Stupid Question

[Larry Harp]

I always sat that there's no such thing as a stupid question... just stupid people who ask questions. However, this is a stupid question because I should have asked it a long time ago.



The trailer on my 591 has the type of safety cables that are spring loaded and you pull out to hook up to the tow vehicle. Question is; should I cross the cables like I always did when I had chains? I have done this but it doesn't seem right. For one thing it's hard to do and then they seem to bind against each other. Considering the idea of crossing the chains is to cradle the tongue off the pavement if a disengagement of the hitch should occur but with the spring loaded cables will they cradle the tongue or just keep on pulling out?



What do you guys do?

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Sooner - I was told not to cross them, they don't need to be with this kind.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Same as Bruce here..



Uncle Billy

 

[Dan J.]

Ditto the above. My CC trailer has coiled cables, which are similar in intent. Crossing the tried and true static chains are to keep slight tension applied by their weight, keeping the hooks in place. The newer tension applied safety chains should be hooked straight on.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I was always told that you crossed the chains to suspend the trailer tongue if it came off the ball hitch? That would avoid the "pogo" action of the tongue digging into the ground and totally busting your trailer loose and sending it off to parts unknown. Then you could stop safely. That's the exact reason I don't like the coiled cables.



TOXIC

 

[Mike Gersh]

NITRO suggests NOT to cross the cables

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

This is directly from the Virginia Department of Game and inland fisheries site. I'm almost positive it is also a regulation. The cables cannot satisfy this requirement?? Good topic to discuss since if you get a nasty Game Policeman (formerly known as a Game Warden in VA), you could possibly be cited for not crossing them!!

Two strong safety chains should be crisscrossed to support the trailer's coupler if it becomes disconnected from the towing vehicle. The chains should be strong enough to hold the combined weight of the vessel, engine, and trailer.

TOXIC

 

[Dan J.]

Even crossed, you're going to need a couple really short chains to keep the tongue from hitting in a catastrophic situation. That'll make it interesting in sharp turns for sure. LOL! I always believed the main intent for the safety chains is to keep the tow vehicle attached to the trailer. Then, God forbid it does break loose, only the tow vehicle should be affected, not the vehicles/people/property around you. Another question; do your regs say anything about safety cables that have been in use for decades? This sure does seem like another grey area left up to roadside discresion with a LEO.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I see your point.:huh: I thought maybe the cables had a mechanism whereby they "locked up" if they were extended too fast kinda like a seatbelt. My chains are long enough to let the tounge hit the ground....barely...unless....the trailer moves under the hitch or gets pulled forward by the chains. I suppose that would give me enough time to get stopped. I've never had a problem in tight turns unless I have the tailgate down....don't ask me how I know that!!:lol:



TOXIC

 

[Larry Harp]

The idea that the crossed chains would support the tongue is only valid if there is a method for the trailer to decelerate faster than the tow vehicle thus keeping the slack up. However, the opposite would be true. If your trailer came loose from the ball the first reaction would be to HIT THE BRAKES!!! therefore creating more slack in the chain and letting the tongue drop to the pavement. My trailer does have a third cable that is suppose to activate the trailer brakes but I'm not sure how much hell would be released before things got under control.



Sometimes trailers do disengage despite the fact that everything has been hooked up correctly. Not long ago there was a picture posted on BBC, of a bass boat sitting in the grass of a ditch after the trailer had left the tow vehicle after going over a railroad track. The trailer went off into the ditch and stopped but the boat broke the straps and continued on off the trailer. The guy who posted the picture swore that the driver of the tow truck was an old experienced boater and had no doubt that everything was done correctly. Who knows what really happened? I do know that some crazy things happen from the inertia created by highway speeds.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

The idea that the crossed chains would support the tongue is only valid if there is a method for the trailer to decelerate faster than the tow vehicle thus keeping the slack up. However, the opposite would be true. If your trailer came loose from the ball the first reaction would be to HIT THE BRAKES!!! therefore creating more slack in the chain and letting the tongue drop to the pavement.

Ahhh but.....if you brake, the trailer tongue will go under the hitch, taking the slack out of the chains, lifting them up and would keep it off the ground the same as if the trailer were pulling backward. The only time the trailer tongue would be able to hit the ground would be with -0- pressure forward or backward!! My safety brake cable would not engage unless the trailer came completely free....or I forget to unhook it from my truck, whichever comes first:lol:



TOXIC

 

[Bruce Freeman]

Just to show my age and the fact that I am smarter than a 5th grader. You cross the chains and or cables to catch the trailer if for what ever reason it comes unhitched. The trailer will rest on the chains and can be brought to a safe stop. (yes it happened to me) The trailer break away applies the brakes on the trailer if you forgot to hook up the chains or cables. Like Scott said the brakes would not apply unless the saftey cables are not in use?

BF

 

[Jim B]

My safety brake cable would not engage unless the trailer came completely free....or I forget to unhook it from my truck, whichever comes first

Lol Tox, been there done that one. Theres nothing worse that the dreaded "ping" sound of the cable breaking when you leave it hooked to the truck. I did that more then once on my old 882 and i became an expert at replacing those cables(btw it NEVER locked the brakes on when pulled). I actually devised a way to replace the cable without having to take apart the entire actuator on the UFP style ones( thats how many i did).



Personally i dont like the cables that my new Z7 has they barely make it to the truck and there is no possible way to cross them. I would prefer chains, i think they are safer overall.



A guy in my club had his coupler come undone on his Champion( he forgot to latch it and lock it) and when it came loose the cables just snapped and did nothing to control the boat. He was lucky because he was on a back road going ~25mph when it came loose so the trailer just fell and stopped and he was within a mile of his house. If he was going freeway speed it would have been a disaster. From what he tells me the brakes never locked on either, the cable just snapped.

 

[Dan J.]

I've seen a bunch of factory rigged trailers that will lower to the ground with the chains hooked and crossed. It's probably a good thing to check and see if a couple links removed will still give full turning clearance and keep the tongue supported when crossed. Just keep in mind how much the rear of the tow vehicle will squat with the sudden impact of a hitch failure. That can make a quick pogo out of a trailer with chains shortened, but not enough. I agree with the above on cables. Two of my rigs are cables and I just don't trust them and their crimps as much as linked chain. Good thread here!

 

[Roy Cody]

The chains on my 2000 901 were only long enough to reach the tow vehicle attached straight. I replaced them with new chains that would allow me to cross them.



RoyC

 

[Tracy Strickland]

I always cross the chains. I had a utility trailer come unhooked one time on the middle of the expressway. the tounge did not hit the ground. I just did it because the chains were to long. I didnt know there was a real reason for it.:unsure: also, look at the pic in my member library and you can see what happens when a tail gate comes down.......:wacko:

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

Tracy, what am I missing? I looked in your library???:huh::unsure:



Uncle Billy