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Old 06-01-2017, 12:27 PM   #61
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msweet- I have the same setup and placed a couple of hose clamps on the rod to keep the chain from sliding side to side.
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Old 06-01-2017, 01:38 PM   #62
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msweet View Post
The end link of the safety chains is slid onto a rod welded to the trailer frame. The links are free to move along the rod.

It appears to be original and I expect it is standard for​ that era.
Yes, that was Escape's standard design; I don't know when this design was first used, or when (or if) it changed. It surprised me, both because it does not keep the chains separated, and because it makes the rod a single point of failure for both chains.
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Old 06-01-2017, 03:22 PM   #63
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Originally Posted by Brian B-P View Post
I'll start with a couple of assumptions:
  1. As long as the hitch stays intact, the breakaway cable and safety chains are irrelevant.
  2. If the hitch fails and the safety chains also fail, all cables (electrical and breakaway) will be disconnected.

So the remaining question becomes: which, if any, of the breakaway and electrical cables should disconnect while the safety chains are still intact?

There are two issues that I have considered:
  • When do I want the brakes to be fully applied by the breakaway switch?
  • What interactions would be bad?

I decided that if possible I want the trailer brakes to be controlled, so I think that the electrical cable should have enough slack to stay connected while the trailer pulls at the chains... although with the thrashing around, there's a good chance it gets ripped out anyway. Since I hope to have normal control of the brakes, I wouldn't want the breakaway feature activated, so I want the breakaway cable at least as long as the safety chains.
Although a small factor on the scale of loss-of-control incidents, a trailer brake controller may be damaged by being connected to the trailer when the breakaway switch is applied... so keeping the release cable long so it isn't activated while the electrical plug is in is preferred.

So the net result is: everything stays plugged in as long as the chains survive. This implies taking two risks:
  • the electrical plug pulls out (as stuff thrashes around) without triggering the breakaway feature, so I'm trying to control a trailer with no brakes and attached by chains - I would rather risk this than have the trailer brakes slammed on reducing trailer tire lateral control
  • the breakaway cable pulls out (as stuff thrashes around) while the electrical plug is still in, possibly blowing up the brake controller - not great, but both unlikely, and easily and quickly fixed with a new controller.

As already explained, this is consistent with both the legal requirements that I have seen, and the name of the system: it is to minimize danger (to others) in the situation in which the trailer breaks away (entirely) from the tug, not to handle the partial failure of the system of connections.

A decade ago, I did wonder if the breakaway switch should trip before the chains were fully extended, to ensure that the trailer didn't run into the tug if the electrical cable let go; however, on consideration I decided that I didn't want uncontrolled trailer braking and would want the normal braking to be maintained as long as possible.

So my order of stuff is
  1. safety chains as short as possible while allowing normal motion
  2. electrical cable longer than chains so it isn't pulled out unless the chains fail
  3. breakaway cable longer than chains so it isn't pulled unless the chains fail and the electrical cable pulls out
Would the cables and chains on my trailer actually work out this way? I don't know... and I close the latch on my coupler so it's unlikely I'll ever find out.
You asked and you received. Thanks Brian for the practical and informative explanation tying together the entire thread!
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Old 06-01-2017, 04:37 PM   #64
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I see that the links can move to each other but I am supposing that one cannot pass the other. Given that then, I think that the chain positions which really matter are the attachment points on the receiver. Which I guess you are saying in another way. It is up there that the tongue would be caught, no matter what the chains behind do (as long as they do not cross each other and that does not seem possible). So it looks to me as if crossing them would work.

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Originally Posted by msweet View Post
I always cross the safety chains on trailers. My grandfather taught me that along with many other valuable lessons.

I was theorizing whether crossing the chains would make a difference based on the attachment method. The end link of the safety chains is slid onto a rod welded to the trailer frame. The links are free to move along the rod.

It appears to be original and I expect it is standard for​ that era. Though everytime I visit the factory for service work I hear that they no longer do something the way it was done on my trailer.

After reconsidering, it will make a difference because the chains will be crossed between tow vehicle and the jack. The jack will keep them crossed and acting like a cradle.

I was thinking they might be crossed closer to the frame attachment point (which isn't what happens in reality) where it probably would not make a difference.

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Old 06-01-2017, 07:26 PM   #65
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Originally Posted by float5 View Post
I see that the links can move to each other but I am supposing that one cannot pass the other. Given that then, I think that the chain positions which really matter are the attachment points on the receiver. Which I guess you are saying in another way. It is up there that the tongue would be caught, no matter what the chains behind do (as long as they do not cross each other and that does not seem possible). So it looks to me as if crossing them would work.
I was thinking that with the links able to move to each other it wouldn't​ matter how they were connected to the receiver. As soon as the chains are in tension it would form a triangle and it would be irrelevant which side of the receiver each chain was connected to. The chains can't form a cross pattern or cradle without having fixed attachment points with spacing between them on both ends.

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Old 06-01-2017, 07:40 PM   #66
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Quote:
Originally Posted by msweet View Post
I was thinking that with the links able to move to each other it wouldn't​ matter how they were connected to the receiver. As soon as the chains are in tension it would form a triangle and it would be irrelevant which side of the receiver each chain was connected to. The chains can't form a cross pattern or cradle without having fixed attachment points with spacing between them on both ends.

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Okay, I could not quite visualize it. You would almost have to have someone weld a piece of metal at each end to keep the chains there. If that would even work.
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Old 08-08-2019, 04:06 PM   #67
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This discussion got me thinking if i was hooking my break away up right. I was not! Never to old to learn something new. Found this video on the subject.
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Old 08-08-2019, 04:33 PM   #68
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Good video. The main point being that the breakaway cable should be shorter than the safety chains.
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Old 08-08-2019, 06:47 PM   #69
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Originally Posted by Viajante View Post
Good video. The main point being that the breakaway cable should be shorter than the safety chains.
I've always considered this a common practice, but maybe some were not aware and it is a good thing to know. A few folks disagree with this though, but to me safety always wins.
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