My universal-tow-bar came with attachment points for chains to connect to the
towing vehicle (under the hitch ball connection) and also attachment points
to
connect to the towed vehicle (failsafe for towbar to "toad" connection).
I looked up instruction manuals for high-end towbars from Blue-Ox and
Roadmaster, and both companies specify slinky-style coiled safety cables that
connect directly from the towing vehicle to the towed vehicle under the
towbar.
The high-end towbars are designed to be used with a "baseplate" custom-fit to
the towed vehicle front frame, and there is a chain attachment point on the
baseplate.
My psychological problem was: I was relying upon the bumper brackets to be a
structurally reliable towing connection, knowing that they were not designed
for that purpose. If I was going to bother to make a safety to the towed car,
I thought I should connect to some other structural part than the bumper
brackets. I did not expect a failure, but if there was a failure, then the
attachment at the bumper-brackets was where I would expect it to be -- it was
my "known unknown".
It turned out that in my shed were two lengths of 3/8" eye-to-eye wire-rope
rigging sling, that were the same length and the right length to connect from
the safety chain-eyes on my hitch to the A-Arms. I used a bit of High test
chain over each A-arm to secure the MGB end, passed the aircraft-cable
through
the chain eyes on the universal tow bar, and crossed them under the ball.
There was adequate slack for turning, but very little slack overall, and the
cables would have cradled the tow-bar had it come loose from the ball.
Now that I've pulled the car hundreds of miles, I'm much more confident in
the
bumper brackets, and may choose to connect safety cables there rather then
crawl under the car each time. I won't have the concern of the chain rubbing
near the A-arm bushings as the car travels.
And now that I know I'm happy pulling the MGB behind, I am actually willing
to
spend money on the equipment to do so. So I am currently deciding between
noisy chains or quiet coated-steel wire-rope for new safety chains, and plan
to use 4 short ones (as my towbar is designed to use), rather than two long
ones. I am pondering installing a 4-pin trailer lighting harness from the
front to the back of the car, bidding on "toad brake" systems on ebay, etc.
Douglas
'70 MGB-GT
TN in winter
MA in summer
From: Barney Gaylord <barneymg@mgaguru.com>
The obligation for safety chains is across the hitch connection at
the towing vehicle. That means across the hitch ball coupling (if it
is a ball). I suppose it is rashly assumed that the hitch mechanism
is securely attached to the towed vehicle, as would be the case when
towing a trailer. I'm not sure if regulators would be sharp enough
to define the required coupling between a tow bar and a towed vehicle.
At 02:27 PM 1/20/2011 -0600, Charley & Peggy Robinson wrote:
>....
>For future reference; the safety chains are supposed to connect the
>to the towing vehicle, in case the towbar somehow disconnects from the
hitch.
>
>CR
>....
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