Safety chains for towing

[Russsilber90]

My safety cables attach to RV and run to tow bar holders attached to car. See pics.

 

[redbaron]

My safety cables attach to RV and run to tow bar holders attached to car. See pics.

Based on what I see here--I would be very nervous about it actually working.

To clarify -- you only know that the setup is safe with it pulling the load that it is protecting.

I think the rust alone (if what I am seeing is rust) indicates that the material won't live up to its original design. Then knowing what rating was on the quick connects is another issue.

I know Roadmaster sells these. They are not one size fits all. Your weight determines them.

I have replaced all the safety cable and connectors with ones with stamped ratings, which means I had to forgo the quick connect on the jeep setup. My 2020 Jeep Wrangler is 6k lbs, and based on how a swinging vehicle could pull, all of the weight could end up on a single link.

I went with 12k lb saftey wire, and 12k lb connectors. These ratings are the stamped ratings and the working load, not the breaking point. The breaking point is what most will publish, and that number needs to be much greater (3x ) the actual working load.

 

[redbaron]

Here is a product similar rated to what I purchased:

https://www.etrailer.com/Safety-Cables/Demco/DM9523051.html

 

[Russsilber90]

Based on what I see here--I would be very nervous about it actually working.

To clarify -- you only know that the setup is safe with it pulling the load that it is protecting.

I think the rust alone (if what I am seeing is rust) indicates that the material won't live up to its original design. Then knowing what rating was on the quick connects is another issue.

I know Roadmaster sells these. They are not one size fits all. Your weight determines them.

I have replaced all the safety cable and connectors with ones with stamped ratings, which means I had to forgo the quick connect on the jeep setup. My 2020 Jeep Wrangler is 6k lbs, and based on how a swinging vehicle could pull, all of the weight could end up on a single link.

I went with 12k lb saftey wire, and 12k lb connectors. These ratings are the stamped ratings and the working load, not the breaking point. The breaking point is what most will publish, and that number needs to be much greater (3x ) the actual working load.

Pulls 3000 lb CRV. No rust, lots of mud on road to storage. Clean up great. Use brake buddy with set up. Over 70,000 miles towing over entire country. Never gave it a second thought. Set up by authorized dealer to factory specs from Road Master.

 

[MapNerd]

Roadmaster literally puts these on their 8k# & 10k# safety cables, the latter of which are included with their Nighthawk towbar.

Accessories - Safety Cables - Roadmaster Inc.

www.roadmasterinc.com

I’ve got no issues using the ones that came with my safety cables from Roadmaster.

 

[MapNerd]

My 2020 Jeep Wrangler is 6k lbs, and based on how a swinging vehicle could pull, all of the weight could end up on a single link.

If your Jeep is swinging, your supplemental braking system isn’t working.

 

[redbaron]

If your Jeep is swinging, your supplemental braking system isn’t working.

Oh, I agree--but I plan for failures at all levels.

 

[redbaron]

Pulls 3000 lb CRV. No rust, lots of mud on road to storage. Clean up great. Use brake buddy with set up. Over 70,000 miles towing over entire country. Never gave it a second thought. Set up by authorized dealer to factory specs from Road Master.

Your weight is very little. NO rust is good. I do not see a problem with your setup, and I am not suggesting that there is a problem with it.

Just be careful about the thought process of "x number of years, and never had a problem".

These things are only proven reliable once they do the job in which they are intended to do...meaning, once your road master fails and brake buddy doesn't engage---then you are testing your break away cables. Until then---its just theory.

I live in a theoretical world, as I have never tested my cables. So I have over compensated on the ratings to make sure that I have done all that is possible to ensure safety for the tow.

 

[Russsilber90]

Your weight is very little. NO rust is good. I do not see a problem with your setup, and I am not suggesting that there is a problem with it.

Just be careful about the thought process of "x number of years, and never had a problem".

These things are only proven reliable once they do the job in which they are intended to do...meaning, once your road master fails and brake buddy doesn't engage---then you are testing your break away cables. Until then---its just theory.

