Share Pics of People Hauling or Towing Something Wrong

[civilian]

I've always done this, but honestly it's only because I've seen it done that way. I realize now I have no idea why. I couldn't think of a better place to ask than here. So, why are chains crossed?

The cradle support is one, but the other reason for crossing is for shorter chains to keep the cradle off the ground while allowing for vehicle turns and not drag chains. Jon

 

[Soundguy]

Good point. I had a trailer coupler break and come off. The chains were short and the breakaway cable was long so it didn't brake. I needed a new bumper anyway. :confused3:

that's where your panic brake switch on your e-brakes comes in.

I don't think any trailer I have ever owned would be able to touch anything on my truck, if the tounge came off and was cradled by the emergency chains. With them cradling it.. it's hanging lower than the bumber already.. and the chains aren't 4' long, so there's no way the body of the trailer is coming up to the back of the truck... Most tounge's are long enough so that your vehicle can turn to at least around 45' without jack knifing... if yes, the, then the static length of your safety chains needs to be shorter than the distance from your bumper to your trailer frame.

 

[sixdogs]

Good point. I had a trailer coupler break and come off. The chains were short and the breakaway cable was long so it didn't brake. I needed a new bumper anyway. :confused3:

Interesting. Anyone else have the trailer come off? It must be a scary few moments.

 

[sklunk]

Along those lines I have always been taught that your breakaway cable should NOT be attached to your trailer hitch receiver. It should be attached to the bumper or some other point on the towing vehicle. I have seen rusted receivers come right off the frame of the truck. If the breakaway is attached to the same area as the safety chains and the entire receiver comes off the truck you will lose the trailer but the emergency brakes will never activate since the cable won't be pulled.

I usually attach my breakaway to one of the bumper brackets if possible.

 

[BigBlue1]

Along those lines I have always been taught that your breakaway cable should NOT be attached to your trailer hitch receiver. It should be attached to the bumper or some other point on the towing vehicle. I have seen rusted receivers come right off the frame of the truck. If the breakaway is attached to the same area as the safety chains and the entire receiver comes off the truck you will lose the trailer but the emergency brakes will never activate since the cable won't be pulled.

I usually attach my breakaway to one of the bumper brackets if possible.

If you believe your vehicle is possibly in poor enough condition for a hitch to be rusted off (or if you don't know it won't) you may have bigger issues to address.

As for the breakaway cable, it also needs to be shorter than the safety chains so that it pulls the plug if/when the hitch uncouples. Does you no good if the cable is longer than the chains.

Rob

 

[Redneck in training]

When I was a kid my father used make racing boat engines while his friend was building the boats. We used to go racing just about every weekend during summer. There was no regulation on the trailer coupler at that time (in fifties) so the trailer was connected by eye and pin to the car and no safety chains. I remember, while already driving back home after one race, one guy said:"I don't remember if I put a safety clip to the pin." So they debated short time if to stop and check or keep driving. In that moment the trailer came off, was sliding on the road when the tongue hit a pothole catapulting the whole thing in air. The trailer was making somersaults while passing above a guy on motorcycle going in opposite direction and landed upside down on the road. The boat was total loss. Only few hardware pieces were salvaged. The engine flywheel was broken off and the aluminum housing for the prop gear looked like a mushroom after hitting the road.
The motorcyclist was just shaking saying :"You could have kill me."

 

[BigBlue1]

The motorcyclist was just shaking saying :"You could have kill me."

That's what so many people fail to comprehend. Towing and hauling things safely is not just something you do to preserve your own stuff, it is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to do in order to keep everyone else on the road safe. If your negligence causes an accident you will be held responsible and will have to live with the consequences of your failings. Think about what if that was your kid riding that cycle, not just some other random person.

 

[fordmantpw]

A person I know was killed near here several years back due to a runaway trailer. The boat trailer had come unhooked and the tongue came through his windshield. People don't realize how their (in)actions can and do affect other people in terrible ways.

 

[DavesTractor]

The safety chain hooks are required to have positive retention also. Many trailers that are a little older just had slip hooks without the spring clip. When things go awry, you don't want a hook jumping out of the hole.

Interesting comment on the brake away cable needing to be shorter than the safety chain. I'm not sure I agree that is best in all cases. Years ago one of our drivers had a trailer come uncoupled. The chains held it fine, the brake away cable device was not activated since the chains were shorter than the cable. The driver applied a little brake via the brake controller and pulled over to the side of the road with no damage. In that case, I am not so sure I would want my trailer brakes to be locked up. Now had the chains failed, the brakes would have locked up and we would have wanted it that way.

 

[Diamondpilot]

My neighbor, 6-2 and 175# wet, sold a boat last year. The guy came back the next day to pick it up in a 80's GMC. It had a bar with a 2 5/16" ball and required a 2" ball for the boat trailer. They pulled the pin to remove the draw bar and it would not budge. My neighbor gave it a kick and the entire hitch and pieces of frame from the truck fell off in his driveway.

Long story short he towed it to the guys home with his Ecoboost for $50.

 

[BigBlue1]

Interesting comment on the brake away cable needing to be shorter than the safety chain. I'm not sure I agree that is best in all cases. Years ago one of our drivers had a trailer come uncoupled. The chains held it fine, the brake away cable device was not activated since the chains were shorter than the cable. The driver applied a little brake via the brake controller and pulled over to the side of the road with no damage. In that case, I am not so sure I would want my trailer brakes to be locked up. Now had the chains failed, the brakes would have locked up and we would have wanted it that way.

Just going by the instructions for the trailer brake controller system my 10k utility trailer came with.

