What do you see wrong with the way the safety chains and other trailer safety equipment are set-up in the image? That’s the question we asked in the previous article. The image is a screenshot of a YouTube video by NATM, the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers.
Hitch
Adjustable Ball Mount – Practical Considerations
While studying adjustable ball mount styles I noticed nearly all have a stationary rack and a floating attachment. Have you noticed that too? It’s a pretty important detail when we look at which one to choose.
Adjustable Hitch? Or, Adjustable Ball Mount?
Over the past few years the Adjustable Hitch and/or Adjustable Ball Mount have become quite popular. They are great for adapting to a wide variety of tow vehicle heights and trailer tongue heights. But, which should you use? Does it make any difference?
Trailer Hitch Class Ratings
As a convenient way to help with safety, trailer hitches, balls, and receivers have categories or load rating groups called classes. Each trailer hitch class has ratings for how much it will carry. A look at the ratings for each component
Where and How to Attach Safety Chains
What are the best ways to attach safety chains on a trailer? That’s a simple question without a single best answer. Don’t you hate it when the answer starts with “It depends . . . “? Unfortunately, it does depend on many other things
Does Your Trailer Have Attitude?
When we think about airplanes flying, or boats sailing, it’s easy to imagine how they move. An airplane rolls some as it banks into a turn. A boat pitches up and down with the waves. So, how do these factors — Pitch, Yaw and Roll — apply to trailers
Excellent Small Car Trailer Caught In The Wild
Caught on the streets, this small trailer provides big benefits. It’s an excellent example of using a trailer instead of a truck, and this business owner understands efficiency.
Aligning Misaligned Holes
Despite your best efforts, sometimes the holes you drill for a project will not quite align with those in the mating parts. It is maddening, and often you feel dumb because it is messed up, but there are ways to fix
Convenient Trailer Tongue Hinge For Storage
Need to store your trailer in a smaller space? Consider adding a trailer tongue hinge like these. It’s helpful, for sure, but has some definite things to consider.
The Low-Down On Twisting Safety Chains
Should you twist trailer safety chains to make them shorter? Certainly twisting them reduces the length so they don’t drag the ground. That part is good. However, there are big issues with twisting safety chains?
Trailer Safety Chains?
Do they accomplish the intended purpose? Or are trailer safety chains just a legal pain in the rear? Maybe the better question to ask, since we’re required to use them: “How do we make the chains more effective?“
Updates On Trailer Design Articles
The most popular pages on Synthesis are the Trailer Design Article that now has a fresh revision. May, 2017. They include more content, more pictures, and a mobile friendly web design.
The Little Things Make All The Difference
The trailer hitch and surrounding hardware are OH so important — with safety as the priority. Here are examples illustrating one success and one horrific failure.