How Long Should My Safety Chains Be?

Published 11/30/2019

Question:

The change that came on our new travel trailer don’t reach the tow vehicle. My question is how long should safety chains be not sure if they can be too long obviously they can be too short?

asked by: Joey T

Expert Reply:

This is a great question, and it really depends on your setup. If the safety chain loops on your tow vehicle are spaced far apart then you will need more slack to make a tight turn than if they were closer together.

I recommend that you connect your trailer to your tow vehicle and back your trailer up into a near jack-knife position. You'll then want to use a rope to go from the safety chain attachment points of your trailer to your tow vehicle and then measure the length of rope that was used; that would be the correct length of chain to use.

With safety chains you want to cross them underneath the coupler that way if the coupler was to become disconnected the trailer would land where the chains intersect and it would catch the coupler instead of just dragging it.

For reference, the Curt Single Hook Coiled Safety Cables # C80176 are 42", which would work well for trailer towing where the safety chain loops are on the trailer tongue.

expert reply by: Erik B