shackle rating

Hi Bill
Not too sure about the yellow color but they do have to be rated and have to have the rating either stamped on or cast into the shackle
The ones that are not rated are useless I personally would not like 2 tonne of van held by one if it comes off the ball for some reason
Kev

Jeez, there must have been a few vans / trailers coming off towballs, snapping shackles, and careering off the road ?? :/ lol

My shackles are yellow, but not overly large in size . . . I would have thought chains used might have been as much of an issue as shackles, those can't be tested though.

G`day Bill,

Have you checked with the relevant state rego branch or police station ?
The same "story" circulated around here a while back, mainly by those opposed to the cheap variety that were selling the more expensive rated type.
Which is safer a rated shackle too small for the job or an unrated one larger than necessary ?
I am not against safety measures, but when people spread Bulls;;t for financial gain I get a bit annoyed.
I have searched the Vicroads website and found no such law.
I told my mate about it so he asked the cop in charge of traffic operations for Central Victoria at the local police station, and he said there was no such law and if there was he would know about it.
That`s the result of my bit of research regarding the law for Victoria, I don`t know about other states.They can be a bit different to us Mexicans sometimes. LOL

Scrubby.

In WA this is the requirement
Quote
CI-119B
Vehicle Safety and Standards
Circular to Industry
Safety Chains for New Trailers under 4.5 tonnes ATM
Introduction
All new trailers that are presented for licensing must comply with the requirements of Vehicle
Standard Bulletin - Building Small Trailers (VSB1). VSB1 summarises the construction
requirements for caravans and trailers necessary to meet the Australian Design Rules (ADRs), and trailers built to meet the requirements in this bulletin are accepted as meeting the ADRs. The chain requirements are specified in ADR 62.
VSB1 stipulates that marked safety chain must be used. This particular requirement had been relaxed to some extent when it was difficult to source chain that met the required standards. Suitable chain is now widely available and this requirement will be enforced for new trailers.
Trailers under 2500 kg ATM must be fitted with at least one chain - trailers over 2500 kg ATM must be fitted with two chains.
For trailers up to 3500 kgs ATM (steel chain to AS4177)
Chain used in trailers up to 3500 kgs ATM must comply with Australian Standard AS4177
Caravan and light trailer towing components - Part 4 Safety chains up to 3500 kg capacity.
The size of chain according to trailer ATM is specified in Table 1 below.
If the chain is to be welded to the drawbar, the weld must cover at least 50% of the length of the link and the adjoining link must be able to move freely within the welded link. Alternatively a plate may be welded to the drawbar and suitably rated fittings such as Hammerlock fittings may be employed.
Markings
Complying chain is permanently and legibly marked with the manufacturer’s or importer’s identification and the digits 4177 (i.e. the number of this Australian Standard), followed by ahyphen and the first two digits of the chain load designation.
For example, chain with a breaking load of 2500 kg will be marked 4177-25.
The marking on complying chain is repeated at intervals not exceeding 4 links and the characters on the links are at least 1.5 mm high for chains less than 8 mm link diameter, and not less than 2 mm high for chains 8 mm and above.
C119B (Last updated June 2010) page 1 of 3
C119B (Last updated June 2010) page 2 of 3
Table 1: Diameter of link material and maximum load capacity
Aggregate trailer mass
Chain size (dia. of link material)
Marking on chain Minimum chain
breaking load
0 to 1000 kg 6.3 mm 4177-10 1000 kg
Up to 1600 kg 8 mm 4177-16 1600 kg
Up to 2500 kg 10 mm 4177-25 2500 kg
Up to 3500 kg 13 mm 4177-35 3500 kg
For trailers over 3.5 tonne ATM (short link chain to AS 2321)
Safety chains for trailers over 3.5 tonne must be made from steel with a minimum 800 MPa breaking stress and conforming with the mechanical properties of grade T chain as specified in AS2321 Short Link Chain for Lifting Purposes (non calibrated).
Drawbar attachment
The chain must be permanently attached to the trailer, shackles are not permitted.
This chain must not be welded to the draw bar. It may be attached to a plate that is welded to the drawbar or by an appropriate pin lock device such as a hammerlock or other acceptable type of suitably rated coupling. The design of the attachment to the drawbar must have sufficient load capacity to match the rating of the required chain as specified in Table 2 below.
Towbar attachment
Rated chain shackles or other suitable fittings must have sufficient load capacity to match the rating of the required chain as specified in Table 2 below.
Table 2: Diameter of link material and maximum load capacity
Aggregate trailer mass
(tonnes)
Chain size
(millimetres)
Minimum chain
breaking load
(tonnes)
Over 3.5 and up to 4.3 7.1 6.4
Over 4.3 and up to 7.5 9.5 11.6
C119B (Last updated June 2010) page 3 of 3
Markings
Complying short link chain is permanently and legibly marked with the manufacturer’s or the importer’s identification marking preceding the letter “T” or the numbers “8” or “80” or “800”.
This marking should appear on at least every 20 links.
Note
All previously licensed (registered) trailers are acceptable with chains that were originally supplied at the time of licensing providing they are in good condition, appropriately sized and are safely secured to the trailer.
Related documents and links
?? Vehicle Standard Bulletin - Building Small Trailers (VSB1) is available on the
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local
Government website (www.infrastructure.gov.au)
?? Australian Design Rules are available on the Department of Infrastructure, Transport,
Regional Development and Local Government website (www.infrastructure.gov.au)
?? Standard AS 4177 can be accessed through the Standards Australia website
(www.standards.org.au)
Correspondence and enquiries
Vehicle Safety and Standards Branch
Department of Transport
21 Murray Road South (corner of Welshpool Rd)
WELSHPOOL WA 6106
Telephone 13 11 56
Facsimile (0Cool 9216 3899

