Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-08-2018, 11:51 AM   #1
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
2017 Work and Play Safety Chain

I was checking my toy hauler for a weekend trip coming up and happened to look at my safety chains. The photos show what I found--the attachment to the trailer frame is broken, one side completely, the other over half way. The chains have never had any tension on them, this is from the factory, I've only been on four trips so far. Check your chains to make sure you are as safe as possible.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_3043.jpg
Views:	175
Size:	339.7 KB
ID:	188635   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_3042.jpg
Views:	213
Size:	285.6 KB
ID:	188636   Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_3044.jpg
Views:	195
Size:	82.0 KB
ID:	188637  
hogdooz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-08-2018, 12:43 PM   #2
Zombie
 
Join Date: Apr 2017
Posts: 13
Have you tried to contact LCI? I think they are the ones that built that frame. Worst thing they can say is no.
chuck19702017 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-08-2018, 01:08 PM   #3
Just as confused as you
 
Scrapper's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: south central Wisconsin
Posts: 5,108
As far as you know the chains have never tension on them. I've seen dealers move them by hooking the chains to a forklift and raising the tongue up without using a ball adapter for the coupler.
__________________
Richard & Jill
2014 Flagstaff 832IKBS Classic Super Lite
2018 Silverado 1500 Crew Cab Z71 4WD All Star Edition
Camping since 1989, Seasonal since 2000.
Car Shredder Op/Tech, Scrap Metal Recycling - retired
Scrapper is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-08-2018, 06:28 PM   #4
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 392
Made me go look !! Chains on mine are secured in a different way and are still tight without any issues. Thanks for posting pictures so we can compare.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	W&Psafetychainssmall.jpg
Views:	191
Size:	94.9 KB
ID:	188670  
OldGal3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-08-2018, 06:59 PM   #5
Member
 
Mr. Jiggles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 47
Safety chains

Scrapper is correct. There is no way that could have broke without blunt force trauma. Somewhere, somehow it was hit hard enough to crack the steel. Cold rolled welded steel will never crack like that without getting whacked -
__________________
Greg and Pam
First time RV’ers
2018 Isata 5 36 DS 4x4
Flat towing 2017 Buick Envision
Blue Ox tow equipment
Mr. Jiggles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-09-2018, 10:01 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 158
Safety chains

Looks to me like they rusted out you can't let hitch get rusted like that have you ever heard of paint I never let my hitch rust always keep it painted
johnlochbuie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 02:06 PM   #7
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Dunn, NC
Posts: 1,199
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnlochbuie View Post
Looks to me like they rusted out you can't let hitch get rusted like that have you ever heard of paint I never let my hitch rust always keep it painted
That’s just mean 😞
pdqparalegal1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 02:44 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Thurman's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Albany, GA.
Posts: 1,359
That looks like the piece welded to the frame suffered an tremendous downward force somehow. IMO: The little bit of rust on there appears to have been started by the damage.
__________________

Thurman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 06:32 PM   #9
Site Team
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Southwest Alabama
Posts: 9,850
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnlochbuie View Post
Looks to me like they rusted out you can't let hitch get rusted like that have you ever heard of paint I never let my hitch rust always keep it painted
That's pretty harsh, and you obviously know nothing about metallurgy. That's strictly a impact stress fracture and has nothing to do with the rust. The rusting is a secondary effect after the fracture happened.
__________________
Salem 29RKSS Pushing a GMC Sierra 2500HD!
Gotta go campin!
Bama Rambler is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 08:33 PM   #10
Who Dares, Wins
 
doc73's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Chester County, PA
Posts: 7,063
What type of hitch do you have? My equalizer would pinch my chains and bend the mount when I turned to a specific angle. It would literally look like a set of bolt cutters were used on the chain.
__________________

Pat, Jen, Heather & Sapphire, the head mouser.
2015 Chevy HD D-Max
2022 Impression 315MB
doc73 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 09:07 PM   #11
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Southwest Ohio
Posts: 66
Quote:
Originally Posted by doc73 View Post
What type of hitch do you have? My equalizer would pinch my chains and bend the mount when I turned to a specific angle. It would literally look like a set of bolt cutters were used on the chain.


Doc73,

Mine does the same thing, have to be careful backing up. So far has only happened at the house due to the angle to get it in the driveway. Trailer is only a few months old but once warranty is up I will be looking to move the safety chain connection back away from the area where the equalizer can pinch them.
LambPen-1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 09:27 PM   #12
Senior Member
 
Oaklevel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Virginia
Posts: 9,679
Just my 2 cents by looking at the first picture it looks like to me that someone backed into the chains attachment point and the hitch hit or ball it.


__________________

2005 Dodge 3500 Cummins
2017 Wildwood Lodge 4092 BFL
1966 Mustang GT
1986 Mustang SVO
Lillie Spoiled Rotten Boxer Mix
Oaklevel is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 09:29 PM   #13
Senior Member
 
Oaklevel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Virginia
Posts: 9,679
Quote:
Originally Posted by johnlochbuie View Post
Looks to me like they rusted out you can't let hitch get rusted like that have you ever heard of paint I never let my hitch rust always keep it painted
No way that could have happened that way.
__________________

2005 Dodge 3500 Cummins
2017 Wildwood Lodge 4092 BFL
1966 Mustang GT
1986 Mustang SVO
Lillie Spoiled Rotten Boxer Mix
Oaklevel is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 09:48 PM   #14
Senior Member
 
Retired JSO's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: NE Florida
Posts: 962
I think maybe my 4 year old granddaughter ran that weld bead.
Retired JSO is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 09:58 PM   #15
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 638
Why not just get it welded up and move on.
__________________
2015 Chev Silverado 3500 dually D/A
2016 Cedar Creek 36CK
B&W Patriot 18K, Trail-Aire pinbox,
Level up, dual panes & all that stuff...
GOTTOYS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-10-2018, 10:43 PM   #16
Senior Member
 
dbledan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: KS
Posts: 2,369
Well I had issues with my blueox catching the chains at the bottom of the hitch. It stressed that same connection and looked similar for a while. When I replaced my hitch with a propride I put the chains on wrong(outside not inside the head) and it sheared them both off. I ended up finding a welder on the road via Google in Casper WY to reattach them. There was no where to reattach them to and I could not tow without them. 2 hour detour but worth it in the end.
dbledan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-12-2018, 10:56 AM   #17
Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 59
The trailer is just over 1 year old and last July we were out for a month, I'm assuming the attachment broke sometime on that trip. It's possible the dealer we purchased from bent the attachment down to clear the hitch, which is an Equalizer 4 point sway hitch. But this post wasn't so much about getting it repaired as making sure you check yours to make sure they're attached solid. I did have new attachments welded on in a new location and LCI is helping me with the repair costs. It's all cleaned, painted and ready for the next trip. I appreciate all your posts.
hogdooz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-22-2018, 01:41 AM   #18
My First Toy Hauler
 
Rednight's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 62
Quote:
Originally Posted by hogdooz View Post
I was checking my toy hauler for a weekend trip coming up and happened to look at my safety chains. The photos show what I found--the attachment to the trailer frame is broken, one side completely, the other over half way. The chains have never had any tension on them, this is from the factory, I've only been on four trips so far. Check your chains to make sure you are as safe as possible.
Thanks for posting this and the pictures. I will definitely be checking mine. I am thinking maybe a few taps with the ball backing under the hitch a little too far.
Rednight is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
work and play, safety

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Forest River, Inc. or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:22 AM.