Has anyone ever seen this before? Looks like a neat idea.




Made by Tie Down Engineering.

Only $44 at Easternmarine.com

Not sure about the retrofit to a trailer not designed. Also, I like the security of the bolt for the attachment point.

This reminds me that I need to replace my cables as the cover is split and there is some rust.

Neat idea but they don't look like they work with surge brakes since the bolts would have to go through the actuater.

Agreee SB......take off those hooks and install some ones that bolt on w/quick links or clevis slip hooks

My trailer has these installed from the factory. They do not bolt onto the side like in the pic above but rather, they come out of the tubing. I also have surge brakes on my trailer and they work great together. You can remove the hook if you prefer another method of attachment.

Familyman,

Thanks for sharing your experience with these new-fangled safety cables.

Do you have any pictures?

A shackel would work a lot better. I just think of those hooks coming lose from the hitch on the truck somehow and not being connected when you need them to be connected. Do these stay tight and have a spring in the tube? The cable or chains need to be crossed somehow underneath and just ahead of the ball and slightly sagging down. I'd like to see a picture of them in actual use.

I guess I answered my own question by checking their web site:



So I don't see how they'd actually work properly as to how I understand safety cables / chains are supposed to work.

I will snap a pic in the morning for yall to see. It is dark right now and we just got in from the river. They retract after you connect them so there is really no risk of the hooks coming unattached. They also do not allow enough slack for the coupler to hit the ground in an emergency so there is really no need to cross them under the hitch like with fixed point chains or cables. They only real downside I have noticed is that my cables are bare, meaning no protective coating. I spray wd 40 down the tubes every couple of trips, at least until I think of some other lube to protect the mechanism from water.

Try Fluid Film. Some of the best stuff.

It is.....

In an accident where the trailer becomes unhitched will the cables extend out?...or is there some sort of built in brake that keeps them retracted? If they extend out, how far?...you may still want to cross them?

I'm guessing at the end of the day they will work just like the spiral cables. The ball comes off and and they stretch out and then hold. The spiral cables do the same thing.

I think chains are more secure because it is easy to tell how long they are and they are easier to cross.

On a side note, chains used to be attached on teh sides of the tonge so crossing actually created an X. It seems most are now connected at a single point which makes it tougher to get an effective X.

Looks like the best new idea for trailers in years.

That's how mine was. And it had whimpy 3/16" links. I replaced that with two 5/16" link chains that are permanently bolted together where they cross. They also have closed link shackels.