As said don't worry about the colour of the shackles, the shackles should have a raised working load limit on them with the shackle grade and size also shown.

On the average van the shackle will be a 2T WWL shackles marked grade S that will have a breaking strain of at least 6 times that figure and stainless shackles should not be used in this application. ou can look up the shackle grade markings on the web if anyone wants.

On the chain side of things most proof tested chain is short link and not suitable for use with shackles.

Queensland transport should have a safe towing page somewhere that will give all the relevant info.

Interesting that hayman reece supply shackles with their towbars that are not rated lifting shackles.

I have been totally amazed by some of the things people use to hook up their safety chains.
When I picked up a new boat trailer, I told the supplier that they could keep the crappy little shackle that was on the chain when I hitched up.
I could not believe how small and crappy it was.

Common sense would dictate that the shackle should be of comparable size to the chain fitted to the trailer...this shackle most certainly was not rated....I would not have used it to tie up a ccker spaniel.

I don't know that actual detail or how it is enforced....but I would not use other than a reasonably sized, rated lifting industry shackle to hitch up a safety chain.


As far as the rating.....all lifting industry shackles must by law have a safety factor of at least 4....that is a failure load of more than 4 times the stamped load.....that does not mean breakage.......distortion of the shackle is a failure.

Most of the respectable brands of lifting shackles will have a safety factor of at least 6....some as high as 7 or 8.


As far as the shackle is concerned, it is only one point of common non compliance.

It is a requirement that should the hitch fail, the safety chain/s shall prevent the drawbar from striking the ground.......most trailers would fail on this point.


BTW...if you buy you shackles in the right place they are cheap as chips these days.......if you buy at a good bolt shop, you may actually pay less for a rated lifting shackle than you would pay for a crappy domestic shackle from a large hardware.

cheers

A myth busted , Qld police have categorically stated that no one has been fined for 'd shackles' , ,,, the 'flyers' stating such around Gympie saying a $235 fine for non rated 'D shackles' are B/S ,,,, no such fine exists and further more in a quirk of legislation the chain has to be rated NOT the 'D shackle' , go to the Qld Dept of Transport web site and look at fines and penalties …….