It's time to talk trailer safety chains.

DW_Gray

Well-known member
The morning after Memorial Day 2017, I became aware of a horrific tragedy in Lincoln County, Kentucky. It was caused by a travel trailer that unhitched from a truck. The trailer then moved into the opposite lane and met head-on into an SUV. The SUV driver was killed, and six-month-old Colt Tuff Shaffer was severely injured. By Thursday I learned that Colt was not going to make it. On Friday, June 2, 2017, Colt succumbed to his injuries.

I cannot ever relate to what the family has endured during this time. However, this tragedy hit me with much sorrow, sadness, and anger. Out of my anger, I created a new page entitled, How to Properly Hook Up Your Conventional Trailer at Fifth Wheel Street. I'm including some of the contents below.
Colt-Tuff.jpg

First news report
One killed, three injured after bad crash in Lincoln County

Second news report
Family donating organs of six-month-old: "My baby is going to be a superhero"

How to Properly Hook Up Your Conventional Trailer

Too often news reports describe some events as “accidents” when a conventional trailer becomes unhitched while in tow. Occasionally, the mishap results in needless serious injury or death. The majority of these incidents are human error, not mechanical failure. This short video describes the routine that everyone towing a conventional trailer needs to perform when hitching every time. (Note: This safety information does not include a weight distribution system.)


Additional Safety Tips

Anyone who is safety minded will aways properly secure safety chains for any trailer they tow. Using safety chains can save people from serious injury or death. It is important to ensure that safety chains are long enough for the trailer to achieve maximum turning angle. However, the chains should be short enough not to drag on the ground and to hold the trailer tongue up off the ground if it becomes disconnected.

Always crisscross the safety chains one time. (For some states, it's the law!)

A properly matched trailer coupler and hitch ball should never fail.

Rather than using a pin to secure the locking lever, use a padlock to prevent tomfoolery.

Perform routine maintenance checks and services on the hitch assembly and trailer coupler per manufacturer specifications.

Ensure that safety chain weight ratings meet or exceed the trailer's GVWR.

Always replace worn or road filed safety chains before towing.

If someone stops by to chat with you while hitching a trailer, it will often distract you from the routine hookup and may cause you to skip an important safety step. Stop what you are doing. Either continue after the conversation ends or kindly ask individual(s) to cease their conversation until the hookup is complete and you have double checked the connections.

It is just as important that any of you who are not involved in the process of hitching a trailer is never to bother one who is doing so. Please restrain yourself.

Double check the hitch connection and recheck before leaving any location you stopped for a break or fuel fill-up.

Ensure the brake and signal wiring is not damaged and it is connected and functioning correctly.

When equipped, always attach the breakaway cable to the tow vehicle.

Periodic greasing of the hitch ball and coupler will prolong the life of these components.
 
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JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
When we got our new truck it was way overkill for the Heartland Trail Runner we used to have, and I was told by our dealership that we would no longer need to use the WD setup as the truck had it built-in.

I still used it anyway as I liked the increased hook-up connections between the truck and the trailer for safety reasons.

NewHitchCloseup-IMG_20140918_163520140.jpg NewTruckTrailerLevel-IMG_20140918_130913251.jpg

Interestingly, in 40+ years of pulling trailers I had never heard of the criss cross chains until we no longer had a TT.
 

ATM

Member
The crisscrossed safety chains helped immensely when I had a sled trailer with out a load on it pop off the ball on a bad section of highway. The trailer as it turned out did not have enough tongue weight empty which combined with a cheap trailer coupler resulted in a big dent in my back bumper when it popped off. As it was the tongue dropped onto the crisscrossed chains which allowed me enough room to get the trailer jack down and kept the tongue from contacting the highway while in motion. Needless to say the coupler was replaced when we got back home and I was more careful about load placement after that.
 

jayc

Texas-South Chapter Leaders
Several years ago I tried delivering RV's for a living. I was delivering a brand new travel trailer when it jumped off the ball as I rounded a curve while going up an overpass. The road was very bad when it happened and the criss-crossed safety chains saved my bacon. The only damage was to the manual jack on the trailer and a large scratch on one of the propane bottles. I was very lucky.
 

JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
I am constantly amazed every day as I see so many trailers being pulled unsafely and hooked up wrong.

I used to try and help people when I would see it, but no longer offer my assistance unless asked.

Same with the BlowMax tires . . .

Seems that most people just don't want to know they are not doing something correctly.