Rob

 

[boggen]

when you think you got the latch on the ball good. and then see the tongue in rear view mirror coming up into the tailgate... just not a pretty site of *shame*

luckly a little dent in bumper. and a little dent in tail gate (looks like it got whacked with a hammer). due to saftey chains holding trailer on. it was one heck of a ride trying to get it to stop though. as the trailer yank every which way. the good old lets leave some slack in a chain to pull something type of yank, and hope the chain/cable does not split and end up becoming a whip of death.

the trailer i want to say was empty, double axle. 14 or 16 footer. been to long to remember. just remember the feeling of rolling a truck, or go cart with roll cage. as the trailer shifted around on the saftey chains yanking things around.

only traversing from shed to cabin (straight, no hills, less than 10mph) *doh*

it would be the one time i am thankful of being in a habit of criss/crossing the saftey chains below the tongue to remove some of the slack in the chains. if that did not happen i would most likely be missing rear window in the blazer, some tail lights, and perhaps a new muffler pipe.

 

[IslandTractor]

Just going by the instructions for the trailer brake controller system my 10k utility trailer came with.

Rob

While I appreciate Dave's point about rescuing his trailer intact, it does seem to me that if a trailer breaks loose from the hitch that slamming just the trailer brakes on immediately would still allow control. It would be like towing a sled and shouldn't really pull the tow vehicle left or right. On the other hand, if the trailer comes loose and wanders to one side before brakes are applied wouldn't there be a risk of yanking the rear of the tow vehicle suddenly to that side too or having the trailer tip over if there was a heavy high load like a tractor on board. I don't really know the physics but it just seems logical to have the trailer brakes lock immediately as the best way to go.

 

[ning]

A number of years back, my wife asked me to move a small travel trailer up to a campsite where she was going to attending a conference of sorts.

There was a big rise&dip in the road that the trailer jumped off of the ball at about 30mph. Nasty scraping noise as the tongue dragged - the chains are probably a bit too long; almost had a heart attack. Luckily, this is a rural area, and no traffic in sight.

Last time (hopefully) I let someone connect a trailer without making sure that everything's connected right (lock pin wasn't in place). Now before I start moving even if it's me who set it all up, I still get back out of the truck and do a final checklist.

 

[DavesTractor]

While I appreciate Dave's point about rescuing his trailer intact, it does seem to me that if a trailer breaks loose from the hitch that slamming just the trailer brakes on immediately would still allow control. It would be like towing a sled and shouldn't really pull the tow vehicle left or right. On the other hand, if the trailer comes loose and wanders to one side before brakes are applied wouldn't there be a risk of yanking the rear of the tow vehicle suddenly to that side too or having the trailer tip over if there was a heavy high load like a tractor on board. I don't really know the physics but it just seems logical to have the trailer brakes lock immediately as the best way to go.

I think you guys might be right on this. In our situation with a very good driver and no harm done and no damage, it worked out well for us. But on the average, it is probably better for the brakes to lock up and for the cable to be shorter than the chains.

 

[KubotainNH]

Last time (hopefully) I let someone connect a trailer without making sure that everything's connected right (lock pin wasn't in place). Now before I start moving even if it's me who set it all up, I still get back out of the truck and do a final checklist.

I double and triple check. I don't want to make a costly mistake.

 

[aczlan]

The safety chain hooks are required to have positive retention also. Many trailers that are a little older just had slip hooks without the spring clip. When things go awry, you don't want a hook jumping out of the hole.

Interesting comment on the brake away cable needing to be shorter than the safety chain. I'm not sure I agree that is best in all cases. Years ago one of our drivers had a trailer come uncoupled. The chains held it fine, the brake away cable device was not activated since the chains were shorter than the cable. The driver applied a little brake via the brake controller and pulled over to the side of the road with no damage. In that case, I am not so sure I would want my trailer brakes to be locked up. Now had the chains failed, the brakes would have locked up and we would have wanted it that way.

The issue would be if something snagged the trailer cable and disconnected the plug from the truck.
If your breakaway cable is longer than the chains, you the brakes won't apply.

Aaron Z

 

[DavesTractor]

The issue would be if something snagged the trailer cable and disconnected the plug from the truck.
If your breakaway cable is longer than the chains, you the brakes won't apply.

Aaron Z

I'm not sure I understand. if you mean the electrical wiring/cable getting disconnected/unplugged from the truck, then the onboard battery could still apply the brakes. That is the reason for that little extra battery. But I may not be understanding what you mean.

I do understand that if the chains are shorter than the little breakaway cable, then the emergency brakes will never get "told" to apply.

 

[aczlan]

I'm not sure I understand. if you mean the electrical wiring/cable getting disconnected/unplugged from the truck, then the onboard battery could still apply the brakes. That is the reason for that little extra battery. But I may not be understanding what you mean.

I do understand that if the chains are shorter than the little breakaway cable, then the emergency brakes will never get "told" to apply.

If the wiring gets disconnected from the truck and your break away cable is longer than the safety chains you will have no way to apply the brakes with the manual button or lever on your brake controller.

Aaron Z

 

[cqaigy2]

I borrowed a trailer from a friend. He told me the size ball to use, and i grabbed the wrong, slightly smaller one. We hooked it up to a full sized bronco and i took off down the road. Hit a dip in the road, that popped the trailer off the hitch. The trailer brake activated, causing the trailer to slow down abruptly. The safety chains held until they sheared off at the attachment point on the trailer. At that point the trailer tongue hit the pavement and the brake battery and housing flew off after breaking the mounting bolts. So I now had a free wheeling trailer loose behind me. I could see the trailer in my rear view mirror so was able to keep in front of it while using the back end of my rig to slow, then stop the trailer. I was so very lucky that no one was maimed or killed.