Trailer "safety" chains?

[workinallthetime]

Broke the chains off my trailer the other day trying to cut a step and move it around with the FEL. Does anyone knwo the point of these chains? I hear they are actually designed to break if the the trailer becomes seperated from the truck. Other tell me they are designed to drop to just above the ground so you can destroy the back of your truck but bring the thing to a stop. I would be sick if a saw my trailer pass me and head across the highway but ............

Whats the deal? anyone really know? Slapin some new ones on is no big deal just wondering if i should upgrade em.

 

[ultrarunner]

A highway patrol officer told me ideally you will have 2 chains with enough slack to cross under the trailer tongue so that if the ball breaks the chains will cradle the tongue and prevent the tongue from hitting the roadbed and strong enough to prevent having a runaway trailer...

Small trailers are only required to have a single chain in my state... after having a ball break once and the single chain snap when the tongue dug into a joint on the interstate... I now only run double chains on everything...

By the way... I saw my trailer bounce across the freeway and by shear luck... nothing happened!

 

[Skyco]

The chains should cross to cradle the tongue so it doesn't hit the road. If adjusted properly the trailer won't hit the truck either, well at least not much...
The chains should not break if properly sized.
The point is not so much to save your trailer and truck but to save someone elses life.
IMO I see way too much improper and dangerous towing practices. I really wish law enforcement would step up on this. In SC it is common to come up on trailers at night with no tailights completely blocking the tow vehicle lights. I also at least once a week see a skidsteer or something parked on a trailer doing 75-80 down the freeway with NO tiedowns whatsoever on it!

 

[Bird]

Chains designed to break? Quite possible. Many years ago in one of the traffic enforcement classes I was in, they showed how some even sawed chains in two, glued them back together and spray painted them so it wouldn't be noticed if an officer checked them. Personally, I've never seen that, but I have seen safety chains that were obviously not strong enough to start with, and I've seen a fatal accident in which a trailer (specifically a boat trailer) came loose, crossed the median, hit and killed a driver going the opposite direction. Skyco and ultrarunner have both answered correctly.

 

[Bedlam]

Im at a loss as to why anyone would want them to break. My concern has always been are the strong enough, and also where they connect tot the towing vehicle.

 

[Diamondpilot]

What the others have said is correct. They should be strong enough to not brake and should be installed in a X fashion to cradle the trailer.

Chris

 

[Bird]

Im at a loss as to why anyone would want them to break. My concern has always been are the strong enough, and also where they connect tot the towing vehicle.

Very simple. Some people are afraid that if the trailer comes loose, it might get to fishtailing and wreck them if the chains hold the trailer and towing vehicle together. They'd rather the trailer take off alone and just hope it doesn't hit or kill anyone else. Some of us, probably most of us here, would rather they stay hooked up and wreck us instead of hurting someone else.

But of course, if the trailer is properly connected to start with, it should not come loose. And if it does come loose, but the chains are strong enough and properly hooked up, you can probably gradually slow down with minimal, if any, damage to the trailer and the towing vehicle.

 

[zzvyb6]

The reality is that people make mistakes when they attach the trailer. The tongue is only sitting on the ball and has not dropped down OVER the ball. They don't put the security pin in place to lock down the clamp lever. Thy don't even know what a security pin is for. They forget to tighten the threaded type clamps. Not every one is a moron and an idiot, but the one coming at you without securing their trailer that comes loose when they hit a bump is one or the other. They will probably say "they are real sorry they killed your wife, kid, or dog, that the trailer never done that before". Maybe just before you want to strangle them.

So you are required in most states to have safety chains. Crossed. So the other half of the moron / idiot combination doesn't twist them off when they make a U-turn at the boat launch ramp.

The moron who "forgot" to hook up his safety chains back ended me so hard the hitch bracket bent under his bumper and disconnected. The trailer tongue punctured his gas tank and we all waited for it to burn me up. If I could have walked, I would have lit the match to make his day. His boat looked real stupid in the back if his Suburu. A major clearance issue.

 

[MikeD74T]

This is the reason why you want chains & a locking hitch, this trailer had neither. You wouldn't want this to be a picture of your wife's car. How I was nearly killed by the potato blight - Shop Floor Talk In case you can't open the link, here's the pics. MikeD74T

 

[QRTRHRS]

My feeling is that if you cannot afford a few feet of high grade safety chain, then perhaps you should not be on the road to start with.

As others have stated, they should be in an "X" pattern, gooseneck or bumper pull. The chains should allow you to reasonably jack the trailer around without stressing one chain or the other. If the chains drag then simply weave some bungie cord through them.