A safety chain is the last line of defense between your trailer and a runaway situation on the road. The CURT 80300 is a coiled, welded-link safety chain sized for light to mid-range trailers, giving you a clean, rattle-free run between your coupler and the tow vehicle hitch. It stores compactly at 27 inches and extends with the coil to provide clearance during tight turns without dragging on the pavement.
Federal regulations require safety chains on nearly every towable trailer operated on public roads in the United States. The CURT 80300 is engineered to satisfy those requirements for light-duty trailers, providing a secure secondary connection between your trailer and tow vehicle should the coupler ever separate from the ball.
CURT is one of the most widely recognized names in trailer hitches and towing accessories, and their safety chains are manufactured to consistent weld and link standards. The 80300 uses a coiled configuration -- rather than a loose hanging chain -- which reduces road noise, keeps the chain from scraping pavement during tight maneuvers, and gives the assembly a clean, professional appearance.
Each link is welded closed for consistent strength throughout the chain, eliminating weak open-link points that can fail under surge load.
The spring-coil profile keeps the chain off the pavement during turns and reduces the road rattle common with loose hanging chains.
Sized to give adequate slack for normal articulation on trailers with a short tongue-to-hitch span, without excess chain dragging below the frame.
Intended for use on light-duty trailers where federal and state safety chain regulations apply. Verify your trailer's GTW against the chain rating before installing.
CURT offers safety chains across a wide weight range, from light utility chains for small cargo trailers up to heavy-duty assemblies for large fifth wheels and goosenecks. The 80300 sits in the light-duty segment of the lineup, appropriate for boat trailers, utility trailers, small pop-up campers, and lightweight travel trailers within its rated gross trailer weight.
If you are towing a heavier trailer -- a loaded toy hauler, a large travel trailer above the rated GTW, or a fifth wheel -- step up to a higher-rated CURT chain or a Grade 30 / Grade 43 chain assembly matched to your trailer's actual tongue weight and GTW. Using an underrated chain is a safety violation and a liability risk.
The coiled format keeps the chain above the ground during jackknife turns that would otherwise drag a loose-hanging chain -- a common cause of sparks, pavement damage, and chain wear on short-tongue trailers.
This listing is for a single safety chain. Most trailer installations require two chains, crossed in an X pattern under the tongue to cradle the coupler if it drops. Order two units for a complete installation on most trailers. Connect to the tow vehicle using the existing hitch loop, clevis pin, or S-hook attachment points on your hitch receiver frame -- do NOT loop through the ball mount itself.
Safety chain installation is straightforward but the attachment points matter. Chains must be connected to a structural part of the hitch assembly -- typically the hitch head frame or a dedicated chain loop -- not to the ball mount shank or receiver tube alone. Cross the chains under the trailer tongue in an X pattern with enough slack to allow full turning radius without pulling tight, but short enough that the coupler cannot reach the ground if it separates.
Inspect safety chains before every tow. Look for stretched links, cracked welds, corrosion pitting, or deformation from a previous surge event. A chain that has caught a runaway trailer is a chain that should be replaced -- the links may be permanently stressed beyond their rated capacity even if they look intact.
Do not exceed the chain's gross trailer weight rating. The rating applies to the chain's breaking strength with an appropriate safety factor, not to the tow vehicle's capacity or the hitch's capacity. All three -- vehicle, hitch, and chain -- must be rated at or above the actual loaded trailer weight.