Do you cross your safety chains?

[Doug33]

This has probably been discussed elsewhere but I couldn't find it through a search.

When I bought my TT, the dealer's tech doing the walk through and hitch hook up told me you no longer have to cross the safety chains. I used to do that with my previous TT.

Recently when I had my 7 pin wiring connection replaced at a local trailer facility, the tech told me it's a law that you have to have the chains crossed. He said if the TT becomes detached, the crossed chains act as a cradle to prevent the TT from nosediving into the pavement. He also said there is a law that you have to remove your hitch if you are not towing - otherwise you can be sued if someone runs into your hitch and hurts themselves. I leave my hitch on the truck all season until the TT is winterized, and then I remove it for the winter.

[Huntindog]

LarryJM wrote:

Huntindog wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
LarryJM gets it and has pictures to prove it. How could anyone not understand?

Amazing.........

Those pics are "staged"
If you pay attention you can see that someone is holding the chain ends in his hands. They can easily be put in ANY position he desires for the pic. In real life when actually hooked up to a TV, there will be little to no difference.
crossing those chains won't help a bad situation at all. It won't hurt anything to do it, but it ain't gonna save your bacon.

Yes I'm holding the chains, but just like on your TV I have them separated by an distance approximately the same as what would be on the TV. In practice the exact numbers aren't IMO that important since what is being shown is the concept and the benefits of crossing the chains even with a single attachment point and likewise downside consequences of not crossing them. If you're not able to understand what those pics clearly show then I doubt any pics would help you anyway.

I didn't document it or take pics, but at one time I tried my best to see how this cradle would work and hooked up my trailer to my Van with only the safety chains attached and then blocked the wheels on the trailer so they wouldn't move and then moved the Van forward enough to get a good tension on the chains and saw how that would actually "LIFT" the tongue off the ground. I didn't have any sort of tensionometers to see how much tension I had on the chains, but I was trying to simulate what would happen in a breakaway scenario with the trailer brakes fully engaged and what effect that would have on the safety chains. This was to prove at least to me that the often stated concern that just because of the natural slack in the chains they would allow the tongue to hit the ground and while this is true the effect of the tensioning due to the Trailer brakes being fully engaged is not accounted for in any of those comments.

Could I have done a better job of documentation, MAYBE, but anyone is free to post their findings with pics and then if they have a different take we can talk about it. However, IMO it's obviously eaiser to just verbally try and discount something than to try and actually prove it thru pics or experiments.

Larry

In most cases if the chains don't break, the breakaway switch will not be pulled. So without a true cradle that cannot be done without the TT brakes engaged, nothing but the jack will keep the tounge off the ground. If one has the presence of mind to manually engage the brakes via the controller, that would work... But most likely that won't happen. What is likely is the driver will get on the TV brakes.

Bottom line, is it is just not a good situation and best avoided. Use of a WD hitch pretty much elminates the possibility of the TT coming off of the ball.

[Doug33]

poppin_fresh wrote:


Ummm... what about the jack? It will be skidding on the pavement long before the tongue would have an opportunity to dig in based on those pictures.

A true "cradle" would keep everything up off the pavement in the event of uncoupling, allowing a safe stop, but I doubt most chain setups will facilitate it.

I'm not convinced that the chains are designed for this purpose, but someone might prove me wrong?

This brings up a good point. My jack base would certainly hit the pavement first, well before the tongue. How would crossing the chains prevent that?

[Community Alumni]

m_2_ak wrote:
I never knew this was a law. I'll cross from now on.

SPECIFICATION NO.
TxDOT 550-88-71
REVISED: MARCH 2008
9 - 12
9.2.4.
Each chain shall be of sufficient length for crossing beneath the tongue to form a cradle that shall prevent the tongue from coming into contact with the road surface if the trailer hitch becomes disconnected.

The law has been updated since then. The language now sits in the Texas Administrative Code Title 37, Part 1, Chapter 21, Rule 21.5. It no longer mentions crossing chains.

[hvac]

I leave an older hitch on year around. Great for entertainment. I wait for parking lot tailgate distracted small car shoppers. Do a quick stop.

In all cases major damage to front end of their car. Only paint on my old hitch, teach em a lesson

[RandACampin]

never

[Atlee]

On earlier trailers, I always crossed them. On my current trailer, I do not since it's impossible. The safety chains are connected to the tongue at the same spot rendering an X cradle a moot point.

[DE88ROX]

always cross. why not? whats it hurt? ya never know.

[kyle86]

In a towing class, I was taught to cross the chains. That said, on our previous TT the chains were too short crossed and had to be straight.

[LarryJM]

Huntindog wrote:

coolbreeze01 wrote:
LarryJM gets it and has pictures to prove it. How could anyone not understand?

Amazing.........

Those pics are "staged"
If you pay attention you can see that someone is holding the chain ends in his hands. They can easily be put in ANY position he desires for the pic. In real life when actually hooked up to a TV, there will be little to no difference.
crossing those chains won't help a bad situation at all. It won't hurt anything to do it, but it ain't gonna save your bacon.

