COBRA Anti-Sway Coupler

John DeRosa OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net wrote on 9/6/2020 6:43 AM:
On Saturday, September 5, 2020 at 3:54:38 PM UTC-5, Eric Greenwell wrote:
John DeRosa OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net wrote on 9/5/2020 1:33 PM:
I am all about two heavy duty crossed chains as a last line of defense. Had a glider trailer come off the ball in a patch of rough downtown Omaha construction zone (cause - underjaw not tight enough). The chains saved the day causing nothing more than a broken 4-flat cable.

I have heard that in Europe that chains are not required (not allowed?).. True? Something about saving the driver by getting rid of the trailer instead of tipping over the vehicle. While I get that concept I would much rather risk my own life than injure, or kill, an innocent person hit by my trailer.

The trailers have a "break-away" cable that activates the handbrake on a Cobra
trailers, so the trailer will slow and stop. It might be better to have a loose
trailer that is braking hard, than an out of control-car-sliding around with a
trailer attached. The crossed chains you and I use is the usual recommendation,
but I doubt it would keep the trailer stable at highway speeds, even behind a
heavy, stable vehicle; instead, it is likely to begin whipping widely until you
slowed down, the chains broke, or it hit something.


--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

Eric - While most modern glider trailers have a brake activation cable (Cobra in particular) my event was years ago while pulling a home built trailer which, unfortunately, did not have any brakes at all. I was probably going 60mph-ish (100kph-ish) when the trailer did a pretty wild dance shaking up my 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I thought it was a flat tire. I let off on the gas (no braking initially) and coasted to a safe stop.

Maybe this is obvious but bears repeating - the point of the crossed chains is keeping the coupler off the ground. My newer Cobra trailer has a V shaped "stand" welded to the tongue's underside to also help keep the coupler off the ground. These features attempt to prevent the coupler from dragging on the pavement to avoid hitting a gap in the road's surface which can cause the trailer to come to a very abrupt stop, probably immediately severing the trailer/vehicle connection. Not good.

Still, am I right that trailer chains are not used in Europe?

I believe you are correct about chains, though I don't know if all the countries
in Europe are the same on this. The V shaped plate on Cobra trailers is definitely
there to protect the parking brake mechanism and to prevent the parking brake from
being released if the trailer disconnects and the tongue slides along the
pavement. It might also be intended to do as you suggest.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

Eric - While most modern glider trailers have a brake activation cable (Cobra in particular) my event was years ago while pulling a home built trailer which, unfortunately, did not have any brakes at all. I was probably going 60mph-ish (100kph-ish) when the trailer did a pretty wild dance shaking up my 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I thought it was a flat tire. I let off on the gas (no braking initially) and coasted to a safe stop.

Maybe this is obvious but bears repeating - the point of the crossed chains is keeping the coupler off the ground. My newer Cobra trailer has a V shaped "stand" welded to the tongue's underside to also help keep the coupler off the ground. These features attempt to prevent the coupler from dragging on the pavement to avoid hitting a gap in the road's surface which can cause the trailer to come to a very abrupt stop, probably immediately severing the trailer/vehicle connection. Not good.

Still, am I right that trailer chains are not used in Europe?

Eric - the first time I saw these chains on glider- or any other trailer was here in the US. All countries I traveled in in Europe do not require chains but I am not aware of any rules to the contrary. The red breakaway cable found on the Cobra trailers is pretty much the standard over there.
Inversely, the thing that is not known over in Europe are electric brakes. I have never seen them before nor do I think they are legal there.

Uli
'AS'

On Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 8:07:29 AM UTC-7, AS wrote:
Eric - While most modern glider trailers have a brake activation cable (Cobra in particular) my event was years ago while pulling a home built trailer which, unfortunately, did not have any brakes at all. I was probably going 60mph-ish (100kph-ish) when the trailer did a pretty wild dance shaking up my 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I thought it was a flat tire. I let off on the gas (no braking initially) and coasted to a safe stop.

Maybe this is obvious but bears repeating - the point of the crossed chains is keeping the coupler off the ground. My newer Cobra trailer has a V shaped "stand" welded to the tongue's underside to also help keep the coupler off the ground. These features attempt to prevent the coupler from dragging on the pavement to avoid hitting a gap in the road's surface which can cause the trailer to come to a very abrupt stop, probably immediately severing the trailer/vehicle connection. Not good.

Still, am I right that trailer chains are not used in Europe?

Eric - the first time I saw these chains on glider- or any other trailer was here in the US. All countries I traveled in in Europe do not require chains but I am not aware of any rules to the contrary. The red breakaway cable found on the Cobra trailers is pretty much the standard over there.
Inversely, the thing that is not known over in Europe are electric brakes.. I have never seen them before nor do I think they are legal there.

Uli
'AS'

Here is an article on "caravaning" in Europe (known as RVing in the US):
https://gurucamper.com/camping/carav...-need-to-know/

Notice that the very first photo shows a trailer w/o chains.

On Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 8:59:42 PM UTC-7, 2G wrote:
On Sunday, September 6, 2020 at 8:07:29 AM UTC-7, AS wrote:
Eric - While most modern glider trailers have a brake activation cable (Cobra in particular) my event was years ago while pulling a home built trailer which, unfortunately, did not have any brakes at all. I was probably going 60mph-ish (100kph-ish) when the trailer did a pretty wild dance shaking up my 2003 Nissan Pathfinder. I thought it was a flat tire. I let off on the gas (no braking initially) and coasted to a safe stop.

