Reminder: Do Not Twist Your Safety Chains

[Jakswe]

This is a friendly reminder to, when towing, never twist your chains to reduce their length. If the guy at the dealership advised this, he is full of it.

Review this YouTube post that shows the reason why.

https://youtu.be/clj42no4DxY

Use the right length in the first place.

[66joej]

Very informative. I and I'm sure others have done this over the years to keep the chains from dragging on pavement. Haven't had to do it for many years now with proper equipment.

[Frank G]

That is JUNK chain, Not certified as required for safety chain. FAKE NEWS. Try the test with certified tagged chain.

[Jakswe]

Frank G, How is the test not representative of what would happen using a heavier duty chain? I certainly do not want to give up 70%, or even 25%, of the effective load my chains will handle. I hope you won’t want to give up some effectiveness of your safety chains as well.

[Roscommon48]

Diagree.

Review the BW hitch in you tube. YOU CAN TWIST your chains.

[Jakswe]

What I see in the test of the twisted chain: The chain, when twisted, pulls on the long end of the link’s oval instead of through the long end. Also, pulling on a twisted chain also adds torsion to the individual links which degrades the effectiveness of the chain.

Please don’t make it a regular practice to drive with your safety chains twisted.

[Customer1]

Every Uhaul I have ever rented had like 10 feet of safety chain, they regularly twist them.

[kcamp99186]

Don't have an issue with my TT, but with my old tent trailer the hitch was so low my chains would drag. I used an old bungee and strapped the chains up to the hitch between the ball and the truck bumper. My thought was the bungee was a lot weaker than the chain and would give first if needed. Never had a problem.

[C.LeeNick]

Interesting.

When I worked for U-Haul 20-plus years ago, we were trained to twist the trailer safety chains to keep them from dragging on the ground.

[AbHDToyHauler]

I can't speak for the chains but when you have lifting slings and tie them in a knot to shorten them you severly reduce their lifting capacity. I was a trained to teach crane and rigging and that was a hard and fast rule. "Never tie a sling in a knot".

[JimDogs]

I was taught to twist the chains, not to shorten them, but to catch the trailer tongue in case of separation from the TV. This is to prevent the trailer tongue from digging into the roadway causing even greater damage. If that were to happen NO chain would bear the strain of the trailer suddenly stopping from speed.

[BillMc]

Completely Agree

[Modifier]

Any one who advises you to twist your chains has a twisted mind. ALWAYS use the correct length chain and the break-a-way lanyard should be shorter than the chain length. Also CROSS the chains under the tongue. Some states require it.

[GMcKenzie]

I was taught to twist the chains, not to shorten them, but to catch the trailer tongue in case of separation from the TV. This is to prevent the trailer tongue from digging into the roadway causing even greater damage. If that were to happen NO chain would bear the strain of the trailer suddenly stopping from speed.

I think you mean cross the chains. Twisting them is different. Watch the video and it will be clear what they are talking about.

I cross mine but never ever thought about twisting them. But the idea of a zip tie to keep them from dragging might be good for me.

[BulletOwner1]

I think you mean cross the chains. Twisting them is different. Watch the video and it will be clear what they are talking about.

I cross mine but never ever thought about twisting them. But the idea of a zip tie to keep them from dragging might be good for me.

I agree, always cross, that provides a cradle for the hitch if it come loose. I like the zip tie/bungee fix also.

Many years ago before I really got into towing my, step dad always got the lightest duty chains/hooks for his trailers. Said he didn't want the trailer, if it came loose to be still connected to the car. :facepalm: I suppose there is some logic to that except for the other people on the road. :hide:

[rjrelander]

I understand the importance of safety chains and breakaway cables but luckily have never needed to see them in action. Has anyone here ever had to try them out in a real emergency situation? It seems like they would only help in the case of either a ball snapping off or the hitch bouncing off the ball if the latch failed. Maybe a rusty or cracked receiver breaking?

[KimNTerry]

Never happened to me but I have seen it happen right in front of me when I pulled trialers for the local marching band.

The safety chains (Twisted I might add) did the job they were supposed to do and kept the trailer from going rougue.

Fortunately we were slow speed in a parking lot. The ball was not hitched properly and actually locked on top of the ball rather than underneath. The driver hit a speed bump and off the trailer went. The tongue slid under the truck as he braked. but everything held. Tongue never hit the ground as we had the chains adjusted and configured properly.

That particular trailer did not have brakes as it was below leagl weight to require them.
We did examone all of the trialers in our fleet (4 of them, 3 with brakes) to ensure Safety chaons were correct length and that all drivers knew to adjust the breakaway so in the event of a disconnect the break away switch would fire BEFORE the saftey chanins took the hit. We used caribeeners wrapped around the long side of the cable to fasten the loop to. This allowed us to have different Tow vehicles and NOT redo cables all the time.

I recomend checking your connection by jacking up after connected to ensure the hitch is locked UNDER the ball. Just enbough that the trailer starts lifitng the truck so you know it's locked and won't pop off.

