I failed to mention adding safety chains in addition to the pintle. cc P.S. many motorcycle crashes, scars, a car that was being towed at 70MPH and the front bumper ripped off, so the car went on auto- pilot. 4 cars went into evasive action, no one was touched. > > On May 8, 2008, at 1:17 AM, Apptech wrote: > >> One easy way to go is to get a pintle hook ( new about $50 >> used >> about $25 ) and attach it to your bumper. > > Interesting. Would not be legal here. FWIW. > >> Then you can use a lunette loop to attach the trailer >> securely. > > We are required to have a "security chain" which attaches > from draw bar to trailer independent of the hitch proper. > Has saved a few lives. > >> The most scary thing that ever happened was while I was >> pulling a 27 >> foot travel trailer at 65 mph on a Mexican highway and a >> big semi- >> truck blew by the other way. This sucked the trailer >> sideways and it >> took 1/2 mile to get the trailer to stop whip-lashing. > > Travelling south. A friend in Tokoroa (120 miles?) away > asked if we could bring two motors down to him. I can't > remember the details but AFAIR they were large DC motors - > each an extremely uncomfortable load for one person to > wrestle onto the trailer using a plank. They MAY have been > trolley bus exciters. The two motors were installed on the > trailer and tied down securely. Walker. > > The trailer was a largish domestic one with a tipping > facility. We can see what's coming, can't we... ? :-). The > tipping system was a subframe above the main frame that > pivoted at about axle level allowing the bed to tilt up and > loads to be dumped or run onto the trailer. I had probably > bought it with motorcycle loading in mind amongst other > things. That was the theory anyway, but in practice it was > rather steep when tipped and far easier to put a bike on in > a more normal manner. So, the tipper didn't get much use. It > was permanently bolted with a single bolt at the draw bar - > probably a 3/8", maybe 5/16" ??? > > So, driving south, dark night, country road. Just passed > Tokoroa turnoff for Rotorua - will take motors over > tomorrow. One car following. Pass a car going the other way. > Then suddenly, yee ha !!!!!!!! Second wildest auto ride I've > ever had*, probably. The car was all over the road. The > trailer was penduluming behind us to and from in giant arcs > covering the whole width of the not too wide road. If the > oncoming car had been a little later passing us ... :-(. > After about 4000 hours of fighting the car I got the speed > down and things under control and pulled over and stopped. > Seemed like a good idea at the time. Man behind pulled over > too. Fortunately for my licence he wasn't a cop. > > The motors had worked to the back of the tray placing > substantial strain on the tipper. > The bolt, no surprise, had sheared. The tipper had tipped > and the rather heavy motors had sat in the tipped tray with > the steel frame on the road and the long and light trailer > joining them to us, and away we had gone. Death was a > possibility - either of an oncoming motorist or of us if the > shutdown had not gone quite so well. The man behind gave a > graphic account of the showers of sparks and wild > penduluming. > > We left the trailer and motors by the roadside and my friend > collected them next day. He welded the tipper mechanism > solid. Thereafter I had a trailer with two frames for no > obvious purpose :-). > > > > Russell > > * Wildest may have been when our car left the road on a > gravel road during a car trial after adopting increasingly > violent weavings that showed no sign of being overcome. > Rolling was going to happen sooner or later so leaving the > road and flattening a fence was a good choice. As my wife > was driving this has served for many years as an emergency > rejoinder when she criticises my more extreme driving > activities. Well, I've never actually managed to ... ** . To > be used sparingly. The fence survived. It was a 5 wire one > hit about midway between strainer posts. It lay down > cooperatively while the car half crossed it and stood up > again when we and the following car crew pushed the car back > onto the road. Not a scratch ... :-). > > ** Motorcycles are another matter. Lots of road leaving > there. And worse. > > > > > > > -- > http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive > View/change your membership options at > http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist > > -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist