Trailer safety chains...How long should they be?

Ontario's Ministry of Transportation states that "Your trailer must have two separate ways of attaching to your vehicle so that if one fails or comes loose, the trailer will stay attached". Many trailers use chains, commonly referred to as safety chains, as one of these two separate ways of attachment.
The Ministry of Transportation further sates "If safety chains are used, they must be crossed under the tongue to prevent the tongue from drop­ping to the road if the primary hitch accidentally disconnects", but doesn't provide any further information regarding safety chain length.
So how long should safety chains be? This depends on the tow vehicle and trailer, as there are many different trailer hitch types, heights and configurations, but the answer is basically "Short enough to not drag on the road, and long enough to provide full range of motion when turning".
0:20 On our truck and trailer the safety chains are about 5-1/2" above the road which is plenty of clearance to prevent dragging. This is important because the road surface is very abrasive and will wear through a dragging chain in a surprisingly short time. To demonstrate, a short piece of the same size and grade as the trailer's safety chains (3/8" Grade 70) was cable tied in place to lightly drag on the road 1:06 simulating a safety chain that is just a few links too long. 2:30 The trip home, 48 km (about 30 miles) over mostly paved roads, caused noticeable wear on the dragging chain. Each time we show, the round trip is over 500 km (300 miles) which would likely wear most of the way through a chain by the end of the trip.
3:18 On your own trailer, safety chains can be shortened by removing links as required. An angle grinder with cutting disk is handy for cutting chain however a hacksaw will also work. On our trailer the safety chains are attached by a pin and are easily removable making it convenient to cut chain the length at the workbench. If you have a trailer with permanently attached safety chains, remove the hook and shorten chain by removing links at that end.
If using a borrowed trailer, the owner may not approve of cutting the safety chains shorter, especially if the length is suitable for their tow vehicle and hitch. 3:50 A temporary solution us to secure the excess chain length to trailer tongue with a bungee cord (or even baler twine) for the trip. Not as ideal as proper length safety chains but better than dragging the chain. In the event trailer does become detached from hitch and "Plan B" (safety chains) is needed the bungee cord or baler twine will break and safety chains will do their job as designed.
Sometimes safety chains are too short and can cause the truck/trailer combination to bind when turning sharply. 4:20 You can check this by (carefully) turning as sharply as possible in both directions, ideally while reversing and with a spotter. If the safety chains are too short one option is to replace the entire chain, 5:06 another possibility is adding length with a short section of the same size and grade of chain - with a proper connecting link, also of the same size and grade. For the majority of "bumper pull" trailers like ours, 3/8" Grade 70 chain is suitable.
#horsetrailer
#equineguelph

[@pambaker4693]

Thank you for this video. It helped me with my concerns.

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

You're welcome! Happy to share what we have learned over the years - sometimes from others, sometimes from reading, and sometimes the "hard way"!

[@vikingsoul8719]

Chains that long will not do there job if the trailer comes off that long. But they will when shortened with twisting the chain to shorten it the chains are rated for 4 times the load rating they are being used for twists will not cause them to fail simple math

[@richardradcliffe6047]

Thank you - very informative. One method I’ve seen to shorten a chain is to use a shackle (like the one you showed for adding chain length) and double it back. This is hard to describe, but for example, connect one side of the shackle to link number 1 and the other end to link number 5. This effectively removes links 2, 3, and 4 thus shortening the overall chain length by that much. Any thoughts on that?

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Your description is a good one, one possible concern I would have is the strength of shackle if it would have to be of smaller size than chain to attach to link number 5. If this results in shackle having a significantly lower rating than chain, shackle could fail if subjected to sudden loading in the event of trailer becoming unhitched.

[@mrjesuschrist2u]

I bought a new trailer and had to zip tie the chain slack up until I got home.

[@brsnorthernhorsejourney3579]

Good call - avoids damaging them on that first trip.

[@dash1645]

👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