Trailer "safety" chains?

[DanD78]

I did something very stupid a few years back that makes me a firm believer in safety chains. My daughter and I loaded up our two horses in the back half of our 18' stock trailer to take them to the vet for shots and check up. All was going well until I hit a hard bump going down hill at about 50 mph and the trailer jumped off the ball. The trailer jumped off the ball and started heading for the ditch then WAM. The chains caught the trailer and jerked the back end of the truck. About that time the trailer started heading the other direction and we got a second WAM and jerked the truck again. I don't recall how many times it did this but I didn't think it would ever stop. This was a heavy trailer behind a 3/4 ton truck and I have never been on such a ride as that trailer gave me. The trailer did not turn over but I did see it up on two wheels after the second wam.

The guy heading up the hill stopped at the bottom because he didn't k now where I was going to end up. The chains never broke but were damaged. The guy that stopped hlped me hook the trailer back up. The horses were still standing so we continued on to the vet's office.

The cause of this was earlier in the week I had pulled a trailer that required a 2" ball for a friend. My stock trailer uses 2 5/16" and I forgot to change it back. I had even hauled the trailer full of hay the day before.

The tragic outcome of this stupidity was my daughters 4-H horse ended up with a broken leg and had to be put down, There is nothing worse than driving back home, both of us crying your eyes out knowing that we were going to put the horse down and bury it. The vet followed us home and did it for us. A good friend loaned me his back hoe to dig the grave. I hated seeing the horse laying dead on the ground while I dug the hole.

So, Use quality, heavy chains on you trailer. If the trailer had came apart from the truck there would have been a trailer with two dead horses over the side of the hill or hit the guy heading toward me.

Thanks guys
Dan D.

 

[MNBobcat]

I know this is an older thread, but I learned something a few weeks ago that I wanted to share as it could save a life some day.

Its ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL when you hook up the safety chains that your break away cable be hooked to the tow vehicle using a SHORTER cable than the length of the safety chains.

The concept is that if the trailer comes unhooked you want the break away brakes to trip before the trailer hits the end of the safety chains. The brakes on the trailer will keep the safety chains taught and keep the trailer from coming forward and rear-ending the tow vehicle. It will also help to slow both the trailer and the tow vehicle so that you can come safely to a stop.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I know this is an older thread, but I learned something a few weeks ago that I wanted to share as it could save a life some day.

Its ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL when you hook up the safety chains that your break away cable be hooked to the tow vehicle using a SHORTER cable than the length of the safety chains.

The concept is that if the trailer comes unhooked you want the break away brakes to trip before the trailer hits the end of the safety chains. The brakes on the trailer will keep the safety chains taught and keep the trailer from coming forward and rear-ending the tow vehicle. It will also help to slow both the trailer and the tow vehicle so that you can come safely to a stop.

Good tip. This is something most people do not think about.

Chris

 

[timswi]

I was using a car hauler to move into my house...Made numerous round trips that day loading furniture and such. After running probably 100 miles in total, I headed back to the other house for the night. Was heading down the road, hit a bump and heard the most horrible sound. The trailer popped off the ball (the latch in the reciever didn't fully engage the ball) and hit the ground. The chains kept it behind the truck, and the e-brake stopped the whole rig with no major issues except for the trailer jack being destroyed. That being said, I always hook up, pin, and chain up, then lift the whole assembly with the jack to make sure it's all good. That kind of experience gives you religion in a hurry.

Also, some crackhead out here was towing a commercial tree shreader and didn't bother to put the chains on. The machine jumped off at 50MPH, crossed the median and killed a father and a couple of kids in a minivan. This kind of thing should never happen.

 

[ray66v]

After having a trailer come off the ball years ago, and then having the wimpy safety chains fail, I now use heavy duty chains, with screw close-able quick links to connect them to the vehicle. It is a bit of a pain, but not as bad as being passed by your own trailer.

 

[Groo]

I know this is an older thread, but I learned something a few weeks ago that I wanted to share as it could save a life some day.

Its ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL when you hook up the safety chains that your break away cable be hooked to the tow vehicle using a SHORTER cable than the length of the safety chains.

The concept is that if the trailer comes unhooked you want the break away brakes to trip before the trailer hits the end of the safety chains. The brakes on the trailer will keep the safety chains taught and keep the trailer from coming forward and rear-ending the tow vehicle. It will also help to slow both the trailer and the tow vehicle so that you can come safely to a stop.

I always thought the point was to have the chains so short as to not let the tungue even hit the ground.

I've also had a weak chain break on a homemade when I forgot to unhook it when dropping the trailer.

 

[ray66v]

I always thought the point was to have the chains so short as to not let the tungue even hit the ground.

You want the chains at a minimum length, especially if you have a trailer that has no brakes. A loose trailer can violently slam into the back of the vehicle, then stretch out to the length of the chains, and repeat this process until either you stop, or something gives. Trust me, I have been through this.

You should cross the chains under the ball, when you attach them to the hitch, to support the tongue in the event of a hitch failure.

If you have functioning brakes, and crossed safety chains, it could be a non event.