Trailer chains??

[Macrider]

Ok, for those of you rocket guys that pull trailers with your bike, do you use safety chains ??
I am making up a hitch and need to know if chains are required?

 

[TheKid]

Chains are required. However, you don't want that thing dragging behind you if something were to happen. I cut my chains(each one) and used mechanics wire to put them back together with. I then wraped them with electrical tape, so no one would notice. Thats just the way I did it. If you had a beer or two and pulling that trailer, you don't need to be pulled over because of no chains.
Hows the hitch coming?
Kid

 

[HansO]

I have always used them and they are required here in Auss

 

[atomsplitter]

Required by law. Since you are making yours from scratch you can run a shorter chain than what the makers put on and just use decent hooks. I had to twist my chains together during the RFTW 2009 trip to prevent the sparkin' danglin' doozie after just 50 miles of highway bumps.

 

[TheKid]

I pulled a boat trailer with my other bike, a light boat trailer. It was free and I needed it. However, I again did not want the chains connected to the bike so I wraped them around the tongue. BIG MISTAKE!! They got between the ball and the tongue and would not let me make a 55 mph turn. The bike just wanted to go straight.
Cars and trucks don't lean like a motorcycle, so an alternative is to make sure that the trailer tongue swivels.
And for those that think I'm crazy for pulling a 15' boat trailer(empty), you should have seen the look on peoples face when I pulled my log splitter up I-75 to work.

 

[HansO]

I pulled a boat trailer with my other bike, a light boat trailer. It was free and I needed it. However, I again did not want the chains connected to the bike so I wraped them around the tongue. BIG MISTAKE!! They got between the ball and the tongue and would not let me make a 55 mph turn. The bike just wanted to go straight.
Cars and trucks don't lean like a motorcycle, so an alternative is to make sure that the trailer tongue swivels.
And for those that think I'm crazy for pulling a 15' boat trailer(empty), you should have seen the look on peoples face when I pulled my log splitter up I-75 to work.

Crazy basterd

 

[UNCLE JESSE]

Yes chains are required and I cross mine so if it comes loose it will drop into the cross and not the road I also keep my chains fairly short it seems like more of us are starting to get trailers.