Break Away Cable.....

[Peto]

I think that is what it's called... The small cable you attach to the truck that gets pilled out and engages the brakes if it hops the hitch.

How long and what is the correct routing.

Mine I believe is all wrong. From the factory it is about 8" longer than the safety chain when pulled tight and they hav it routed under the tounge and woven into a couple links on the chain.

My thoughts- The cable should be slightly shorter than the chains when hooked to the truck with the assumption that the brakes should be applied prior to the chains reaching full stretch.

The cable should be routed so as to pull in the same direction that the pin will come out. Mine is routed down under the tongue while the pin is oriented horizontally. My thought her is that this set up will work as far as getting the pin pulled but will most likely destroy the plastic housing it's in rendering it unusable and needing to be replaced. So, I feel I need to route the cable over the top of the tongue and then to the truck (this looks like it leaves the cable exposed. I route my 7pin connector through the clamp I use to secure the tongue latch so maybe this could be routed through it as well???


Sorry so long winded. Just looking for opinions as I feel the current set up is useless unless the safety chain breaks and the cable is stretched. I'd like it to be set up where the pin would be pulled just shy of the chain reaching full extension with the thought the trailer would be much more controllable if it hopped the hitch with the chains taking up the slack and the brakes being applied.


Any diagrams or pictures of your set up would be helpful.....


This is my first stop, I plan to play with google when I get time this evening.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

This will be a fiery debate with strong arguments for both sides; breakaway cable longer than chains and breakaway cable shorter than chains. There are pros and cons to both, and those may change depending on what kind of trailer you are pulling (standard or 5th wheel, or gooseneck) and the weight of that trailer. There are also opposing opinions on the routing of the breakaway cable.

You will need to do your research and decide what fits your situation and comfort level.

We have a 5th wheel and use a coiled 6' red cable.

Let the debate begin!

 

[chuckster57]

Not all pins are created equal, that being said, you can get a pin with a “stretchy” cable so it won’t be too long and drag, and should be short enough to pull out

Amazon.com

 

[Eman85]

Different opinions on all of it, some will tell you about laws, rules, regulations and you're going to die. One thing not mentioned by many is not just trailer connection failure but actual hitch failure. Few check the hitch bolts or check for rust. If the hitch fails and the cable is hooked to the hitch it will never know to apply the brakes, just something else to think about.

 

[Peto]

I have a bumper pull and I connect the cable to the truck, not the hitch.

So, I'm curious on opinions around when longer is better? My brain goes to a situation where the trailer hops the ball and the chains go to full stretch without the brakes being engaged, what good is the system then?

 

[flybouy]

In your scenario absolutely no good. I don't want that weight bearing down on me as I likely hit the truck breaks instinctively. The idea of the break-away system is to apply the trailer brakes at full force to stop it in the shortest distance. The chains are there to keep the trailer from "taking its own path" but it's still not under full controll. If the cable is too short then what's the point of connecting t to the truck?

As far as a "path for the cable" goes, it needs to be in the straightest line from the truck to the switch as possible while avoiding obstacles that will impinge or incumbent it through the radius of the trailer in relation to the tow vehicle.

 

[NH_Bulldog]

What matters is your comfort and reaction to an emergency situation.

If the hitch hops off the ball and the chains go tight and the breakaway isn’t pulled, you still can apply the trailer brakes by pressing your brake pedal or squeezing the controller paddles and come to a controlled stop. If the breakaway activates before the chains pull tight, the trailer is in a full lockup situation that you have no control over other than steering.

 

[flybouy]

If the cable is set correctly it won't apply the brakes UNLESS it disconnects from the ball. I've seen a lot of folks shorten the chains to keep them from dragging causing issues then with catching the brake-away cable. It's far better IMO to use a small bungee cord to hold the chains.
JMO, YMMV

 

[sourdough]

What matters is your comfort and reaction to an emergency situation.

If the hitch hops off the ball and the chains go tight and the breakaway isn’t pulled, you still can apply the trailer brakes by pressing your brake pedal or squeezing the controller paddles and come to a controlled stop. If the breakaway activates before the chains pull tight, the trailer is in a full lockup situation that you have no control over other than steering.

^^^^

 

[Peto]

Makes sense. I was thinking worst case when it goes to crap real fast and you don't have time to squeeze the controller....

