Switch Out Those Clunky Droopy Safety Chains

[Deleted User]

The first thing I've done on my last two T@Bs is to switch out the clunky droopy safety chains for cables.  They are lighter and easier to handle and don't hang way down under the tongue.  

Amazon.com: CURT 80151 44-1/2-Inch Vinyl-Coated Trailer Safety Cables, 7/16-In Snap Hooks, 5,000 lbs Break Strength, 2-Pack : Automotive

Horigan

They are somewhat prone to hidden corrosion under the vinyl, so be sure to watch for that over the years.

[Deleted User]

Good to know!!! Thanks for telling me.  I will for sure watch for that.  

AnOldUR

With chains you can remove links to adjust the length so they won’t drag yet will catch the tongue to hopefully prevent it from digging into the road in the event of a disconnect. Is that possible with these, or will the uncoiled length allow the tongue to drag?

[Deleted User]

You cross them just like chains and they will definitely catch the tongue in the event of an uncoupleing. They are not long enough to allow drag. 

AnOldUR

@TabbyShack, good to know. From the picture on the website it looks like the coil would stretch out a lot before they caught. Probably just a matter of installing them with the coil already somewhat extended when hooked up. (Not like shown in the picture.)

Gherzig

Interesting that the photo shows one hook attached to the TV open end forward and the other hook open end toward the back.  I attach mine with both open ends facing back. Is there a best practice?

AnOldUR

@Gherzig, good question. I attach mine like the one on the left, but don't know if that's correct or if it matters. Look forward to an answer.

The other bizarre thing is that they appear to have eye bolts sticking out from an aluminum frame. I'd think the torque from a detachment would rip them out. My chain links are bolted directly to the frame further back so that the tongue jack will catch in the cradle if it drops. 

[Deleted User]

I've had my dealer install the cables for me when I went to pick it up on 2019 and 2022. They just remove factory chains and put these on. My cables are pretty tight. There isn't really any play that would allow tongue low enough to drag. I really have to pull them to hook to hitch. 

I'm going out for maiden voyage Friday. I will get a pic of the set up on a 400. 

pthomas745

My chains won't droop since they pass through the trailer hitch and connect back to the chain, and I can control for that.  
These chains seem perfectly acceptable, based on the Famous Purdue "Keep Trailer Attached" booklet.  (Chain discussion on page 42 below, with more discussion in the "Emergency Brake" chapter that follows.
The chains on my 2017 320 are 30 inches long.  Are the chains on the 400 longer?
https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ppp/ppp-92.pdf

tabiphile

The advertisement says that "the cable" has a 5,000 pound breaking strength. It says nothing about the strength of the joint. That appears to be a simple machine crimped sleeve. A chain being only as good as it's weakest link, consider these cables to be only as good as the crimp. I'd be very suspicious and keep using chains.

bergger

tabiphile said:

The advertisement says that "the cable" has a 5,000 pound breaking strength. It says nothing about the strength of the joint. That appears to be a simple machine crimped sleeve. A chain being only as good as it's weakest link, consider these cables to be only as good as the crimp. I'd be very suspicious and keep using chains.

That was my first thought as well.  

[Deleted User]

I will call Curt and ask them and post what they say.   The only bad reviews are about the length not as advertised but there are only 290 reviews.  Reviews on eTrailer are excellent as well.  Only negative there also said length too short and one dummy person saying he couldn't get them to straighten out! Haha.

Denny16

My issue with these, you have to drill holes in the frame for the cable eye bolts, they will not attach where the chains do.  Also, the stress on that Eye bolt is at a 90-degree angle to the shank.  An eye bolt load rating is based on a straight pull along the length of the shaft and eye, not at 90-degrees, which can bend or even snap off the bolt where it bolts into the trailer frame.
 Cheers 

ChanW

In NYS, the safety chains are required to be welded to the frame. Not sure if inspection actually checks for that.

Dutch061

You can use a "quick link" (chain link that has an opening with a threaded sleeve) to attach to the trailer frame. I pondered buying these but the hooks that connect to the TV are way too small for a Class V receiver. My hooks almost look like crab claws they are so large!

Brad

RMo

This conversation makes me wonder if you could lace a bungie cord or other stretchy material through the safety chain links to keep them higher off the ground and avoid the temptation to twist them (not that I would ever do that), or the hassle of shortening them permanently.  Thoughts?

Sharon_is_SAM

Yes.  We use one of those fabric, coated wires to raise the chains.

