Hooking up Safety Chains.

[MorganT69]

I have not seen a thread about it so I thought I would bring it up. When hooking up safety chains you should cross the chains so that it makes a cradle. If the trailer ever comes unhooked from the truck the tongue is cradled by the chains instead of dragging the highway. Here is a video on the proper way to hook up safety chains.
https://youtu.be/ARZhXW5g_7c

[Mr_D]

Crossing the chains is required by law in WA state.

[chaps2018]

I believe I had forgotten that. Thanks for the reminder

[jimmerz]

I do it that way, but didn't know why. Thanks

[lynnmor]

That video is ridiculous, if the trailer comes off the ball the coupler will be on the road and under the truck. This old discussion goes on forever, yes there are some installations that have a chance of keeping the coupler off the road but that would require chains that are rather short and that is not possible on many combinations. The real purpose of crossing the chains is to keep one from drawing tight when making a sharp turn.

[Bob_C]

Disagree....on a sharp turn, you'd be pull'n the far side chain tighter.....they're to catch the trailer tongue.....

[LA_RV_Guy]

I've had the joy of having a small utility trailer come off the hitch while driving. The chains did catch the trailer tongue, but even with trying to ease it over off the road, the tongue did quit a bit of damage to the back of my Jeep. This brings me to my point: once you have your hitch all hooked up and happy, ALWAYS put a pin or better yet, a lock through your hitch coupler! Yes, it worked itself loose and up and off all by itself! That's a mistake I'll never do again.

[lynnmor]

Originally Posted by bob caldwell

Disagree....on a sharp turn, you'd be pull'n the far side chain tighter.....they're to catch the trailer tongue.....

How did you do in trigonometry?

[aether_one]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

How did you do in trigonometry?

Too funny!! Maybe a gif would help? Does this place even support gifs?




Looks like it.

[Bob_C]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

How did you do in trigonometry?

Went to the school of common sense.......cross two chains of equal length....make a hard right turn...the left hand tongue.. chain will be tighter

[Waiter21]

Yes, cross the chains. Will they catch and cradle if the coupler becomes disconnected?? Maybe, maybe not. If they do cradle, this could minimize damage.

I guarantee one thing, if they are not crossed, they will not catch and cradle.

Obviously the chain lengths need to be long enough so that in the sharpest turns, their is still enough slack so the chains are not taught.

[Yosemite77]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

That video is ridiculous, if the trailer comes off the ball the coupler will be on the road and under the truck. This old discussion goes on forever, yes there are some installations that have a chance of keeping the coupler off the road but that would require chains that are rather short and that is not possible on many combinations. The real purpose of crossing the chains is to keep one from drawing tight when making a sharp turn.

I also disagree as does your home state of Pennsylvania. This was taken from Section 4905 of their legal code:
(d) Safety chains.--Whenever two vehicles are connected by a ball-and-socket type hitch, or pintle hook without a locking device, they shall also be connected by two safety chains of equal length, each safety chain having an ultimate strength at least equal to the gross weight of the towed vehicles. The safety chains shall be crossed and connected to the towed and towing vehicle and to the tow bar so as to prevent the tow bar from dropping to the ground in the event the tow bar fails or becomes disconnected. The safety chains shall have no more slack than is necessary to permit proper turning.

The key is to have your chains the correct length and strength. Mechanical failures can and do occur. So does human error. My biggest boneheaded mistake (thus far) was forgetting to put my hitch pin in place. I actually got a couple of hundred yards before the stinger came out and dropped. The chains did their job as did the emergency brake.

I've seen more than a few rigs which had the safety chains hitting the ground. Most were too long. In some cases the TVs were overloaded.
It is always possible to set up the safety chains so that they will catch the tow bar. It very well might take more work as well as more money to get things set up properly.
The value of a thread such as this is that a lot of people might not realize their set up is unsafe. There will always be some irresponsible individuals as well that are either too lazy to bother or just don't care.

[Sweetbriar]

Originally Posted by LA_RV_Guy

I've had the joy of having a small utility trailer come off the hitch while driving. The chains did catch the trailer tongue, but even with trying to ease it over off the road, the tongue did quit a bit of damage to the back of my Jeep. ,,,

Same thing happened to me with a small utility trailer. Was in a rush and forgot to lack the coupler. Felt and heard it as soon as it happened. The cross chains kept the tongue off the road surface and I was able to safely coast to the side of the road and corrected my error.

I also cross the safety wires when flat towing a car behind my class A. Not sure how much good it will do considering the hitch type but figure won't hurt to try.

[lynnmor]

Look at the video again. Now try to visualize the trailer coupler on the ground under the truck. Now try to visualize the chains laying on the ground as well.