IMO The safety chains should be replaced after they get emergency used even once. The shock of taking all of the trailer weight in one shot means they have undergone high levels of stress. The welds or bolts to the frame are suspect as is each link in the chain.

Twist, don't twist, it's your call based on experience and prefference.

[BulletOwner1]

I had hooked up to the boat, pulled forward, stinger came out of the receiver (I forgot to put the pin in) hitch fell down on the crossed chains, I braked, pulled the boat trailer right into the tailgate of the truck. The winch mast put a nice dent in the gate. Talk about feeling foolish. If the chains had not been crossed might not of happened. But who knows. I still cross the chains.

[Dman55088]

To put it bluntly, YOU ARE WRONG. When using an approved chain for a safety chain, twisting them does not matter. Yes, there are many people who get sold some cheap chain at their local hardware store and do not have the right chain. This is where buying from a dealer or a source that carries stamped chains is the only way to go.

[BillMc]

The twisting of chains is a poor mans way of shortening them. The correct way is to ensure that the chains are short enough to connect to the towing vehicle and to provide a cradle to catch the trailer tongue and prevent the towed vehicle from flipping in the event of a failure. It costs to have the chains properly done (unless you have the tools on hand) but well worth the cost.

[BillMc]

Twisting of Safety Chains has also been shown to cause a trailer to roll when the forces of torque are applied in a disconnect situation. Properly lengthened chains not twisted accept the load without additional torque issues.

[McRod]

Dragging chains too long have been shown to start fires. Much safer to twist them, if needed, ensure you are hooked up properly and head down the road.

[travelin texans]

At work we had a fleet of different trailers & a bigger fleet of all different kinds of trucks to pull them so the only way to shorten or lengthen chains to accommodate everyone was to twist or untwist to fit, in 30+ years employed there we did have a few come loose & the chains did their job as designed even being twisted.
One thing I noticed in the video was that it appeared to be galvanized chain which is not the correct chain to be used as safety chains as per DOT, at least not on commercially licensed trailers. There's also DOT requirements on the hooks that's approved for safety chains & locations to attach the break away cable.
I've also never seen nor heard of the twisted chain causing the trailer to flip due the chain torque. As I said I've experienced a trailer come loose, with the chain twisted, the tongue cradled in the chain never hitting the ground & followed straight behind, it did ding up the tailgate & broke a taillight, incident had a very high pucker factor. If the tongue hits the ground then it's anybodys guess where or what it'll do.

[notanlines]

Twisting of Safety Chains has also been shown to cause a trailer to roll when the forces of torque are applied in a disconnect situation. Properly lengthened chains not twisted accept the load without additional torque issues.

Might we see some data or a source or two covering this information?

[cavediver]

Twisting them puts a side load on them, they are designed for a straight pull. Someone said it's easier to twist them then to start a fire, I disagree. It's easier to make them the proper length.

[jsm180]

There is a difference between twisting and wadding them up in a knot. It's becoming more scarce but a little common sense goes a long ways. Been twisting chains for over 40 years, no other way when using different vehicles.

[Jakswe]

A lightly twisted chain certainly is preferred over a chain wadded into a twisted ball. (The twisted ball is what one would get when using the uhaul length chains as was identified in a prior post.). The lightly twisted chain would still be subjected to torsional forces whereas a chain’s primary loading is to be in tension. Better to take the slack out of the chain using zip ties or a bungee cord that will break away.

[BulletOwner1]

Okay, don't get riled up: If you twist one chain clockwise and the other counterclockwise does the twisting effect offset? :D

[Jakswe]

Okay, don't get riled up: If you twist one chain clockwise and the other counterclockwise does the twisting effect offset? :D

I like your humor.

It will counter the twisted flip that was predicted.

[JRTJH]

Okay, don't get riled up: If you twist one chain clockwise and the other counterclockwise does the twisting effect offset? :D

I like your humor.

It will counter the twisted flip that was predicted.

Or would that make the trailer roll end over end rather than "twist" or "corkscrew" down the highway????? :whistling:

[teacherman]

Interesting.

When I worked for U-Haul 20-plus years ago, we were trained to twist the trailer safety chains to keep them from dragging on the ground.

I suspect the chain was rated for far more than the weight of the trailer, so this was not a risk. I notice the cahins on my Load Trail 10K payload dump trailer are barely long enough to hook on there, which tells me a twist is not recommended...

[Fishsizzle]

Might we see some data or a source or two covering this information?

Scratching my head on this thread

[notanlines]

I also noticed no data showed up and no videos either showing trailers rolling over because of the twist in the chains.:(

[JRTJH]

Just an observation: You can sure tell that nobody is having any "RV related problems to solve" when we have 4 pages of discussion about what happens if you twist the safety chains.....

I'm definitely not complaining, in fact, sort of happy that "things RV related" are going so well...... http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/hand-gestures/applause-smiley-emoticon.gif (http://www.sherv.net/)