Boats For Sale:
Do you cross? |
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Tim D 
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Joined: August-23-2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2641 |
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 Topic: Do you cross?Posted: August-27-2006 at 6:52pm |
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Do you cross your safety chains on your trailers? My dad told me a long time ago it was safer to have them cross instead of being parallel. If the hitch came loose, it would have less play if they were crossed. I'm surprised at the people I know that don't do it or never heard of it. I don't know, it might be the law in some states.
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Tim D
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eric lavine
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 6:56pm |
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I cross them, why? i have no clue always have though
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"the things you own will start to own you"
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JoeinNY
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 7:18pm |
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if you cross them the tongue is likely to get caught in the basket made by the chains, if you dont it falls right to the ground possibly digging in and causing even more hurt than youre already in for, heres hoping none of you ever find out if there is a real difference between crossed or not..
Joe. |
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scott8370
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 7:38pm |
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I cross...usually. I guess it depends on the length of the chains.If they are on the shorter side, then I may not cross them.
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Scott
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92'NIQUE
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 8:40pm |
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I'm with Eric....I cross, only because someone 10 years ago told me to! Now, I know why...Thanks JoeinNY.
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79nautique
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 8:40pm |
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I do and My dad does as well for the exact same reason Joe stated, if the cahains are too short to cross then they are probaly to short to start with.
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Tim D
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 9:01pm |
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I agree with Joe, if it falls, there's something there to catch it. If your chains are too short to cross, you might not be able to back sharp turns. What is a cahain?
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Tim D
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boat dr
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 9:36pm |
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now that we have discussed the crossing issue,how do you position your hooks,i was told at a Ranger ba$$ boat seminar,to insert hook with the opening to the rear,the reason being in the event that the trailer seperates from the ball,and you slow down,the coupling will go under the bumper or the receiver. the chains are less likley to jump out of the "holes" in inserted w/ opening to the rear.grab your chain and see if it makes sense to you ,opened my eyes........ boat dr.
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Tim D
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 10:12pm |
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Hook, opening facing the rear.
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Tim D
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The Dude
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 10:24pm |
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I just make the sign of the cross.
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Mullet Free since 93
95 Sport |
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05 210
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 10:30pm |
Lol 
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stang72
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 10:36pm |
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Yeah I cross them...never knew why until now! That is how my dad wanted it done, so we did it that way .
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p/allen
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 10:43pm |
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I cross for the same reason Joe says. I also hook with my hooks coming from under so they wont have a tendency to hop off. Pat |
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62 wood
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 11:46pm |
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Man,
We're all on the same page! Cross em for sure... (I do it for the reason JoeinNY does).. ..hooks open to rear! |
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69 Mustang
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Posted: August-27-2006 at 11:53pm |
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I cross...and I know from experience it is the correct way to go. Had a landscape trailer hop off the ball.
Also, don't use a nut and bolt to hold the coupler lever closed, use a clevis pin. When the coupler hops off, all sorts of things get bent out of shape. Even though I had the correct wrenchs I needed to remove the nut and bolt, I still had to hammer the heck out of the bolt to break it off. |
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For every complex problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
"Where the **** are we?" Amelia Earhart. July 2, 1937 |
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skicat
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 7:30am |
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Is safety chain being used as a generic term, or does everyone use chains & not the cables? My crownline came with the cables & just wondering if the chains are a prefered option.
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79nautique
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 8:56am |
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they surve the same purpose I know my buddy's ranger has cables vs chains. manufactures preferance I guess. Not sure on the hook direction not sure if it would make a difference which way they face
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The Lake
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 8:56am |
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Years ago I was picking up my dad's boat (a 19' IMP.) It had suddenly stoped running on one portion on the lake. Since he always kept his boats on a lift he really never used the trailers. So, I had to get the trailer and happened to notice there was no safety chains on it. I almost took the trailer as it was, since I only had to pull the boat a few miles back to our place. I found one length of chain, about two feet long, so I attached it to one side of the trailer and hooked it to the truck. The trailer had one of those screw down type of couplers. On the way back with the boat we had to cross a bridge over part of the lake. The bouncing caused by the expansion joints loosened the coupler and I heard the trailer drop off the ball.
 Since we were still on the bridge there was no place to pull over, and I was afraid to brake, so I let the truck and boat gradually slow to a stop right at the end of the bridge. I had images of the trailer breaking loose and crossing into ongoing traffic, or hitting the bridge guard. I feel very lucky, but traffic was sure snarled behind me for a while. Now I use safety chains (crossed!) even driving the 300 yards from our house to the boat ramp, and I don't use screwy couplers.
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79nautique
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 9:09am |
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well you did the right thing by not stopping quickly in that situation you did exactly what you should gradually slowing, keeps tension on the chains and prevents the boat from running in to the vehicle.
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quinner
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 9:26am |
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When I was about 12 years old while taking a boating safety/licensing course the instructor covered safety chains, he said always cross the chains for the same reason as JoeinNY explained.
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Dank
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 5:54pm |
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I cross, and I recently switched the hooks I use. A friend hooked my trailer up AND hooked the chains. However, he forgot to put the pin in the receiver hitch. As he went out of the driveway the hitch pulled out and even though the chains were connected, the chain quick links bent straight and the boat rolled away
 The spare tire acted as a brake and the boat came to a stop without rolling back into the garage doors (thankfully!). I switched my chain quick links out with shackles. They're a little more trouble to put on and off (not much really though) and I feel alot better about them.
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"I don't know what the world may need, but a V8 engine's a good start for me"
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92'NIQUE
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 6:15pm |
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What is a "clevis pin"?
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79nautique
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 6:59pm |
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It's a pin with a special wire that prevents the pen from coming out of the hole.
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jbear
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Posted: August-28-2006 at 10:19pm |
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Dude: I am with you on the "crossing"
john |
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"Loud pipes save lives"
AdamT sez "I'm Canadian and a beaver lover myself"... |
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Barracuda
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Posted: August-29-2006 at 1:45pm |
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The safety chains on my trailer are not even attached to the trailer itself (not welded or bolted on) - they just loop thru loop of metal below the tongue of the trailer.I cross them, many times, so they don't drag on the ground.
-Brad |
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AbunDiga909
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Posted: August-30-2006 at 3:03am |
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I cross them b/c thats how I was tought... but I remember reading somewhere that doing it w/ the new cables is pointless b/c they will stretch to be too far, but I still do it anyway, muscled memory....
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I Nautique, therefore I am.
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The Dude wrote: