07-08-09, 10:58 AM | #1 |
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Crossing Chains/Cables
Never noticed or payed any attention before, but I've been looking since I got my trailer hitch and see that hardly no one crosses their chains on trailers! Some are so long that even if crossed, they wouldn't prevent the tongue from grounding if it came off the ball.
Are they all just dense about the safety chains? |
07-08-09, 11:06 AM | #2 |
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We always cross our chains--I'm not sure but I think it's the law in the state of Va.
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07-08-09, 11:09 AM | #3 |
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I have to cross mine like 3 or 4 times to keep the chains off the ground when I'm pulling the boat in my truck. It doesn't help that my truck is factory lowered though...
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07-08-09, 11:34 AM | #4 |
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Hmmmm....I've got spring loaded cables on my trailer. I'm not sure if they're supposed to be crossed or not. I never heard to do that before.
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07-08-09, 11:34 AM | #5 |
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they should keep the hitch from touching the ground because if the toungue of the trailer popped off then the chains would be pulled tight.
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07-08-09, 11:47 AM | #6 |
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Until the brakes were hit - but I see what you mean...I just meant that the chains/cables on some rigs seem too long and need to be recrossed or wrapped around the tongue so it couldn't hit the pavement.
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07-08-09, 11:49 AM | #7 |
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The safety chains need to prevent the tongue from grounding if it was to pop off the ball - If the tongue hits the ground at any speed at all, it's gonna find the first divet, dig in and it's gonna ruin the day! (at least this is what I've learned, being a newbie to trailering and all)
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07-08-09, 02:23 PM | #8 |
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Oh, I know what the cables do. I just don't know if they need to be crossed. It does make sense, if what you want to do is provide negative feedback, i.e stability...it's just weird that I haven't heard to do it before.
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07-08-09, 04:43 PM | #9 |
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This was really stressed at the NYS boating safety course I just took.
As an experiment, hook up w/o appropriate length and crossed chains and pop the tongue off the ball and see what happens - imagine if you were on the highway. |
07-08-09, 05:28 PM | #10 |
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Almost ALL of the cables I've seen - yes, including mine - are too long. Most of the cables also have "S" links to hang from the tow bar. I removed the cables and replaced with chain, and the "S" links were replaced with screw closed links. This isn't an expesive fix.
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07-08-09, 07:34 PM | #11 |
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yeah my cables are coiled -and too long- i crossed them a couple times. however i had a mess and a half after towing with them crossed...
proper ball/hitch adjustment will prevent the hitch from popping loose... the reason i refused to use any ball hitch but mine when towing my boat.. i towed my boat to ky lake 11 hours thru tennesse-not a flat area NO WHERE-with the cables crossed took me 45 mines to untangle the cables. i did not cross them on the return trip. took me 20 seconds to remove the cables when i got home.. nc state requires an extra attachment on the bow eye..i belive ny and pa also require this..it is a peace of mind since even the best winch systems will and can pop loose over rough roads.. zooker
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07-08-09, 10:54 PM | #12 | |
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Quote:
Until then, I'm wrapping the cables around the tongue once to "remove" the excess. Last edited by Abbeysdad; 07-08-09 at 11:24 PM. |
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07-08-09, 11:06 PM | #13 |
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Well yes zooker, but isn't the purpose of the chains/cable to act as a backup in case the ball/latch fails and the tongue comes off the ball? If the chains or cable are such that the tongue can hit the ground, it may be all over but the cryin.
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07-09-09, 02:51 AM | #14 |
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I imagine having the tongue pop off the ball (no dirty jokes please, this is serious) is pretty scary even with the optimum chain arrangement when going fast.
My chains are about right it seems. If I drop it off the ball it will keep the tongue an inch or so off the ground. When I jackknifed on the interstate and flipped the trailer, the chains might have kept the boat from rolling a few extra times.
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07-09-09, 07:20 AM | #15 |
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if your chains are to long you can twist the chain to shorten it than cross them. i'v had one come off (23 ft with a tractor on it) was no fun i think my butt sucked up part of the seat. want to talk about no fun one of the guys i worked with had the ball snap off in the bed when he was pulling a fully loaded goose neck, if not for the tool box it would have been real bad.
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07-09-09, 11:24 AM | #16 | |
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Quote:
I'm wondering as I'm new to this and last week (without the boat) I was coming home from one of the lakes, down this steep cow path of a winding road, in the rain and thinking....'this could be a bit tricky with the boat'. Also, my trailer doesn't have brakes and I think that could increase the potential jackknife equation. |
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07-09-09, 12:13 PM | #17 | |
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Quote:
that make me flinch sitting here reading it. wow, that makes me think about my neighbor [uncle cousin, whatever ] who pulled his horse trailer to OK a couplea weeks ago and went through a storm with 3 tornados in it
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07-09-09, 02:13 PM | #18 |
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i have seen king pins break with 80,000 pounds on them.. it happens...
i put a new ball on every three years..then again i tow mine more than alot of you... zooker
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07-09-09, 03:34 PM | #19 |
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The retracable spring loaded cables on my Mako will not cross. I wonder if they stop it from dragging with my new hitch.
I will hafta check that out before my next trailer tire passes me. Capt Mike
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07-09-09, 06:06 PM | #20 | |
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The lessons, take your tires - all of them - superseriously and slow down. http://bassfishin.com/bassfishingfor...ight=blew+tire
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07-09-09, 06:08 PM | #21 |
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So you're saying I shouldn't tow my rig at 75 mph? Other people have made that comment to me, but hey...
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07-09-09, 06:11 PM | #22 |
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I dont like to tell other people what to do, but it can be very dangerous if you have a failure of some sort and with a big boat like yours, lots of stuff can go wrong and you wont be able to control it more likely than not.
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07-09-09, 09:50 PM | #23 |
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Wow WTL ...well yer dad may have been riding shotgun, but a guardian angel musta also been on-board. Glad to hear you walked away. But that was more than just a jackknife (right .... listen to me "more than just a jackknife" - lol).
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07-10-09, 07:17 PM | #24 |
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i had a spare wheel go under the boat at 65mph..holy bleep!!! just did not cut it... it bent the aluminum mag rim to bad to hold air...
a soild steel axel note the gouge from the rim... where the tire/rim wedged. lifting the entire boat and trailer.. i'll never have a spare in the bow belly rack ever again.. the pin holding the spare broke off causing this... zooker
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07-10-09, 07:57 PM | #25 |
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Hmmmm.....thta's good food for thought, Zook. I hate to keep a spare tire in my truck cab all the time, but it would definitely be preferable to that disaster.
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