Yes I'm holding the chains, but just like on your TV I have them separated by an distance approximately the same as what would be on the TV. In practice the exact numbers aren't IMO that important since what is being shown is the concept and the benefits of crossing the chains even with a single attachment point and likewise downside consequences of not crossing them. If you're not able to understand what those pics clearly show then I doubt any pics would help you anyway.

I didn't document it or take pics, but at one time I tried my best to see how this cradle would work and hooked up my trailer to my Van with only the safety chains attached and then blocked the wheels on the trailer so they wouldn't move and then moved the Van forward enough to get a good tension on the chains and saw how that would actually "LIFT" the tongue off the ground. I didn't have any sort of tensionometers to see how much tension I had on the chains, but I was trying to simulate what would happen in a breakaway scenario with the trailer brakes fully engaged and what effect that would have on the safety chains. This was to prove at least to me that the often stated concern that just because of the natural slack in the chains they would allow the tongue to hit the ground and while this is true the effect of the tensioning due to the Trailer brakes being fully engaged is not accounted for in any of those comments.

Could I have done a better job of documentation, MAYBE, but anyone is free to post their findings with pics and then if they have a different take we can talk about it. However, IMO it's obviously eaiser to just verbally try and discount something than to try and actually prove it thru pics or experiments.

Larry

[poppin_fresh]

"By contrast below is a pic for the crossed configuration and note how the safety chains form a cradle or "skid" surface under the front area of the tongue preventing it from freely contacting and digging into the pavement/road."

Ummm... what about the jack? It will be skidding on the pavement long before the tongue would have an opportunity to dig in based on those pictures.

A true "cradle" would keep everything up off the pavement in the event of uncoupling, allowing a safe stop, but I doubt most chain setups will facilitate it.

I'm not convinced that the chains are designed for this purpose, but someone might prove me wrong?

[Huntindog]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
LarryJM gets it and has pictures to prove it. How could anyone not understand?

Amazing.........

Those pics are "staged"
If you pay attention you can see that someone is holding the chain ends in his hands. They can easily be put in ANY position he desires for the pic. In real life when actually hooked up to a TV, there will be little to no difference.
crossing those chains won't help a bad situation at all. It won't hurt anything to do it, but it ain't gonna save your bacon.

[Passin_Thru]

Sgt. J*** M**** of the Oneida County Sheriff's Department and Sgt. B**** K**** of the New York State Police reported that their agency members have received numerous calls regarding a reported new law that required motorist to remove their trailer hitch from the receiver while traveling on a highway.

According to these two law enforcement officials, there is no such law and no enforcement is being done by either agency regarding it.
If the pin should break off the trailer and the lift hitch slide right out .

[coolbreeze01]

LarryJM gets it and has pictures to prove it. How could anyone not understand?

Amazing.........

[Huntindog]

LarryJM wrote:

hohenwald48 wrote:

LarryJM wrote:

mrgreetis wrote:
Mine are like Jonmad above, connected to the same spot on the a-frame so they can't be crossed. I would if I could.

Then IMO you do not understand how safety chains actually work or what they are designed to do. IMO a common attachent point is the best configuration and by crossing them *see pics below for the verbally challenged" prevents the tongue from digging into the pavement/road or from careening side to side in an emergency breakaway situation.

If this doesn't convince one of the importance of crossing the safety chains then I don't think any amount of logic or explanation will help.
Larry

Your pictures don't do much to address the real world. You show a trailer tongue without any drawbar, weight distribution bars or friction sway devices attached.

Exactly what is shown is typically what you can expect if the tongue comes off the ball which is the scenario for which the safety chains are meant for. The drawbar, hitch head and WDH bars have little to no effect in the specific scenario for which the safety chains are designed for.


Your pictures may very well illustrate the situation if you're pulling a boat or utility trailer but aren't very accurate for the average TT hook-up.

I DISAGREE and IMO they show EXACTLY what you can expect should the tongue become disconnected from the ball.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with crossing your chains. I just don't think it accomplishes anything on a TT with the chains attached at a common point. They form a "V" and if you cross them they still for a "V" and not and "X". In the two bottom pics there is no difference except you have effectively shortened the chains by twisting them.

Those pics are NOT WITH ANY TWIST in the chains. What you are seeing is how two chains lay on one another. This is totally different than actually twisting them as one previous poster suggested to shorten them. I'm sorry you are not able to understand my explanation of how crossing them forms that "cradle/skid" to prevent the end of the tongue from catching or digging into the pavement.

If you prefer to have the tongue exposed as shown in the "uncrossed" configuration as shown then be prepared to more than likely loose either or both your trailer and tow vehicle in the ensuing mayhem when that tongue "DIGS INTO THE SURFACE OF THE PAVEMENT"

Larry

If you are using WD, then it is highly unlikely that the TT will come off the ball.

Try this: Hitch up with the WD engaged. Open the coupler latch. Now take a jack and TRY to lift the TT off the ball. It can't be done.
So long as the WD is engaged, the TT will stay hitched to the ball.