Pray:d
What do you do if your trailer becomes uncoupled?
- Thread starter 890man
- Start date
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Crossing the chains is a great idea; I have been doing this for some time now. There is an issue that I have run into, however, to try and make the chains short enough to catch the tongue while keeping them long enough to make sharp turns without the chains pulling and dragging the trailer.
make them long and twist to length right before you hook them to tow vehicle
KY854RUN
SILVER Star
Twisting them is not a good idea, because it can actually cause them to break when a sudden load is applied. Chains are made to take linear loads, not axial (twisting) loads.
Here is how you should have your safety chains set up:
1. Short enough to keep the trailer tongue from hitting the ground with the trailer uncoupled.
2. Long enough to make tight turns without violating #1
3. Do #1 and #2 with the chains crossed.
The real reason for crossing the chains is not to cradle the trailer tongue. Attaching one end of a chain to the right side of the bumper and the other end to the left side of the bumper makes a cradle, without crossing the chains, that the trailer tongue can sit in. But, the trailer tongue can swing side to side very easily in that cradle making an uncoupled trailer very hard to control. Most trailers do not have the safety chains bolted to the trailer tongue. They use a singe piece of chain, with a hook at each end, run through a loop or eye on the under side of the trailer tongue. Crossing the chains, when you hook them up, will cause the chains to bind up if the trailer uncouples. This helps to limit the trailer tongue from swinging side to side and helps control the trailer. That is why you should cross the safety chains when you hook them up.
Kevin
Here is how you should have your safety chains set up:
1. Short enough to keep the trailer tongue from hitting the ground with the trailer uncoupled.
2. Long enough to make tight turns without violating #1
3. Do #1 and #2 with the chains crossed.
The real reason for crossing the chains is not to cradle the trailer tongue. Attaching one end of a chain to the right side of the bumper and the other end to the left side of the bumper makes a cradle, without crossing the chains, that the trailer tongue can sit in. But, the trailer tongue can swing side to side very easily in that cradle making an uncoupled trailer very hard to control. Most trailers do not have the safety chains bolted to the trailer tongue. They use a singe piece of chain, with a hook at each end, run through a loop or eye on the under side of the trailer tongue. Crossing the chains, when you hook them up, will cause the chains to bind up if the trailer uncouples. This helps to limit the trailer tongue from swinging side to side and helps control the trailer. That is why you should cross the safety chains when you hook them up.
Kevin
here's what NOT to do: http://cms.firehouse.com/content/article/article.jsp?id=54674§ionId=46
recap: "a small flatbed trailer being pulled by an SUV came unattached shortly after 4 p.m. at the start of the bridge's westbound span. In all, seven vehicles crashed, including a tanker hauling animal fat and a tow truck.
"Other vehicles that were following swerved to avoid a trailer and that's what started this collision," said police Cpl. Jonathan Green. He described it as an "unbelievable crash scene" with vehicles pinned against each other and the railings, but said none went off the bridge."
recap: "a small flatbed trailer being pulled by an SUV came unattached shortly after 4 p.m. at the start of the bridge's westbound span. In all, seven vehicles crashed, including a tanker hauling animal fat and a tow truck.
"Other vehicles that were following swerved to avoid a trailer and that's what started this collision," said police Cpl. Jonathan Green. He described it as an "unbelievable crash scene" with vehicles pinned against each other and the railings, but said none went off the bridge."