S10Blazer1.jpg
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
It happened again. From what I’m able to surmise from the report, I suspect the following possible problems contributed to the loss of control.

1. Safety chains not crisscrossed.

2. Safety chains too long.
3. Safety chains rating too light.
4. Incorrect safety chain hooks or rating too light.

If any of the components below hadn’t failed, the driver would not have had to depend on safety chains. (Don’t know which one or more failed.)

1. Incorrect connection or mismatched coupler and hitch ball.
2. Coupler locking lever not secured with a safety pin.
3. Hitch ball underrated and broke.
4. Ball mount not secured.
5. Poor coupler maintenance.
6. Poor Receiver maintenance.

Excerpts from the report.
A single vehicle crash injured one person in Jefferson County, Illinois on Wednesday afternoon.
The crash at 4:27 p.m. involved Maturo's 2001 Ford Excursion towing a travel trailer.
According to the Illinois State Police, equipment problems caused the crash.
Police said the Ford Excursion was towing a travel trailer when for unknown reasons, the travel trailer became partially loose from the hitch.
Both the Excursion and the travel trailer swerved out of control.
The travel trailer eventually became detached from the Excursion and overturned onto its side in the westbound lanes of traffic.
The Excursion traveled into the median and rolled one time before coming to a rest right side up.
http://www.kfvs12.com/story/35616224/ky-man-suffered-major-injuries-in-jefferson-co-il-crash

love-rvtowcheckcom.jpg

I believe we all need to share whatever safety information that needs to be said to whoever needs to hear it. If they refuse it or say it's none of our business, etc., that's on them. It least you and I can walk away having a good conscience. Sharing life-saving tips are never wrong.

 

NYSUPstater

Well-known member
I've never criss-crossed the chains. In fact, never really heard of folks doing it. After reading this, I can see why, but I've always felt that if the trailer becomes disconnected from the ball, I've got bigger problems than wether or not the chains are criss-crossed.
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
I've never criss-crossed the chains. In fact, never really heard of folks doing it. After reading this, I can see why, but I've always felt that if the trailer becomes disconnected from the ball, I've got bigger problems than wether or not the chains are criss-crossed.
Even the SAE J684 states "The safety chains shall be crossed under the trailer tongue and connected to the hitch assembly or to other towing vehicle members."

SAE J684 also notes that "Crossing the chains under the tongue typically reduces the probability of stressing or breaking the chains when turning."

What is written in your trailer's owner's manual?
 

NYSUPstater

Well-known member
Even the SAE J684 states "The safety chains shall be crossed under the trailer tongue and connected to the hitch assembly or to other towing vehicle members."

SAE J684 also notes that "Crossing the chains under the tongue typically reduces the probability of stressing or breaking the chains when turning."

What is written in your trailer's owner's manual?

Boogity Boogity Boogity.....Let's go racing Boys! Sorry couldn't resist. I don't have a TT, 5er tho. Do have a snowmobile and landscape trailers and neither said how to do chains, so I've always just attached them on corresponding sides. This poses another question if I may, do you cross the chains for goosenecks as well?
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
Boogity Boogity Boogity.....Let's go racing Boys! Sorry couldn't resist. I don't have a TT, 5er tho. Do have a snowmobile and landscape trailers and neither said how to do chains, so I've always just attached them on corresponding sides. This poses another question if I may, do you cross the chains for goosenecks as well?
The gooseneck hitch is not covered under the SAE J684. I'll have to find out if SAE has a standard for that. Good question. That's another I'll be researching.

Update: Covered under SAE J2638. I'm getting it soon.
 
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JohnD

Moved on to the next thing...
Interestingly, the trailer hitch shop (ie.- that's all they do) in Denver that hitched up three of my trucks over the years for TT's instructed me proper hitch up protocol each time, but never once mentioned the criss cross.

I do understand the concept and will do that next time I ever pull a bumper-pull trailer.

My 5th-wheel hitch came from our camper dealership.
 

DW_Gray

Well-known member
Here's the scoop. So far it appears that only conventional trailers with ball attachment couplers rated 10K# or less have an SAE standard for safety chains.

Surprisingly, the Standard is not mandatory and it is entirely optional for the manufacturer to include safety chains.

I have not discovered any SAE Standard requiring any kind of trailer over 10,000 lbs GVWR to have safety chains.

Note: SAE is not a regulatory agency. Only the federal and state governments can make laws to require safety chains.

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