Comet trailer near catastrophe

I am no expert (just a dumb electrician), but this is what has always
bothered me about the German glider trailers, the single pole tongue.

Think about it, this single pole has to absorb a lot of movement and
stress:
1. The weight of the trailer and contents (almost a ton) when parked,
often for long periods.
2. The up and down motion of the trailer as you tow it over bumps and
uneven pavement.
3. The sway of the trailer when towed behind your car.
4. The sideways stress on the tongue when turning, especially short
turns (like U-turns).

Those are tremendous arm moments. I have never understood why these
trailers have this kind of tongue--or how they have passed DOT and
State regulations.

Also, are those poles galvanized or just painted? If just painted,
they should be inspected carefully before you tow the trailer (a good
idea even if it it galvanized). It just takes a pin hole in the paint
to allow rain and dew to seep into the steel where it can rust
unnoticed. This is not to say that galvanizing will not rust,
especially if it is welded, but the chance is considerably less and
the zinc finish will take more abuse than paint will.

I have a Swan trailer (also German) for my LS-1c and it has a
triangular tongue, made of C-channel, more like what we typically see
on American trailers, and it is galvanized. A triangular tongue helps
spread out he load and stresses. You still have a single point where
the trailer hitch is located, but it is rather beefier and the arm is
considerably less than a single 3 or 4 foot pole. You also have a
single point on each leg of the tongue where it attaches to the
trailer, so you still need to be mindful of the up and down loads, but
there should be less risk than with a round pole. I have no proof for
this, but the C-channel cross-section triangular tongue should be
stronger than a round pole in all instances.

The idea of putting the chains on the trailer instead of the tongue is
a good one and even though I have more confidence in the Swan tongue,
I think I am going to investigate this idea.

On Mar 9, 11:45*pm, wrote:
Trailering my DG-300 home after a Saturday flight, I was on the
highway within a few miles of home when someone pulled up beside me,
gesturing back towards my trailer (never a good sign).

I immediately pulled over and was stunned to find the tongue of my 25
year old Comet trailer snapped almost in two! *It was more than 95%
severed, sagging mid-span, hinged and hanging by a mere thread of
metal. *That had activated the trailer's surge brakes as I drove and
they were HOT, barely touchable at the hubs.

I called AAA who told me that they'll help with my car, but not with
trailer problems. *So I thanked the agent (not really) and called back
to report my "car" problems, asking that they send a flat bed truck.
The driver arrived shortly thereafter, put the trailer up on the flat
bed, and delivered the trailer a few miles away to the repair shop
that recently repacked the wheel bearings.

I consider this a gift that a) it happened near home instead of
central Nevada and b) that it didn't break all the way off,
doubtlessly causing me to get on the brakes and bash the trailer into
the back of my SUV!

If you've got a similar vintage Comet trailer, you might want to
inspect for this - though, from the looks of my failed tongue, I'm not
sure there'd be any outward signs...

Has anybody heard of this kind of (near) catastrophic tongue failure
before? *Now what?

Eric
ER