trailer brake safety cable...

23jayco · 05-08-2016, 09:55 AM

does anyone not use that cable you hook through the chains and t your truck...??

i have been doing that but its been a PITA. i purchased my trailer at camping world and they ran it through the steel chains... but its longer by quite a bit so as i would drive it would get caught by the wind and move and more than once it was on the tongue jack stand... i also discovered the part that was through the chains would hit the ground with the chains at certain times and no the cable has been worn down almost in two pieces so its useless anyway.... for now i have just wrapped it to my trailer and tapped it there. in other words not using it at all.. at this point I'm more worried about premature use of the cable and it locking the brakes when i don't need it to....

Lolead · 05-08-2016, 10:29 AM

I believe you should NOT "weave" the break away cable through your safety chains. Our new trailer also had an extreamly long cable. As soon as I could I replaced it with a "Fastway Coiled Breakaway Cable" no more worries of dragging the cable and no more trouble trying to route it. Cost was well under $20.00 and install was very easy. I am not affiliated with the company in any way but like their products.

clubhouse · 05-08-2016, 10:32 AM

Do not run through the chains, that defeats the purpose of the cable.

If it's two long you can twist a few times and they twist will shorten a bit. Or you can buy spiral ones.

Edd505 · 05-08-2016, 10:55 AM

That cable is a safety device, shorten the cable or buy a shorter one. IF you had an accident or the trailer broke loose guess who pays. Not matter who was at fault they will blame the disabled safety feature. Your own insurance may refuse to pay.

Roy W. · 05-08-2016, 12:18 PM

Also, the break away cable should be hooked to the tow vehicle, not to the chains or even the hitch. None of that will do you any good if the hitch breaks free from the tow vehicle.

23jayco · 05-08-2016, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy W.

Also, the break away cable should be hooked to the tow vehicle, not to the chains or even the hitch. None of that will do you any good if the hitch breaks free from the tow vehicle.

they had it looped through the chains then you would hook it the same place you hooked the chains.. but still i need to find something better if its needed. doing it that way it ended up dragging on the ground until it broke.

suzhou · 05-08-2016, 04:19 PM

I've only had my trailer for a month or so and the RV center where I purchased it did the setup for the hitch. They routed the brake safety cable through the chains, which I thought was odd and sorta defeated the purpose in case the hitch comes loose. I think routing it through the chains is a common but wrong typical procedure.

SmokerBill · 05-08-2016, 04:22 PM

Where should the cable be attached? To the bumper?

suzhou · 05-08-2016, 04:27 PM

Good question and not sure. Mine is still through the chains but I've looked at it several times and tried to think on where best to attach and how long it should be. If the trailer hitch comes off the TV and is only held by the chains then it should be a length such that it would pull the pin while the chains are still attached, assuming they hold. If the chains were to break then I assume it would pull the pin regardless. My understanding, which may be wrong, is that it should pull the pin while the chains are still attached to the TV. Will wait for someone with more experience to reply.

BuddyRay · 05-08-2016, 05:42 PM

I'm convinced that breakaway switches are probably used wrong by at least 90% of the rigs on the road - and that's because none of the dealers or manufacturers take them seriously.
Almost all the TT's I see nowdays have the cable clipped to the loops designed for the breakaway chains. The rest have them someplace even worse - hooked over the hitch ball before dropping the coupler on it.
As someone who's had personal experience with a hitch breaking loose from a TV I can tell you neither of those are optimal. My hitch was an aftermarket - welded on by someone with insufficient experience in welding. It broke almost completely free before we managed to stop the rig.

But in today's world - almost all hitches are factory installed and bolted on. The probability of the entire hitch breaking free is probably statistically very very small. The biggest risk is that the hitch ball nut get loose and you don't notice (has also happened to me), or you forget to put the latch down on the hitch ball and even with the Weigh Distributing arms, the hitch bounces off the ball which I think would be very hard.

Not sure if the breakaway cable should be shorter than the safety chains - I've never actually seen one that was - all of mine over the years have been longer. It does seem to make sense but . . .

So it's probably fine to clip the cable to the same place you clip the safety chains/cables. However, I'm also a big fan of the coiled cables.

I wonder if any crash testing agency or RV manufacturer has actually tested what happens when a trailer breaks free at a high speed and stays connected by chains - I certainly hope so . . .
But a quick Google search turned up this rather radical web site: Dangerous Trailers - Saving Lives
Be warned the navigation is horrible.
If you dig around enough they are mainly advocating for federal standards for hitch components, state laws in all states on safety chains and breakaway cables and state inspections.

canadiankid · 05-08-2016, 05:56 PM

Ideally you would hook it to the frame of the tow vehicle. On my last truck I had a carabiner welded to the frame so I could just clip it in. So far on this truck I've just been attaching to the hitch. They say not to attach to the hitch incase it's the problem but I've never heard of the entire hitch falling off. I don't think running through the chains is a big deal as long as it's attached to the frame or truck elsewhere than the hooks and would pull out if failure occurred.

pman1088 · 05-08-2016, 07:30 PM

I use a Zip Breakaway Cable, made by Fastway. Robot Check

Keeps it out of the chain, and out of the way.