Slackers

A long pipe-cleaner?  I know there's plastic covered purpose built chain things on Amazon as well.

[Deleted User]

Denny16 said:

My issue with these, you have to drill holes in the frame for the cable eye bolts, they will not attach where the chains do.  Also, the stress on that Eye bolt is at a 90-degree angle to the shank.  An eye bolt load rating is based on a straight pull along the length of the shaft and eye, not at 90-degrees, which can bend or even snap off the bolt where it bolts into the trailer frame.
 Cheers 

You don't have to drill holes into the frame. I thought these attach where the factory chains were installed.  Maybe the dealer drilled these holes though, but its not in the "frame" its just in this thin area by the jack.  I thought this is where the chains were attached.  They are slightly angled outward which is in perfect alignment with the holes on the hitch.  If they were perfectly straight they would be out of alignment with the attachment point on the hitch.  One thing I'm seeing (now that I actually looked under there) is the point of failure is that washer or what ever that round metal piece is around the bolt.  That doesn't look sturdy and if that fails, the chain slides off!  It seems like the dealer should have said to me that this isn't secure.  I think I might switch back to the chains!! Can someone send me a pic of where/how the chains were attached?



ChanW said:

In NYS, the safety chains are required to be welded to the frame. Not sure if inspection actually checks for that.

The chains do not come welded to the frame on the past three T@Bs I've owned. 

Sharon_is_SAM

@Slackers Like this

lino

Gherzig said:

Interesting that the photo shows one hook attached to the TV open end forward and the other hook open end toward the back.  I attach mine with both open ends facing back. Is there a best practice?

This reminds me of carabiners placed in opposite directions for rock climbing for  safety since it has different directions to prevent both detaching

However climbers weigh a lot less than the trailer so I don’t know if it would work

pthomas745

Check the other side of that bolt that attaches the chains to the tongue.  All of these parts have to be the proper grade: bolt, spacer, and washer.  This is a screen grab from page 56 of the Purdue brochure linked above.  There is a little more about this in the section on chains.  

Marceline

RMo said:

This conversation makes me wonder if you could lace a bungie cord or other stretchy material through the safety chain links to keep them higher off the ground and avoid the temptation to twist them (not that I would ever do that), or the hassle of shortening them permanently.  Thoughts?

I think that would work. 

I keep a bag of zip ties in the trailer. They’re useful for all sorts of things including pulling up chains. 

AnOldUR

Bottom line is that if your chains are at the correct length, none of this is necessary.

[Deleted User]

I just liked the clean look of the cables and how they coiled out of the way when disconnected from the tow vehicle, but all of that is meaningless if they don't provide the same level of safety.  I think I'm going to put the chains back on if I can figure out where they were originally attached. I haven't gone out there to look at it good yet. 

Denny16

The chains are bolted on with a large flat washer.  Looks secure, however, not sure what grade the bolt is?
 Cheers 

Sharon_is_SAM

@TabbyShack - the chains are attached via a bolt under/behind the couple.  I can’t find a picture🙄

[Deleted User]

Yea I was surprised to see how flimsy they seem to be attached and figured my dealer did that.     I'm not sure putting the old chains back on is any better.  

Are the chains attached with the same round "washers" or is that something my dealer added? That's the point if failure. Those washers have to carry around 350lbs if needed. 

pthomas745

In the interest of Tab Science, I went out and took photos of the chain attachment points on my 2017.

The bolts are on the bottom plate below the jack.  According to the chart above from the Purdue brochure, they are Grade 8 bolts.  (The bolts on the top plate of the jack are Grade 5).

These are the washers on the nuts holding the bolts.  Note the thickness.  The Purdue page says the nuts/washers should match the "Grades" of the bolts.  When I searched for "Grade 8 washers" there are tons of vendors selling them, since they seem to be fairly common for "heavy duty automotive applications". An "extra thick" Grade 8 washer on one site was 3/32nds of an inch thick.  On another, an "extra thick" was listed as .090 of an inch.  ( I haven't done the math, sorry).  The washers on my trailer certainly seem to be the appropriate
"Grade 8" but exactly what "width" they are is hard to tell.  They do seem slightly "warped".  (slightly).  Whether from the original installation or stressed from 5 years on the road, it is hard to tell.

GatorEgg

Your chains are droopy because you don’t have them adjusted correctly.your chains are droopy because you failed to adjust them correctly.  The chains should be run through the hitch loops back to one of their own links.  Ensuring length is calculated not to bind on turns.