Safety brakes cable

[Shorty Cox]

How many of you do not hook up the safety brake "pull away" cable to the tow vehicle, and why?

Shorty

[RedHorse1]

I hook it up every time. Just seems like a good idea.

[emjayuu]

I have no idea why you wouldn't hook up the safety

[OurJayco]

I hook it to the same place I hook the chains on the truck.

[RoyBraddy]

It is actually a DOT SAFETY REQUIREMENT in every State I imagine if your trailer is equipped with electric brakes. It is also a DOT SAFETY REQUIREMENT for the Electric Brakes to be working with the trailer installed 12VDC power source as well.

Roy Ken

[jdorant]

Not sure why you would not connect this. Its just part of my set up.

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by emjayuu

I have no idea why you wouldn't hook up the safety

+1. What's to gain by NOT hooking up? It's just automatic along with the safety chains...

[TeamFoxy]

I always hook it up, but did have it pull out on a hard turn in a parking lot and lock up the trailer. So perhaps those times when you would remove the friction sway bar, one might want to unhook the brake cable as well.

[TNCraig]

Always hook it up. You want the trailer brakes to come on if it breaks away from the TV. It is also part of my hooking up routine

[DocBrown]

The real question is, why wouldn't you?

Originally Posted by RoyBraddy

It is actually a DOT SAFETY REQUIREMENT in every State I imagine if your trailer is equipped with electric brakes. It is also a DOT SAFETY REQUIREMENT for the Electric Brakes to be working with the trailer installed 12VDC power source as well.

Roy Ken

Thank you. This is what I was going to post also!

[Shorty Cox]

The reason I ask. Like "Teamfoxy" states. In hard turns, twice I've had it pull out and lock up the brakes. That got me to thinking, what happens if it pulls out while traveling at highway speed? I was talking to another camper who told me never hooks it up. His logic, If the trailer/camper brakes loose from the tow vehicle, locking the brakes is not going to save anything.

I always hook it up, but was just wondering who else thinks like the camper I was talking to?

Shorty

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Shorty Cox

The reason I ask. Like "Teamfoxy" states. In hard turns, twice I've had it pull out and lock up the brakes. That got me to thinking, what happens if it pulls out while traveling at highway speed?

If its locking up then you are hooking it wrong or the cable is too short. You should have enough slack to turn without issues.

Originally Posted by Shorty Cox

I was talking to another camper who told me never hooks it up. His logic, If the trailer/camper brakes loose from the tow vehicle, locking the brakes is not going to save anything.

Probably nothing. Except maybe someone else's life. Some people's thinking is really scary.

[mcfarmall]

Mine gets hooked up along with the safety chains every time. I won't even go into the hypothetical lawsuits that one might face.

[Bob Landry]

I think the first post was a trick post..

[Mpking]

If it's not long enough, get a longer one: (This one is excessively long, but you get the point)

http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-...pAZMFXmj_w_wcB

[howie]

Originally Posted by Shorty Cox

His logic, If the trailer/camper brakes loose from the tow vehicle, locking the brakes is not going to save anything.

I always hook it up, but was just wondering who else thinks like the camper I was talking to?

Shorty

Not gonna save anything? How 'bout it could save it from crossing lanes of traffic and hitting someone head on. If the brakes lock up, it will stop the camper, maybe not immediately, but they are designed to stop it. Why would anyone not want to lock the brakes on a large 3000 - 5000 pound free wheeling box?
If you're cable is too short, buy a replacement.
http://www.fastwaytrailer.com/shop/zip-breakaway-cable/

[Camper_bob]

I've often thought about what would happen to a trailer going down the road and becoming disconnected from it's TV. In that case, is immediately locking the brakes really the best solution?

I remember when Antilock brakes first became available on production vehicles. My father has been in rental fleet management for his entire career and part of his training on ABS when it was first introduced was to watch videos of vehicles (police cruisers) going through various scenarios with and without ABS. The vehicles without ABS did some crazy stuff when the drivers would stomp on the brakes and lock them up including doing multiple 360* skids. All while the vehicles with ABS just simply stopped, in a straight line, with little intervention from the driver other than standing on the pedal.

So here's my point: do you really want to LOCK the brakes of an out of control vehicle such as a detached trailer? Most likely the answer is NO. This would cause an EXTREMELY unstable and unpredictable situation that could include the vehicle rolling over at high speeds. The best that you could hope for in this situation would be for the brakes to drag just slightly more than the tongue digging into the pavement. Brake lockup is NEVER the best answer, but it may be slightly better than nothing, and is probably the best we have for now...

[howie]

I have to respectfully disagree on "slightly better than nothing". I do agree that anti-lock brakes would be a much better option than locking brakes, but being that we don't have them (that I'm aware of), my opinion is stopping the trailer is better than not stopping it.
Yes, locking the brakes could cause an extremely unstable and unpredictable situation, but a 2 ton free-wheeling out of control hunk of metal & fiberglass would be just as, if not more so, unpredictable and unstable. Just my opinion.
Perhaps this could be our road to millions, invent and implement anti-lock brakes on trailers?

[Camper_bob]

Originally Posted by howie

Perhaps this could be our road to millions, invent and implement anti-lock brakes on trailers?

I'm no engineer, but I AM an accountant, and this could be a serious money maker!

Really, it's out of control either way, but the more I think about it, the more I think brake lockup might be preferable. If you think about it, what's the first thing that will happen when it becomes disconnected? The tongue will drop to the pavement and likely begin digging. This will cause the front of the trailer to stop very quickly. The only thing to keep the trailer straight is brake lockup to attempt to stop the rear of the trailer at the same or greater rate than the tongue.

Regardless, I will ALWAYS leave my brake disconnect cable attached; if nothing else, it's the law and I don't want a ticket. I will also continue to triple check and keep in good repair all the connections between my trailer and my truck.

[hboy]

Ya, i hook em up too.