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Old 11-23-2014, 08:35 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by dbj216 View Post
I now have an eye bolt in my license plate holder. Great idea. I think it is an easy solution for my break away cable. I had been attaching it to my receiver. Your right. Length is important. I would like to apply the emergency brakes before the safety chains straighten out in case my hitch or receiver fail.

David
Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point, but I thought that the breakaway cable was supposed to be long enough that it would only activate the brakes if the trailer were no longer attached to the vehicle. It shouldn't cause the brakes to come on if the trailer is still attached by the chains.
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Old 11-23-2014, 10:31 PM   #22
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do not connect to the hitch receiver!

All the ideas here of not connecting to the hitch receiver are excellent. I have an acquaintance who bought a new Chevy 3/4 ton diesel and the whole hitch came off (poor factory welds). If he'd had the breakaway connected to the hitch structure, the brakes would not have engaged.

He was pulling into a rest area when it occurred but wasn't going fast at that point. The brakes locked and the trailer, WD hitch, and the receiver all slid down the road and stopped quickly. No one was hurt and luckily there was little damage to the trailer.

Do not connect to the hitch structure.
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Old 11-24-2014, 05:47 AM   #23
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I wonder why tow vehicle manufacturers don't provide a proper attachment point for the breakaway switch cable? Even an eyebolt in the bumper might suffice.
My '06 F-250 did have one. My '14 Ram 2500 doesn't. It's an annoying oversight on Dodge's part. I'm pretty happy with the truck, except for a few little things like this. (There are always a few things that annoy me about any new car.)

I need to do the license plate eyebolt thing - as it stands right now I'm hooking it to the safety chain spot. I know, it's wrong.
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Old 11-24-2014, 07:29 AM   #24
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Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point, but I thought that the breakaway cable was supposed to be long enough that it would only activate the brakes if the trailer were no longer attached to the vehicle. It shouldn't cause the brakes to come on if the trailer is still attached by the chains.
Yes, mine will only actuate if the chains let go. Theoretically, I should still have manual control of the brakes with the controller if the chains are connected but one thing I've not done is check to see that the electric umbilical is longer than the chains. If it's not, then the brake should activate when the umbilical reaches it's limit or the chains should be shortened. I'll check it this weekend. - Brad
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Old 11-24-2014, 06:54 PM   #25
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Thanks davidson overlander and others. I was wrong. The emergency brakes should only come on if the trailer becomes disconnected from the tow vehicle, such as a catastrophic receiver failure. After thinking about it, I have never had a breakaway cable shorter than the safety chains. And if the umbilical cord is still attached, then I should have trailer brakes.

It's good to think through these basic safety mechanisms and all the "what ifs" associated with them.

My son had a rental trailer come off the ball and plop on the safety chains. The rental yard dropped the trailer with a 2 5/16 ball coupler on his 2" ball shank. The chains worked, and other than some dents in the bumper of his truck, no damage. Totally avoidable incident. But proves the necessity of these safety devices.

David
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Old 12-15-2014, 04:04 PM   #26
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Below is a pic of my solution. Steel cable attached to spring shackle under truck frame, threaded thru 1/8 in hole in plastic bumper, attached to safety cable.

Whoever said that the safety cable should be longer than the chains is 100 pct. correct. If the chains don't break on their own, you don't want to increase the load on them by locking up the trailer brakes, right? That might cause the chains to fail when otherwise you might have maintained control.



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