Trailer towing stupidity

[Steve Stegmann <stegmann@domain.elided>]

When we went to Auburn last week I was getting the trailer ready and 
wanted to test out the brakes.  So I hooked up and took off.  Man it 
bounced around, noisy.  so when I got home I got a wrench to tighten up 
the ball socket.  Guess what!  My trailer uses a 2" ball and I had a 
1-7/8" for my other trailer.  ***dumb***

BTW when you hook up your safety chains make sure you hook them 
**tight**.  You want just barely enough slack so you can turn.  I've had 
a trailer come loose and it was not big deal since the trailer couldn't 
go anywhere.  I stopped and put the trailer back on, checked the hitch 
and went on.  No big deal.

I see people all the time who take the hook on the end of the safety 
chain and hook it on the hitch.  Put the hook *through* the hitch loop 
and hook it back on the chain with almost no slack.  At some point your 
trailer will pop loose if you use a ball hitch.  If the chain is tight 
enough it won't really be a problem.  If you do this properly you won't 
even loose the trailer brakes because the electric wires won't get torn.

Steve

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Steven A. Stegmann
     _/_/_/    _/      _/_/_/ "No free man shall ever be debarred the use
   _/    _/   _/_/   _/    _/  of arms.  The strongest reason for the 
   _/        _/ _/   _/        people to retain the right to keep and bear
    _/_/    _/  _/    _/_/     arms is, as a last resort, to protect 
       _/  _/_/_//       _/    themselves against tyranny in government"
 _/    _/ _/    _/ _/    _/    
 _/_/_/  _/     _/ _/_/_/         Thomas Jefferson, June 1776
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