Breakaway cable routing.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, I have owned my trailer for four years and towed it thousands of miles. But now for the first time, I have had to replace my breakaway cable. This cable was run through the left safety chain and because of the chains being crossed, the cable was hooked to the right side of my tow vehicle. My chains never dragged on the street/ground, but on my last trip, first trip on snow and ice, my breakaway cable somehow wore into two pieces. My questions for you are, How do you run your breakaway cable? Does your cable run through the safety chains or did you route it differently? Pictures would be nice.

Picture on the left shows the original breakaway cable routing. Picture on the right shows how I re-routed my tongue jack and breakaway switch wires so they aren't pinched under my propane tank cover.

[Silvertwinkie]

Though I don't have pics (and won't have any until I hitch up in the spring), I don't intertwine the break away with the safety chains. I have my cable independent, looped through one of the holes on the adjustable hitch bar, then through the safety chain connector on the receiver, and finally connected to the draw bar hitch pin.

If I am reading your post correctly, you have the chain passing through the chain links. If this is correct, then my concern would be that if you do come uncoupled, the chains will pull, but will they pull enough to yank the pin? I know with my chains there is some slack, but not a lot. Having my cable path independent of the chains and attached to three points on the hitch seemed the most logical to me, with the greatest chance of the pin being pulled in an uncoupling scenario, but I am very eager to hear and learn what others are doing that may be more safe and effective.

[Wingeezer]

Originally Posted by ROBERTSUNRUS

Hi, I have owned my trailer for four years and towed it thousands of miles. But now for the first time, I have had to replace my breakaway cable. This cable was run through the left safety chain and because of the chains being crossed, the cable was hooked to the right side of my tow vehicle. My chains never dragged on the street/ground, but on my last trip, first trip on snow and ice, my breakaway cable somehow wore into two pieces. My questions for you are, How do you run your breakaway cable? Does your cable run through the safety chains or did you route it differently? Pictures would be nice.

Picture on the left shows the original breakaway cable routing. Picture on the right shows how I re-routed my tongue jack and breakaway switch wires so they aren't pinched under my propane tank cover.

Not sure where I read it, maybe the AS manual, but I am sure thar I have read specifically that it is not recommended to thread the breakaway cable through the safety chain as this could result in teh cable not functioning properly when needed.

I have just adjusted the length of mine so it cannot drag and I just try to route it completely loose and free of encumbrances.

Brian

[HowieE]

You do not want the cable to run as shown i your pictures. The switch plunger requires that it be pulled out in a straight line with the body of the switch. The cable wants to be shorter than the chains so it will be pulled tight before the cables reach their extended length.

I route my cable through a the safety pin that secures my tongue latch and then to the receiver. The routing through the insures that if the trailer brakes away the cable will be pull straight away from the switch.

The way your cable was run the cable would most likely not become stretched to a point of releasing the switch. If it did become stretched it would pull at a right angles to the switch and most likely brake the cable before releasing the switch.

[dogpound]

Robert:

When we attended the International at Salem a couple of years ago, the safety coordinator took a look at my breakaway cable. It was run through my safety chains and he quickly changed it for me. He ran the breakaway cable directly from the switch to an eyebolt that he had me screw into one of the license plates holder holes. He then had me use a small piton so it would snap to the eyebolt. The breakaway cable is long enough that we can make fairly sharp turns w/o pulling it and activating the emergency stop. He also told me that at least annually I should pull the emergency stop, lubricate it with vasaline and then reinsert the item back into the housing.
Have 18" of snow on the trailer now so can't get any pictures.
Good luck.

Bob
Member Four Corners Unit/CAC
WBCCI # 10105
AIR # 28748

[bryanl]

The breakaway should be completely independent of any other hitch parts so it can activate the trailer brakes independently if needed without interference.

I just run the cable around the bumper to tie it off but an eyebolt on the bumper with a clip on the cable might be more convenient.

As Bob says, it is a good idea to check the switch once a year or so. You should do this with the umbilical detached as some brake controllers don't like brake voltage when they are connected. This also checks brake wiring. When you first hitch up in the spring, pull the umbilical, then the breakaway, then pull the trailer forward - all four wheels should skid. But don't leave the pin out of the switch for more than a few minutes to avoid overheating the brake magnets.

There is some debate about how to configure things for an emergency, Should the chains take up the load before the breakaway turns on the brakes - or vice versa? Your choice on this is determined by cable and chain links and configuration.

The idea is that you have a series of independent mechanisms, trailer on ball mount, chains to receiver, breakaway to tow vehicle. The reality, from what I have seen, is rather different as even dealers have done stupid things for convenience, like weave the breakaway cable through the safety chains or have chains or umbilicals that drag the ground.

[ncbambi]

Hi Bob, what is the hitch lock you have and the padlock on the top of the coupler lock?

[cammur]

My set-up is the same as Bob's, but I think he probably meant carabiner rather than piton as the easy-connector to the eyebolt on the license plate frame. It is easy to set up and makes sense, but it took explaining by a few safety people before I finally eneded up with this configuration.

It is not unheard of for a receiver or even bumper to disconnect from the TV - that is why you want the cable attached to the car body instead.

[dogpound]

Cam;

It is a carabiner, my fault. It looks like Robert has a Gorilla hitch lock. You can locate them by googling gorilla locks. The padlock he has is brass, I have the same padlock on mine. It very well may be a gorilla brand also.

Good luck.

