midwestdually

never ever heard of a ball failing or snapping off...OPERATOR ERROR ...yes! but anyways ...always use chains like most everyone else here.

Lary Ellis (Top)

The chains are there for a reason, to hopefully make the trailer follow the tow vehicle, and not careen across the interstate crushing a school bus full of children.

Selfish is NOT the word that comes to my mind, when I see a callous uncaring statement like that.

erics76

I've had both happen to me, bumper pull and GN. The bumper pull was a cattle feeder that we mounted to a old fertlilzer spreader chassis. One day while going through the pasture, the hitch on the trailer broke completely in two. The feeder was loaded with about 4,000lbs of feed, and the chains held it. In fact, I had to jack the trailer up and take some slack out of the chains and use the chains to support it so I could pull it back to the house because I couldn't leave it where it was. The GN was with my Granddad, about 18 years ago before safety chains. We had picked up a load of cattle and taken them to the auction, and as we were leaving, we hit a speed bump that caused the trailer to disconnect somehow. The trailer came loose, slid back to the tailgate, taco'd the tailgate, but it held. No catastrophy, except for a new tailgate.
Here's a little something to think about. Back in 98 or 99, a man that lives in my hometown was up near Dallas, and his empty bumper pull stock trailer came loose as he was going through an intersection. It just happened that there was a woman waiting to cross the road on the other side, and she was not paying attention or looking the other way, or talking on a cel phone, but the trailer hit her at what they later figured to be between 30-35mph. She ended up dieing, I'm not sure when or why, but her family sued the man for a very large amount of money (I can't remember exactly how much) and he has never been the same since the incident. He had no saftey chains, but even if they would have broken, they would have at least slowed the trailer, or made it change direction, or caused a noise that might have caused the victim to look that direction. Always use the chains.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Stamey

BBD,
I know you use your chains, but for this discussion, I will continue.

Think through what you are saying. If the trailer breaks free, let's say at 65 mph. The trailer is going to wiggle around a little, but most likely stay on the same track as the truck, because of the safety chains. It will definitely begin to slow down, puttting more strain on the chains, but probably tightening them and maybe stabilizing the pull a little. You should know about if fairly quickly and will naturally begin braking, hopefully leading with the trailer (this idea expects you to have more slack in your harness than safety chains). Maybe it "tacos the tailgate", depending on the safety chains length, but all should be well if you lead with the trailers brakes when stopping.

Now, if you don't have those safety chains hooked up, the trailer gets loose, and begins to slow naturally, and wiggle. The GN slaps each side of the bed, and this may or may not cause you to start losing control of the truck. If the GN manages to get through the tailgate, if you have one on there, it starts fishtailing or choosing a random direction to got, out of control, until the emergency brakes bring it to a stop. It may or may not come into contact with whatever while to is slowing.

To me, the "controlled" break away is better because you cause less danger to others, and maybe less damage to the truck and trailer if the safety chains hold.

Chris

matthopp

I have heard of bumper pulls breaking loose and safety chains coming into play, but I have never heard of a gooseneck doing this until now. With the design of a gooseneck, i wouldnt think this would be a big problem since the weight is carried different from a bumper pull. Most of the goosenecks around here dont have safety chains, only the newer ones do. I know nearly all of the bumper pulls do though.

Lary Ellis (Top)

Maybe you didn't mean to infer that you didn't care what happened after the trailer left your control, but that is what you said. Anyone who hauls anything around without any concern for the people who share the road with them, has no business doing it.

We have a duty as drivers not to endanger other peoples lives unnecesarily, but then a Professional truck driver would already know this.

I hardly understand why you would care to argue this point, except to reinforce your original statement that you just don't care.

Hoss

I think it's your apparent careless attitude that is making people "worry" about what you do. Comments like:

...don't really help your case any.

I haven't really seen anyone question your driving abilities so that's not really relevant. I think what everyone has questioned is your judgement. One minute you say you don't want the chains holding the trailer to your truck....."let the GN go its way and I'll go mine"......"may sound selfish - but too bad". The next you're crawfishing your way out of it by saying you always use chains. Whether you actually use chains or not I don't know or care (actually I DO care because you're sharing the highways with me and mine). It shouldn't surprise you though that folks are jumping your case for saying what you did.

Now....with that out of the way, I won't get on the road with a trailer that doesn't have safety chains. It's not worth the risk. Property damage is one thing, but I couldn't live with knowing that I'd cost someone their life just because I didn't take the time to hook the chains up.

Y'all take care.

erics76

You're correct about the weight keeping a gooseneck on. When loaded, if done right, a there should be enough weight to keep a GN on the ball, even if it's not latched. Even empty, there is enough weight to keep it on the ball, unless you hit a pothole, speedbump, or something similiar. I've lost one GN, and it was because it was not latched, and we hit a speedbump.

RAM-RED

I think you all are missing the real issue.... I'm concerned with those pickups that have 350 or more HP, and pulling large loads @ 70+ mph. If that trailer comes loose chains or not there is going to be a real big mess, aren't we over horsepowering these 1 ton or 3/4 ton pickup trucks? There has to be a stopping point to the HP race. I pull tractors weighing around 10,000 to 14,000 pounds without adding anything else. I think we all have to be responsible drivers especially when we are hauling with these trucks, we now have pickup trucks that can produce upwards of 600 hp. We owe it to those other motorists to slow down a bit and get their safely. Chains cannot think, but we can so lets drive like it.

Hoss

You may (or may not) have some valid points, but this particular thread is about safety chains, not horsepower or idiot drivers.

erics76

I can't see how horsepower and torque have anything to do with trailering safety. Are saying that as power increases, then so does the danger of towing a trailer? We've got 78 ford with a straight 6 that probably makes 90 hp. If I get it to the top of a hill with a trailer, it'll go 80 on the way down. That means that it's just as dangerous as a dodge with 600 horsepower. You may have a point about slowing down a little, but that has nothing to do with horsepower and torque in relation to trailering safety. Back to the topic-safety chains good. Runaway trailer bad.

lawnpro

about 15 yrs ago a guy in my town was pulling a trailer without chains and it came off and killed a kid waiting for his school bus that road has always made me nervous the sewer covers stick up about an inch right in the wheel path with about 12 kids waitingfor the bus at each one. It only takes 1 time. I have had 3 trailers come unhooked and the chains held up each time. One the weld broke on the trailer(new) and the whole tounge came off. My last incident I just purchased an enclosed trailer and the dealer put the wrong ball size on it would have gone in a lake if it werent for the chains