Cobra Trailer brakes

Paul Repacholi wrote:

Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
describes, and how did it work out?


You cross the chains over. Left chain to right shakle on the tow bar,
and visa versa. This keeps the trailer centred when it comes off the
tow ball. Bit of noise, and slow down *SLOWLY*. You dont want your
trailer chewing on the boot!

If you rub the chains straight, it can whip around like a demeted dog!

I've seen this advice many times in the RV group, but the alleged
purpose is always to the tongue off the pavement, without much comment
of reducing disconnected stability. Perhaps keeping the tonque off the
pavement increases the stability of the combination, even it the people
repeating the advice don't realize it.

So, two questions now:

1) Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
describes (chained and with handbrake cable connected), and how did it
work out?

2) has anyone had a trailer come off the ball with the chains crossed,
and how did it work out?


--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

(bart w) wrote in message . com...
On the subject of the safety chains, I've noticed that the metal tab
attached to the front underside of the trailer that anchors one end of
the chain doesn't appear to be that strong. It looks to me like if
the trailer came off the ball, the chain would yank that tab right off
the trailer...

Bart, you may have an older trailer... Mine's 3 years old and has two
large
bolts attached to the body of the trailer on either side of the tongue
and underneath. You may want to take a look at a newer trailer for
ideas on how to make a strong setup.

Another poster mentions that the two chains should be crossed for best
stability of the trailer in case of disconnect. I can't do that as
there's a large skid under the tingue to protect the brake handle
mechanism. A crossed chain passes almost underneath this and I'm
afraid it could catch as the slack is taken up in a turn. My chains
will actually drag in the ground during braling as the tongue
collapses. With the tonngue extended, the length is about as short as
I am comfortable with. I will take another look at my setup this
weekend and see if crossing the chains is an option, as it does make
sense.

I use a very sturdy chain and check it often. Looks like after about
5-6,000 miles, I'm getting a bit of wear and may replace the chains.
Other than that, it works great.

-Tom

"Eric Greenwell" wrote in message
...
Tom Serkowski wrote:

Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
describes, and how did it work out?



I have had two trailers come off the ball over the years. The first was
with a trailer with NO brakes. After hooking up, the trailer was driven at
least a half mile over a very rough dirt road leaving the airport (the old
Marfa airport). And then it did not come off until 30 - 40 miles. The
second was with a trailer that had a cable actuated brake. Again, a rough
dirt road was used to exit the airport. After about 10 miles the trailer
came loose. The brake did get set, but not strongly (lack of adjustment for
previous wear).

The solution for both cases was the same. I was able to feel that the
trailer had come loose. In a motor home this might not be possible. I then
slowed the car until the trailer came into contact with the rear bumper.
The car was then slowly braked to a safe stop. The trailer stayed stable
while trying to "push" the car (both cases).

This procedure may scratch the rear of the car, but, that is much better
than scratching the sides and top in a roll over. And is much preferable to
having the trailer break away and possible go into another car.

Duane