What to do with binder chain that is too long?

BigClay

BigClay

Knower of useless ZJ things
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Location
Winston-Salem
So I have a chain that I planned to use to haul my jeep on the trailer, well the chain is a bit long. Can you wrap the chain around the axle several times (ie like three or four coils around), or is that a bad idea because one side would e more taunt than the other? What should I do? Get a shorter chain, or wrap the chain around the axle to make it short enough to use the binder to make it taunt?
 
I have a chain like that too. What I do is hook a side to trailer go around axle and hook chain binder to loose end of chain after its gone through a hook point on the trailer than hook the other side of the binder back to the chain coming from over the axle than wrap the excess chain around axle so it can't come undone going down the road but that's just me
 
Cut it.
 
Not sure I understand the question. You can hook one end to the trailer, loop chain over axle, hook one end of binder to trailer, & use binder to take up the slack. Tie off loose chain, as necessary. Or hook each chain end, & use binder to take up the slack, then secure the loose chain. Or, just cut to the length you need.
 
rodney eppes said:
Not sure I understand the question. You can hook one end to the trailer, loop chain over axle, hook one end of binder to trailer, & use binder to take up the slack. Tie off loose chain, as necessary. Or hook each chain end, & use binder to take up the slack, then secure the loose chain. Or, just cut to the length you need.
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My chain is 20' long and I only need about 12', so I am wondering if I coil the chain around the axle enough times to take up the slack if that would be OK. I do see what you are saying now, and I honestly didn't think of that.
 
BigClay said:
My chain is 20' long and I only need about 12', so I am wondering if I coil the chain around the axle enough times to take up the slack if that would be OK. I do see what you are saying now, and I honestly didn't think of that.
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WTF are you going to do with 12ft of chain? Sounds more like you need to cut your chain into two equal pieces and use one for each side.
 
We have long chains because when we move our tractors and equipment they may be hooked up in different combos to different tractors we always wrap the excess 2 or 3 loops around the binder itself that way the handle has no way of coming loose and popping open making the whole chain loose. I wouldn't wrap it around the axle several times and then bind it seems like it would be too hard to make sure all the slack was out of it.
 
Stuntman Autoworks said:
we always wrap the excess 2 or 3 loops around the binder itself that way the handle has no way of coming loose and popping open making the whole chain loose
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Ditto... I've always run the slack end of the chain elsewhere, looping it before securing the hook. I've had stuff "shift" and tighten up the loose end before, so usually clip the hook somewhere leaving a foot of slack & put a bungee (or 2) in the middle to keep the hook taunt...

Stuntman Autoworks said:
I wouldn't wrap it around the axle several times and then bind it seems like it would be too hard to make sure all the slack was out of it.
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Agreed...
 
Hook one end of the chain around the axle (single wrap). Hook the other hook to the trailer. Use your binder in the middle of the chain to "shorten" the chain and tighten. Let the slack be in the middle of the chain and it will lay on the trailer deck or it can be wrapped around the binder.
 
You can twist it to tighten as well, but not that much slack.
 
lockedup5 said:
Please don't cut a good 20' chain to 12'. Sure as you do you'll need a 13' chain. Lot easier to take up the slack than add chain.
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That's just it -- I told him to cut it in half because it sounded like he was running a single chain up from the trailer, around the diff, and back down to the trailer on the other side. I see a LOT of stuff tied down that way, but it's a good way to get rear-ended by your own rig. :beer:
 
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