Bassdogs · 05-08-2016, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clubhouse

Do not run through the chains, that defeats the purpose of the cable.

If it's two long you can twist a few times and they twist will shorten a bit. Or you can buy spiral ones.

Wondering how that would defeat the purpose of the cable? Mine came with the cable routed thru the safety chain. If the trailer was to break from the tv, it would pull the cable and activate the emergency brake. If the chains remain connected to the tv as they likely would, the trailer would remain with the tv albeit with a whole lot less control of the TT.

Roy W. · 05-08-2016, 08:34 PM

Regarding a place to fasten the breakaway cable to the vehicle, In my last three trucks, I have replaced one of the license plate screws with an eye bolt. Most trucks have access to the back side of the license plate for a washer and self locking nut.......works for me.

kampfirekid · 05-08-2016, 08:51 PM

OMG! what if the hitch comes off? Well, what if I attach it to the bumper and it falls off?What if I attach it to the end of the frame rail and it tears or rips off? Why is it not wrapped around the drivers wrist like a kill switch lanyard on a snowmobile?
Clip it to something SOLID on the vehicle. The hitch is fine. The loops on the hitch where the safety chains hook is fine. The brake cable is to stop a runaway trailer AFTER the tongue is off the ball, or a receiver pin has fallen out releasing the drawbar with the ball, AND, AND the safety chains are broken and the trailer is off on a cross country mission on its own. That's it!
I see no reason why looping I through the chains is a problem. Mine is. If the chain is broken because the tongue came off the ball, I want the e-brake pin pulled. Since the e-brake lanyard is clipped to the hitch the pin would've been pulled the second the broken chains allowed the trailer-truck gap to exceed the e-brake lanyard length.
My e-pin pulls like butter. Im more concerned that my lanyard if left free at will may catch the trailer jack on a turn or some road debris and lockup the tires when I'm least expecting it or on the highway, creating a real problem.
After all that blabbering... That $20 coiling lanyard may be worth researching..

kampfirekid · 05-08-2016, 08:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pman1088

I use a Zip Breakaway Cable, made by Fastway. Robot Check

Keeps it out of the chain, and out of the way.

Great link. Thanks. For $12, every trailer should have that as standard equipment.
Fast way has it clipped to the chain loop on the receiver in their pic. Of course, they only have one safety chain, something the Midwest won't tolerate.

Little Can · 05-08-2016, 10:49 PM

x3 on the Fastway coiled cable. I have used them on all my trailers for years & love them. It stays nice & clean, doesn't fray or rust, and is very manageable.

clubhouse · 05-08-2016, 11:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

Wondering how that would defeat the purpose of the cable? Mine came with the cable routed thru the safety chain. If the trailer was to break from the tv, it would pull the cable and activate the emergency brake. If the chains remain connected to the tv as they likely would, the trailer would remain with the tv albeit with a whole lot less control of the TT.

The breakaway trailer brakes are intended to engage should the trailer detach from the tow vehicle and the 7 way pin is disengaged as well so that you no longer have the ability to control the trailer brakes from the vehicle. Every breakaway cable I have had is always longer than the safety chains. Therefore I the unlikely event your trailer does detach from the ball, but the chains remain attached, your trailers emergency brakes will not engage if the cable is routed through the chain because the chain will reach full tension before the cable does and is able to pull the pin.

us71na · 05-09-2016, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassdogs

Wondering how that would defeat the purpose of the cable? Mine came with the cable routed thru the safety chain. If the trailer was to break from the tv, it would pull the cable and activate the emergency brake. If the chains remain connected to the tv as they likely would, the trailer would remain with the tv albeit with a whole lot less control of the TT.

Ideally if the hitch disconnects from the TV, you would want the brakes on the trailer to come on so that it doesn't hit the TV when you try to stop. If the cable runs through the chains, the brakes might not be activated if the chains are shorter than the cable. If the trailer is being pulled by the chains and you touch the brakes on the TV the trailer is going to hit the back of the TV and possibly cause it to go out of control.

IN PA, they check the trailer brake breakaway switch when they do the annual trailer inspection.

Hohenwald48 · 05-09-2016, 07:41 AM

Looks like some want their E-brake to engage if the hitch disconnects even if the chains remain intact. Some want the E-brake to engage only if the hitch and then the chains fail. I suppose that's part of the reason for varying E-brake cable connection methods.

I have no idea which is correct but don't really think I want my trailer brakes to fully and instantly engage unless the trailer is completely disconnected and off on a solo trip. If the E-brake engaged while the chains are still intact I could see that causing both the tow vehicle and the trailer to be involved in the subsequent crash. I'd like to leave the tow vehicle out of the crash if possible so my E-brake will remain connected so that it pulls only if the hitch and chains both fail.

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