Do you need to cross your chains when towing a trailer?

Yes. The purpose of safety chains is to keep the trailer connected to your vehicle in the event it comes off the hitch ball. If you were to not cross them, if the trailer were to come off, it would be dragging on the ground, and cause much much more damage than if they were crossed and caught the trailer.

Answer: YES, YES, YES.....

So, the last person had the correct answer, but the ABSOLUTE wrong reasoning.

Ok, so the answer is YES, you absolutely should have your chains crossed, but contrary to popular belief, the reason for trailer chains is not to keep your trailer from being damaged, it is to prevent the trailer from veering into traffic or into pedestrians on a curb and potentially killing someone in the event your trailer detaches from your hitch. By crossing your chains, you create cross tension forcing the trailer to follow your vehicle until you can bring your vehicle to a controlled stop. If you do not cross your chains, the trailer is free to sway back and forth, potentially with enough force to cause an accident of epic proportions. PLEASE CROSS YOUR CHAINS, straight chains are dangerous to you and those on the road with you.