuss ...

[KurtG]

Personally I would rather the trailer unhitches so I won’t use one of those.

Can it be used for safety though, as in when parked, can the thingy prevent theft at all?

[Wave]

Personally I would rather the trailer unhitches so I won’t use one of those.

I agree, the trailer must rather break away from the combination.

Can it be used for safety though, as in when parked, can the thingy prevent theft at all?

I have bought the "Trailer Cop" it's about R165 from Midas or Outdoor Warehouse, it clamps inside the coupler.

TrailerCop.jpg (8.3 KiB) Viewed 4065 times

[Panda]

Question. If the trailer unhitches and goes into a crowd/ pedestrian can you be held responsible if it is fatal?
If you didn't have a chain attached does it then point to the driver being negligent?
Could it been avoided if the chain was attached?

[Hedgehog]

Question. If the trailer unhitches and goes into a crowd/ pedestrian can you be held responsible if it is fatal?
If you didn't have a chain attached does it then point to the driver being negligent?
Could it been avoided if the chain was attached?

In my opinion, You can be held responsible.
It is your duty to ensure that your trailer/caravan does not unhitch, and if it does that it does not harm other road users. Imagine driving towards a big off-road caravan rig, and the caravan uncouples and swerves into your lane....

That is why, you have securing devices on trailer/caravan hitches, like safety chains and hitch locks.
IMO a trailercuff is just as important when hitched than when unhitched.

I have also experienced some of the peace of mind it offers when traveling on poor roads. Even traversing off road conditions (where a ball coupling is not ideal) it helps to have the coupling secured.

[ThysleRoux]

Towballs are, despite what happens during recoveries for which it was never designed, actually very strong and a good trailer hitch should not come loose.

I have personally witnessed a caravan being flipped on its side and lifting the rear of the tow vehicle off the ground without either the ball or the hitch letting go.

[BushWacker]

I think that the size and weight of the trailer relative to that of the towing vehicle is crucial, besides being a focus of legislation...
I drive a 130 and tow a metalian mini so Im less concerned about a trailer blow-out or turnover than I would be where the car is smaller and trailer bigger say a Duster pulling a Conquerer ... I would then only use a light chain that would only somewhat delay/transition detachment ... hopefully with a lot of warning noise and sensation to driver.
I know a family where a large conquerer overturned and flipped the vehicle on a tight corner ... think driver nodded off ... after: son had slurred speech and long term memory loss , father was blinded and mother disabled.

I think a trailer hitch unit that swivels 360deg is big safety advantage.
A trailer cuff chain shackles the female trailer hitch onto the vehicles male tow ball and so prevents detachment subject to strength of its chain etc.
It also makes theft very difficult ... also via a dummy towball when trailer is not on vehicle ...

[grips]

Have anyone experienced or see a tow ball that break off during an accident. Like Bushwacker I also understand that it is designed to do so.
Done several recoveries where trailers or caravans had rolled behind a vehicle. I have saw them become detached but never a broken tow ball.
In two cases we needed to cut the tow ball with a cutting torch to free the vehicle from the trailer after the accident.

[Paul#25]

Anyone have any experience with the trapeze tow hitch.

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Weren't those things designed to mask the problems with a badly designed and loaded caravan being towed but old cars with kak suspension?
I have towed for thousands of km around the country with trailers loaded with race bikes or cars. With getting the load correctly distributed on the trailer and the tow hitch at the correct heigh I've never had a problem with the trailer swaying.

[Crips]

Anyone have any experience with the trapeze tow hitch.

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Don't know Trapeze, know of Tando and yellowblade

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[HenriSteyn]

It's called a "Trapezium" if I recall. And it is designed to steer the trailer or van in the opposite direction of the sway to offset the sway as soon as sway is detected.

There are two hinge connections set behind the tow hitch of the trailer and there are another 2 set in line with the tow ball.

The rear hinge connections are connected to the front by two vertical plates.

The tow ball is fitted to the front tow ball assembly.

The configuration is such that viewed from the top it the layout looks like a trapezium.

Thus the tow trailer is always slightly off centre the vehicle and as soon as any direction change occurs the set up moves sideways to counter the sway.

https://www.caravanparks.com/35.Caravan ... ffbfaa.jpg[/IMG]

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[HenriSteyn]

As regards the cable that is connected to the brakes, that is now legal and nothing else is.

But quite frankly I dont like it because it gets caught inbetween the tow hitch and the coupler if severe angles are encountered and starts looking somewhat second hand.

So I use the cable for the legal side but still use the chain.

Cheers

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