Bob
4CU/CAC

[cammur]

Which brings up another interesting point and a change in my practices.

I use a lock on my hitch in campgrounds, as Robert does in his picture (not a cable, just a clasp lock). For simplicity, I used to use the same lock as my pin while traveling, until someone pointed out that in an emergency, for instance a fire in either the trailer or the TV, you want to get the two separated as quickly as safely possible. That can be a problem if you need to fumble for a key or combination in a panic. So I now use a lock in campground, and a conventional pin while on the road.

We never stop learning.

[bryanl]

It is not unheard of for a receiver or even bumper to disconnect from the TV

The bumper and receiver are both solidly connected to the vehicle frame but should otherwise be independent. I think if you lost both the receiver and the bumper, you'd have much more interesting things to worry about than your breakaway connection.

Note that the safety chains are almost always connected to the receiver. So anywhere farther upstream should be adequate for the breakaway cable as long as it can handle the stress from pulling the pin loose, even at an angle.

until someone pointed out that in an emergency, ... you want to get the two separated as quickly as safely possible.

I've heard this one, too, and don't give it much credence. If you are trying to do an emergency disconnect, just pull the pin on your ball mount shank, set the trailer brakes, and go. At any rate, the reality in my experience is that a padlock can often be easier to disconnect than a captured pin on the ball latch.

[Happycampers]

Two things come to mind here. An old friend told me a long time ago, if my trailer comes loose from the truck the breakaway swich will be the last thing on my mind. And have you ever seen a trailer of any kind on fire? I don't think I am going any where close to propane tanks to fool around trying to unhook a trailer that is on fire. I have insurance on my truck too.

Marvin

[dogpound]

Cam;

The reason I use a pad lock on my trailer while I am towing is that a few years back I had heard that when you pull into a truck stop, shopping center, etc. it was not uncommon for people to go around a pull the pins from the trailer hitch. Some friends of mine had their trailer get away from them and it totalled the TV and Trailer. Apparently some of their hitch pins had been pulled and this became an item of discussion at the safety meeting at the International in Salem. If I am going on a short tow I will use the pins because they are much easier to deal with then "fumbling" with a set of keys.
FWIW

Bob
Member 4CU/CAC
WBCCI 10105
AIR 28748

[Saddletramp]

I agree with the way this conversation is progressing, however there is one other consideration that is important to me. That is the length of the power cord in relation to the length of the breakaway cable. I don't want my trailer to fall off of the ball, pull out the power cord, and be hanging on the chains without the breakaway cable pulling out of the emergency switch This leaves the trailer with no brakes at all! If the chains don't break when it falls off of the ball, I have no concern about them pulling apart when the brakes come on. The chain will already be taut, the only thing that will change will be the angle of pull. It won't be a jerk with slack.

I know that if you pull the breakaway pin with the vehicles stopped and attempt to move ahead, the tires should slide. If this happens at road speed I would expect that it brakes hard to stop, but does not not lock up the wheels.

My breakaway cable is adjusted to pull the pin at the same time that the power cord disconnects. I never want to be headed down a mountain side, or even a big hill with the trailer hanging on the chains and no way to stop it except with the tow vehicle brakes!

Saddletramp

[Excella CM]

If you were to mount a small guide for the breakaway cable, like a screw eye on the top of the hitch ball socket, then the distance wouldn't change at all while cornering and you could set your breakaway cable more accurately. I imagine it could be set to trip if the hitch was lifted vertically off the ball which might help if you were going down hill when things came loose and help keep the trailer from over-running the TV. Mine is vacuum operated and engages when the hose is pulled off or in half. The chains would have to break before the brakes activated, i.e. a total disconnect from the TV

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by ncbambi

Hi Bob, what is the hitch lock you have and the padlock on the top of the coupler lock?

Hi, ncbambi. The coupler lock is a Guardian G-37 and in my opinion was the best choice because of the way it locks to the coupler and the round type key. Two things that I didn't like about this lock is the huge letters "MADE IN CHINA" on it and that it was too loose where it slipped onto the Rolled Lip Coupler. I made this lock fit better [perfect] by making a "U" shaped spacer out of a piece of truck tire sidewall and glueing it to the top inside. [see pictue] The rubber made it fit better and protects the coupler paint. As for the Gorilla brand, it is very similar, but one forum member said, it fits too tight on the coupler and you need to grind some metal off of the rolled lip. The Brass latch lock is a Smith & Wesson brand; I bought a matched set [uses the same key] receiver and latch. I think the brass lock is made by one company and a few companies put their name on the same lock.

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Originally Posted by HowieE

You do not want the cable to run as shown i your pictures. The switch plunger requires that it be pulled out in a straight line with the body of the switch. The cable wants to be shorter than the chains so it will be pulled tight before the cables reach their extended length.

I route my cable through a the safety pin that secures my tongue latch and then to the receiver. The routing through the insures that if the trailer brakes away the cable will be pull straight away from the switch.

The way your cable was run the cable would most likely not become stretched to a point of releasing the switch. If it did become stretched it would pull at a right angles to the switch and most likely brake the cable before releasing the switch.

Hi, HowieE. I agree with you. This is my first and only trailer and that is how it was setup when I bought it, but deep in my mechanical mind, I wondered how well this would work at these angles and detoured through the chains like that. Then, when I noticed the damaged cable I thought it was time to make a change. So here I am. I also noticed [in a picture] how ROBERT CROSS runs his breakaway cable.