Caravan Safety Chains / Shackles

oops - sorry about the typo above - bad hair day!!!!

Hi Howard,

With regard to you not being able to put up an image may I suggest the following method.

Bring up the required image from whatever source you wish.

Then hit the “Print Screen “ key and this will place the “Screen Shot” on your clip board.

Next, open up Windows “Paint or Paintbrush” and use the “Control” and “V” keys together to place the clipboard image into Paint.

Next, use the “Select” tool, see image below, to place a box around the section of the screen shot you wish to use.



Now use the “Control” and “C” keys to copy this selected section onto the clipboard again.

Now you can use the “Clear All” feature in “Edit” to clear the graphics program and make it ready to receive the selected image.

Hit the “Control V” keys again and the selected section will appear in the graphics program.

Now you must “Save As”

So go to, File, Save As, and the Save As Pane comes up.

Here you will select the location for this new file, you will also give it a new File Name and you also must save it as a JPG image in “Save As Type” box at the bottom of the pane.

You might have to give it a go a few times to get it right but see how you go.

Hope this helps,
Cheers, Bruce.

I just checked my chain and it is long link not short link.

This has always been a problem for us as well.
We have 2 x 3.5tonne rated chains, but a 3.5 tonne rated shackle will not go through the chain link.
Also there can be another problem-
In some vehicles the towbar may be rated at say 3500kg but a 3.5tonne shackle will not go through the pre-drilled hole in the towbar assembly for the shackle to connect the chains to.
It would be good if manufactureres of towbars, chains, shackles could have some consistency / compliance with the Australian standards.

Cheers

Ozjohn.
That all looks good on paper, but how does anyone know what the rating / SWL of the shackles used are when they're not rated?
I'm afraid I would'nt be using shackles that are'nt rated.
As stated there are some pretty ordinary units out there.
Cheers
Paul

Andrew,
here is mine joined with a shackle and if you look at the pic you can see it can't come undone as I used a mouse wire. That chain will break before the 2t shackle lets go. From memory a 3.2t shackle lets go around 18 tonne.



Have a good one,
RA.

Thanks for the pic Rockape.
Haven't seen that done for a long time but I am about to do it on mine for the same reason. I have been looking for the locking clips that were made to do the same thing but no one has heard of them in recent times.

Regards

A

I really do fail to see why this cant be done.
Having had forklift and front end loader tickets for more than 2 decades...it has been excepted practice to join lift chains with rated hooks and shackles.
My 4wd club joins drag chains and tree trunk protectors and snatch straps with rated shackles, hooks and pulleys..so whats the difference?
Also I would go more on the weight plus a margin on what you are actually towing...rather than the SWL of the safety chain. Most manufacturers tend to err on the heavy side I have seen. My Goldstream camper has 2 rated chains at 4.5 tonne each...tare weight is 1.12 tonne...go figure.

Cheers Keith

X2 on the shackle joining snatch straps.....a big no no!!!
But...they can be used to join a tree trunk protector to a snatch strap...or a rated drag chain to a snatch strap....or a tree trunk protector to the end of a winch rope. The main criteria is that the shackle needs to be on the unmovable item end.

HTH.

Cheers Keith