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Thread: Connecting two trailers together

  1. #1
    Legendary dom14's Avatar
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    Connecting two trailers together

    Hey guys,

    I've been wondering whether there is a legal way to connect two small trailers together to tow them
    one behind the other.

    I'm wondering about the,
    1)Technical & safety aspects of doing that without any issues
    2)Legal side of it whether it's allowed or not

    Basically my idea is to attach a small trailer(lets say 6x4 or 8x5) to the other by
    fitting in a tow bar/hitch (typical tow ball coupling or different one) arrangement to the front trailer.

    I see the "semi-trailers" on the road have such arrangements, but the tow 'ball'/hitch coupling arrangement they use it
    different from standard trailers that we use with our vehicles 'cos those huge massive semi-trailers can be reversed with the same wheel turn as the vehicle, don't they? In other words truckie semi-trailers don't need the 'jack-knife' mucking around we do with our small trailers or typical caravan couplings!

    I realize this means fitting a tow bar & hitch to the back of the front or main trailer, but that's ok if it is legally allowed. I also realize this can complicate the reversing process, but that may also be rectified by fitting a different type of coupling, rather than a standard tow ball coupling.

    Any thoughts, ideas, opinion and advice would be great.

    What I really like to do is what as in below picture semi trailers, but in a very small simpler scale.

    STAA_double_pup.jpeg
    b-train.gif
    Last edited by dom14; 20th November 2017 at 12:13 PM.
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    I am he, fear me the evil twin's Avatar
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    If you are talking a Light Vehicle and standard Pig Trailers... totally illegal in all States and Territories

    There was a fatal here about a month or two back from some Moron doing exactly that...
    Last edited by the evil twin; 20th November 2017 at 11:41 AM.
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    dom14 (20th November 2017)

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    Legendary dom14's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by the evil twin View Post
    If you are talking a Light Vehicle and standard Pig Trailers... totally illegal in all States and Territories
    .
    Yeah, I guess that's what I meant. For example, having a Patrol towing an 8x5 trailer while having another 6x4 trailer attached to the back of the 8x5 trailer. I guess, even if it's legal, then there would be functionally challenging or impossible situation of backing up the whole trailer arrangement, unless rear most trailer coupling is a different one to the standard tow ball, so the rear most trailer moves same path as the front trailer.

    I always wondered why we don't see that with light trailers while the massive semi-trailers tow huge ones without any issues on highways and freeways(obviously there are functional difficulty of maneuvering them in smaller roads).

    I suspected it has to do with,
    1)Special licensing requirements for being able to manoeuvre two trailers combined together like that(the extra training required to be able to skillfully maneuver such multiple trailer arrangements).
    2)Special couplings those large semi-trailers use that allow them to manoeuvre the two trailers safely and easily, comparing to the
    light vehicle tow ball couplings.
    Last edited by dom14; 20th November 2017 at 12:02 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by the evil twin View Post
    There was a fatal here about a month or two back from some Moron doing exactly that...
    Yes, I remember seeing & hearing about that accident.
    There must be a reason why it's allowed with those massive trailers while it's not allowed with small trailers.
    I'm interested in whether it's flat out illegal or whether it can be legal with certain safety/technical arrangements as it would be with big semi-trailers.
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    I found this document regarding standard tow coupling methods in Australia.

    https://infrastructure.gov.au/roads/...owCoupling.pdf
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    IIRC VSB6 is still only for a single Trailer combination tho...

    Road Trains are a whole separate issue again
    Dolphins are so smart that within a few weeks of captivity, they can train people to stand on the very edge of the pool and throw them fish.

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    Quote Originally Posted by the evil twin View Post
    IIRC VSB6 is still only for a single Trailer combination tho...

    Road Trains are a whole separate issue again
    Yes.
    I'm trying to find out the reasons behind the outright illegality of the two trailer combination.
    In ideal situations, if it's good for big semi-trailers, we(I) can argue it should be even better for smaller light weight trailers.
    But, I don't see anybody doing that & I'm guessing that 'cos it's illegal.
    And I can't stop wondering why it's illegal for light weight while it's legal for heavy weight.
    I suspect coupling method is one reason, so assuming if the more advanced coupling method is used, then it should be ok.
    Then I suspect there is a licensing requirement as well.
    The usual heavy vehicle license need to be extended to include a "semi-trailer"(or road trains) I think.

    Any thoughts?!
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    Connecting two trailers together

    Hi Dom, I am not sure that people don’t do it cos it’s illegal, more that it’s illegal because the engineering of the tow set up, axel positioning, loading and weight distribution, brakes and lighting are a completely different set up. Add to this the training and skills to control the rig and it is not the thing you want to see a tourist doing. Tow vehicle followed by a caravan then the boat and a couple of quads on a third trailer, no not a good look. It would give the mermaids something to think about though, if it was part of their jurisdiction or not.


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    trailer couplings need to exert some downward force on the towball, if there is no downward force or worse still an upward force you will experience severe trailer sway. if the second trailer exerts downward force on it's towball it might negate the downward force of the first trailers coupling, causing swaying. in both truck pictures you posted all trailers were supported front and rear by wheel sets, simple box trailers only have supporting wheel sets (1 or 2) near the middle, allowing them to pivot, when they pivot the coupling up, things can go pear shaped very quickly.

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