I live in a theoretical world, as I have never tested my cables. So I have over compensated on the ratings to make sure that I have done all that is possible to ensure safety for the tow.

Sounds good. I respect your world. Having lived through 3 mechanical aircraft engine failures I put a lot of faith in fate. After all one blow out can ruin the best of all mechanical safety precautions.
Best of luck and safe journey.

 

[lostinfla]

I had the same problem with the hooks when I went with the heavier cables like ARD has. I removed the spring closers from the hooks as my last set never had any, and the hooks fit easily. The cable being coiled, will/has held them in position just fine for the last 20k or so.

 

[Neal]

These are the blue ox safety cables mine came with and probably would work for @ARD:

Amazon.com

Here is the one @ARD has:

Amazon.com

 

[Neemer]

I need new cables and am looking at the straight vs coiled versions. Question for youse guys who have the straight ones: Do you attach those to the tow bar in some way to prevent them from dragging? It seems they would tend to do that.

 

[FLSteve]

I need new cables and am looking at the straight vs coiled versions. Question for youse guys who have the straight ones: Do you attach those to the tow bar in some way to prevent them from dragging? It seems they would tend to do that.

I have the same question. My current ones are coiled, and I need to replace them.

FLSteve

 

[Texas Clodhopper]

I copied this from e-Tralier.

The Fulton Safety Chain Quick Link, 1/2" 10K # 49135 have the 10,000 lbs break strength and 3,300 lbs working load limit but are not available in stainless steel. They are zinc coated to prevent corrosion.

The Quick Link I recommend is the Blue Ox 1/2" Quick Link for Safety Chains # BX229-0512 which is also zinc plated to prevent corrosion and have that 10,000 lb capacity. Blue Ox is well known for safety cables and links as they specialize in the flat towing market

 

[Joe Hogan]

This may be obvious to others but I have always been concerned when buying "Rated" parts on line from "unknown" Amazon, Ebay, etc. suppliers. Consequently I tend to gravitate towards manufacturers of said parts or known manufacturer approved distributors of these type of parts.

For trailer parts there are a number of national RV and or truck/trailer parts distributor as well as manufacturer online stores.

For instance a carabiner for climbing is rated for a certain weight. High quality "Rated" carabiners are expensive to very expensive. Online there are knock offs galore. For the lay person trying to determine which are which is very difficult, if not impossible.

Tow chains or cables are the same. Metal is metal until you get in the and test them. Durability and tensile strength vary considerable among alloys.

In the marine products world, anchor chain and rigging quality is always widely discussed. Failure of these parts can range from an inconvenience to deadly.
There are suppliers that provide questionable products.

My point, ...finally, is to be very careful when buying parts that need to perform under load. There are rating agencies testing and certifying certain brands. Look for this certificates when buying these parts.

From the CURT website

Safety Chains - Learn More

Learn more about the use of safety chains while towing

www.curtmfg.com

 

[jbh]

Neal, those are what I was writing about.

 

[jbh]

Also, I needed to remove some of those quick links (Roadmaster) that had been installed for five years and had the devil of a time; they were locked by corrosion. Had to saw one off. I replaced them with larger stainless steel d-shackles.

 

[Joe Hogan]

For those folks that have the time and interest

https://www.linklock.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Trailer-Safety-Chain-White-Paper.pdf

 

[J&JD]

I need new cables and am looking at the straight vs coiled versions. Question for youse guys who have the straight ones: Do you attach those to the tow bar in some way to prevent them from dragging? It seems they would tend to do that.

I have a Roadmaster tow bar that has channels on each side where straight cables run through the channels. Very clean, easy to store the cables and no chance of dragging.

 

[ARD]

The Quick Link I recommend is the Blue Ox 1/2" Quick Link for Safety Chains # BX229-0512 which is also zinc plated to prevent corrosion and have that 10,000 lb capacity.

I was looking for those all day yesterday and couldn’t find them anywhere. E trailer didn’t have them, blue ox didn’t…. If you have a link where they can be found, please let me know.