Safety Chains Andersen Hitch
I have ordered the Andersen Hitch after reading the responses to my earlier question posted here about the hitch. Now I am wondering how necessary are the safety chains that are now sold as an option...
Forum Discussion
N-Trouble wrote:
Show me why a ball/coupler NEED safety chains as opposed to a traditional 5er hitch and I will run them. But seeing how no other 5er is required to run them I'm not going to go run out and buy a set just because some paper says its the law...
The why is pretty simple, in the fifth wheel hitch world there is but one size king pin and hitch, 2". The system is relatively fool proof. But there are many ball sizes and a couplers latch will be ineffective with an undersized ball. Fail to close the latch on a fifth wheel hitch and you probably won't make it out of the campground. Use an undersized ball and the trailer can bounce off at 65 mph and affect other vehicles and roadways. Visual inspection after hookup will not reveal a coupler on an undersized ball. And if you believe pin weight is sufficient to prevent disconnection, then why do all couplers have a latch or lock pin? Or maybe you feel that since the Andersen is sold as a matching ball and coupler, you can't have a problem. In that you are right, but laws are still valid til changed.
