Safety Chains Andersen Hitch

Please guys this is turning crazy....debating..I got what I needed. Thanks

Cummins12V98 wrote:

gkainz wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"Easily jump right off is a bit of a stretch...don't ya think? "

I guess if you have traveled some of the roads I have you would not have posted that!

I would think any bump that could buck off my 1,890# pin box from my Andersen ball would also pin me to the ceiling quite handily.

If you are so confident with your relatively small pin weigh not coming off don't bother to latch it! :R

You and I both know that would be utter foolishness and probably criminal negligence. My puny pin weight was cited for being exactly that - puny! And I'm quite confident that if I hit something that had enough force to bounce the block off the ball against that puny <2k lbs, losing my trailer would probably be the least of my worries.

Whether law requires them or not, if you are involved in an accident in which the trailer ripped lose from your truck by enough force to rip any hitch loose from the bed of the truck, the fact that Andersen offers safety chains is like lawyer crack and they will use it to shift at least some of the blame to you. If it is also state law, they will use it to transfer all of the blame to you.

Whether chains would have prevented such an incident or not isn't important if their lawyer is able to convince a group of people who likely have never pulled any kind of fifth wheel or gooseneck that it would have.

No chains gives a lawyer an opening to cast blame on you whether justified or not. Failed chains or chain mounts points the blame toward Andersen, your gooseneck manufacturer or installer or the truck manufacturer.

Rvpapa wrote:
In reality what everyone here calls a "Fiver" is not a fifth wheel. It is a trailer that is set up to be pulled by a fifth wheel hitch. The name comes from the plate on the original setups being referred to as the fifth wheel on the truck. The hitch is attached to the tow vehicle. When you modify the trailer hitch point to something else it is no longer considered a fifth wheel capable trailer.
Art.

You're right. In reality, we are pulling a "semi-trailer", as defined in the IC statute previously posted. The "connecting device" is a fifth-wheel. A "full trailer", as defined, is a "semi-trailer" that uses a dolly, with a fifth-wheel hitch, to support the front of the trailer, which is then hitched to another trailer or directly to the tractor, usually via a pintle hitch which, guess what?, requires safety chains or cables.

A "full trailer" can also be defined as a trailer with a tow bar hooked to a steering axle instead of a dolly.

Lyle

GordonThree wrote:

Learjet wrote:

Me Again wrote:

This requirement does not apply to a semitrailer having a connecting device composed of a 5th wheel and kingpin assembly that meets the requirements of the Interstate Commerce Commission.

I tried to find the list or requirements of the Interstate Commerce Commission with no luck?

First result from Google
49 CFR 393.70(d)(5)

I see nothing under "Section (b) Fifth Wheel assemblies -" that doesn't cover pretty much all commercially available FW hitches that I can think of, so I'd argue that they'd be acceptable under Interstate Commerce. Hell, I see a lot of commercial pickups with B&W GN and Companion hitches around here in AZ.

Lyle

Wild Card wrote:
Who decided a 5th wheel hitch with mechanical jaws is superior to a ball with a pin. Both can fail. If 5th fails trailer slips out fairly easy. The ball/pin fails the trailer has to bounce off the ball...not easy for a gooseneck or 5th conversion.

I don't use safety chains on my Andersen. I would rather the trailer come out/pull brake/trailer hit ground and stop then roll me over. And chances are it's going to ride on my bed rails till I get stopped vs comming off truck.

Doesn't matter, if your state law says you need the chains, then you need to have, and use, them, or face the consequences. Pretty simple...

Lyle

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...

Until the day you =do= get pulled over for not having them and face a big fine and hassle OR the day you lose your trailer and it runs into someone for lack of the chains. Your choice...

Lyle

azdryheat wrote:
Never heard of chains on a 5th wheel, just the break-away switch.

It's because the AUH doesn't use a king pin, it uses a ball-connection. All ball and pintle hitches in AZ must use safety chains. I do see a lot of GN trailers not using them and I know people who have been cited for not having or using them.

Lyle

gdweb wrote:
ball hitches require safety chains in most states

For sure here in AZ. You can be cited for not having them and, if the LEO is a stickler, won't let you move without them. Required for our gooseneck, too.

Lyle

gkainz wrote:

Cummins12V98 wrote:
"Easily jump right off is a bit of a stretch...don't ya think? "

I guess if you have traveled some of the roads I have you would not have posted that!

I would think any bump that could buck off my 1,890# pin box from my Andersen ball would also pin me to the ceiling quite handily.

If you are so confident with your relatively small pin weigh not coming off don't bother to latch it! :R