Northwest Fishing Reports

Well, this feels like a stupid question, but I have no idea what I am doing here.

I have a new to me trailer. It is a very small trailer and requires a 7.5" drop down from my vehicle ball. Anyway... this means that the safety chains on the trailer do not reach now to the vehicle. How does one go about lengthening metal chains? Is there some way to add links? Or do I need to remove whole chain from trailer and replace with longer chain? Again, how do you add a closed link chain even to one's trailer?
I could jerry-rig something with maybe a carabiner, but that doesn't seem very safe.

Well, there ya go.... Google is my friend.
Answering my own question... I guess there is what you call a 'Quick link'. That single link with an option of unscrewing it to open and attach to more links.
Unless somebody else has another idea?

You found what I was going to say, good luck.

Yup, made for that use, at your local hardware store.

I tow a lot of different trailers with my truck, so I keep several small d-ring shackles with me. Some boat launches are steep some are shallow, and I use different height hitches often. The removable d- rings allow me adjust the chains to match on the fly.

Sideburns wrote:I tow a lot of different trailers with my truck, so I keep several small d-ring shackles with me. Some boat launches are steep some are shallow, and I use different height hitches often. The removable d- rings allow me adjust the chains to match on the fly.

Good to know, Sideburns, Thanks.
I have a high sitting Ford Expedition, and then a low Subaru Outback. Very different in the ball heights. I was finding this expensive with buying all of these different height extensions. (Also, the two different trailers require two different ball sizes, and the option of a rotation multi-ball thingy does not allow for the different height options.

I think I am good now once I pick up that special unscrewing link.

As far as the two different sizes hitches, that is a simple fix, by changing the hitch on the smaller one. Make it match the lager one. Not a big expense.

The Quadfather wrote:Well, there ya go.... Google is my friend.
Answering my own question... I guess there is what you call a 'Quick link'. That single link with an option of unscrewing it to open and attach to more links.
Unless somebody else has another idea?

Split links work too. They're kind of cut lengthwise in a spiral like a split ring. so you wind it on the two pieces of chain and squish it together with hydraulic press or a BFH. You can buy a whole new set of cable on EBay or Amazon for around $20 and new chains for under $10

Bodo,
Thanks. I'm all good. Picked up some quick links, rewired whole trailer (new pram trailer)
built a flat bed on top and covered it with 3" 's of the softest articial grass you can imagine.
Not astro-turf, but fine fake grass.-- traikering pram upside down. Not possible without the wisdom/help of 'Motoboat'- Wayne. McGyvver allstar.
Now of course it is too hot (water) to fish the small fly lakes.

The Quadfather wrote:Bodo,
Thanks. I'm all good. Picked up some quick links, rewired whole trailer (new pram trailer)
built a flat bed on top and covered it with 3" 's of the softest articial grass you can imagine.
Not astro-turf, but fine fake grass.-- traikering pram upside down. Not possible without the wisdom/help of 'Motoboat'- Wayne. McGyvver allstar.
Now of course it is too hot (water) to fish the small fly lakes.

I figured as much. Warm water is sure a problem now with pretty much no salmon fishing out in the salt. I was getting worried about the salt water fly outing at Camano as I was told by one of the fish checkers that there was no fishing in 8-2 period. After reading the regs again I'm glad to see that you can still fish for trout in the salt water. All the stupid extra regs only apply to salmon fishing. No salmon would dare bite a trout fly......

The really stupid thing is they close down the salt to all salmon fishing and they leave the rivers open where it's easy picking. WDFW sure missed the boat on this one. Shame shame shame....