Maybe this is obvious but bears repeating - the point of the crossed chains is keeping the coupler off the ground. My newer Cobra trailer has a V shaped "stand" welded to the tongue's underside to also help keep the coupler off the ground. These features attempt to prevent the coupler from dragging on the pavement to avoid hitting a gap in the road's surface which can cause the trailer to come to a very abrupt stop, probably immediately severing the trailer/vehicle connection. Not good.

Still, am I right that trailer chains are not used in Europe?

Eric - the first time I saw these chains on glider- or any other trailer was here in the US. All countries I traveled in in Europe do not require chains but I am not aware of any rules to the contrary. The red breakaway cable found on the Cobra trailers is pretty much the standard over there.
Inversely, the thing that is not known over in Europe are electric brakes. I have never seen them before nor do I think they are legal there.

Uli
'AS'

Here is an article on "caravaning" in Europe (known as RVing in the US):
https://gurucamper.com/camping/carav...-need-to-know/

Notice that the very first photo shows a trailer w/o chains.

And here are the European speed limits for vehicles towing trailers:
https://www.theaa.ie/aa/motoring-adv...it-notes..aspx

On Monday, 7 September 2020 at 06:25:32 UTC+1, 2G wrote:
And here are the European speed limits for vehicles towing trailers:
https://www.theaa.ie/aa/motoring-adv...notes.aspxaspx

Limits are not the same everywhere, and that reads as if it's about one country.

At 06:45 07 September 2020, andy l wrote:
On Monday, 7 September 2020 at 06:25:32 UTC+1, 2G wrote:
And here are the European speed limits for vehicles towing trailers:

https://www.theaa.ie/aa/motoring-adv...-europe/speed-
limit-notes.aspxaspx

Limits are not the same everywhere, and that reads as if it's about one
country.

When you live in a country that is only 900 miles long and say 150 wide
then speed is not much of an issue. I would imagine very few glider
retrieves are longer than 100 miles round trip. People do travel from
the South of England to the Highlands of scotland to fly on "Camps" but
I would be surprised if any have a journey greater than 600 miles.

The bigger issue with trailers here I think is the number of poorly
maintained wooden trailers that are still around.

I've been towing an Arcus M in Cobra trailer for years, using a compact Ford C-max 1.6 TDCI. Speed limit in Italy is 80kph on highways. Occasionally (as in France where it's legal, let's say), I drove at 125 kph or higher with no problems at all. One must be experienced and use the steering wheel with extreme care. Overtaking semitrailer trucks (they actually drive not any faster than 85 kph GS) requires careful planning and... some cool blood.

please not that European towing bars (except maybe in UK) are very expensive at about 1800 USD with installation, they come to the market only after certification, are installed by few authorised stations, and require a technical inspection by the national authorities before you can hitch anything to it. I've never seen a tow ball coming off a vehicle, not even after 30 years in service.

AFAIK, chains are prohibited in Italy and Europe, as any other accessories which may cause injuries to pedestrians.

ciao,
Aldo Cernezzi
www.voloavela.it

Truck drivers cruise through all of Europe respecting the 80 kph limit. Well, they use 80+5 for non-penalized tolerance, +3% for measuring devices tolerance. You'll see they hold a steady 88 km/h GPS ground-speed all the way.
They also respect rest and sleep rules, getting long pauses in the parking areas.
Many of them leave from Latvia, go to Turkey, then to Denmark, and back.

Speed limits may be annoying, but if enforced, they are respected.

Ciao,
Aldo



When you live in a country that is only 900 miles long and say 150 wide
then speed is not much of an issue. I would imagine very few glider
retrieves are longer than 100 miles round trip. People do travel from
the South of England to the Highlands of scotland to fly on "Camps" but
I would be surprised if any have a journey greater than 600 miles.

Aldo Cernezzi wrote on 9/7/2020 5:55 AM:
please not that European towing bars (except maybe in UK) are very expensive at about 1800 USD with installation, they come to the market only after certification, are installed by few authorised stations, and require a technical inspection by the national authorities before you can hitch anything to it. I've never seen a tow ball coming off a vehicle, not even after 30 years in service.

My understanding is the ball in Europe is an integral part of the hitch, and not
bolted on like they are in the US; nonetheless, in the US it is usually the
trailer coming off the ball, not the ball coming off the hitch, that causes a
disconnect from the towing vehicle.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1

The weak point in most ball hitches is wear or poor adjustment of the lower jaw on the hitch coupler. If you can lift the hitch more than about an eighth of an inch and feel the coupler "rattle" on the ball, it is probably too loose. You can generally tighten the locking nut on the jaw to reduce the play. Just don't get it too tight- you need to have it to a point where it just barely slips over the ball but does not actually clamp tightly.

While looking under there (which most people never do), check to see if the jaw shows wear. If the wear is excessive, it might not grip enough of the lower curve of the ball and allow your trailer to go cruising off on its own. Chains are supposed to prevent this, but it's better to avoid the issue altogether.

One thing I see too often is a situation where somebody tries to use a two inch coupler on a 1 7/8" ball. That's just asking for trouble!