 

[JRTJH]

What matters is your comfort and reaction to an emergency situation.

If the hitch hops off the ball and the chains go tight and the breakaway isn’t pulled, you still can apply the trailer brakes by pressing your brake pedal or squeezing the controller paddles and come to a controlled stop. If the breakaway activates before the chains pull tight, the trailer is in a full lockup situation that you have no control over other than steering.

That depends entirely on how long your chains are when compared to the length of your umbilical cable... If the chains are "shorter than the umbilical cable, it will remain connected to the truck. On the other hand, if the chains are longer than the umbilical cable, before the chains get tight, the umbilical will likely pull away from the truck connection and there'll be no electrical connection between the brake control paddles and the brakes on the trailer axles..... So, that makes not two concerns (chain length and break-away cable length) but three if you consider the umbilical as "important to stop the trailer if the chains are shorter than the umbilical AND the break-away cable.....

For most of us, there's not enough time to squeeze those paddles, wipe the mess off the seat, keep both hands on the steering wheel to control the "side to side jerking from the trailer swinging side to side pulling the rear of the truck with those "pesky safety chains" and at the same time, you're trying to look in the mirrors to see just "what the **** happened behind me" .... YMMV

ADDED: Oh, as a last thought, realize that the break-away switch is nothing more than a plastic box with two spring loaded contacts inside it that are held apart by a plastic plunger. Pull the plunger and the two contacts "spring together" to conduct 12 volts from the battery to the brake wiring and hubs... If the plunger cable isn't properly aligned, it could pull the side out of the breakaway switch rather than pull the plunger out of the end. That could "rip the breakaway box off the trailer, rip the contact springs out of alignment or even pull the wires out of the connections as the box is destroyed by a misaligned plunger cable... So routing of the cable, length of the cable, length of the safety chains as well as length and routing of the 7 wire umbilical are all "important factors in towing safety"... It's not an "either/or" situation, all the factors "play" together to keep the parts working together to maintain safety and reliability if things go south behind your tow vehicle.....

 

[DutchmenSport]

Well, I experienced a broken A-frame travel trailer where the A-frame broke off. It separated at the body of the trailer. The brake-away pin was located on the A-frame, still hitched to the truck. Needless to say, the brake-away cable served absolutely no purpose.

I experienced my 10 foot bed utility trailer jumping off the ball and had it not been for the safety chains, the thing probably would have veered into on-coming traffic. There was no brake-away cable (or brakes) on that light weight trailer, but when the tongue jumped the hitch, the trailer went wild. I honestly thought it was going to flip. (Lucklily it was empty when that happened).

I once experienced unhitching the trailer and unhooked everything except the brake-away cable from the body of the truck when I pulled forward. It took me quite a while to figure that one out!

Because of these situations, I have carefully thought through as many scenarios as my brain can muster about the length of the brake-away cable and the length of the chains.

I have come to the conclusion that the brake-away cable should engage BEFORE the chains reach full length. Unless you are towing a fifth wheel, the shear weight of the trailer will cause the tongue jack to drop to the ground and it will be drug, not suspended by the chains. Even my little utility trailer tongue jack drug the ground and bent the thing up. The chains will NOT hold it up in the air. If the chains are "that" short that the tongue jack cannot reach the ground, then chances are those chains will be too short to make a sharp turn.

 

[Notanlines]

“there's not enough time to squeeze those paddles, wipe the mess off the seat, keep both hands on the steering wheel to control the "side to side jerking from the trailer swinging side to side”
Now that’s funny, I don’t care who you are….not to mention true!

 

[Eman85]

Has anyone had the trailer come off the hitch and get caught by the crossed chains like the hand of God cradling them to safety? I've had a tongue break, wasn't gentle when the jack plowed asphalt and the safety chains were merely witnesses, not participants. I did use the safety chains to drag the trailer off the interstate and onto the service road plowing all of the way.

 

[jasin1]

I’m thinking of replacing my cable because it’s coming up on five years old and it sits in the weather all the time …corrosion? fatigue form connecting it every trip

 

[flybouy]

If there isn't significant corrosion evident I wouldn't be concerned. It only has to withstand a few pounds of force to pull out the pin.

 

[chuckster57]

If there isn't significant corrosion evident I wouldn't be concerned. It only has to withstand a few pounds of force to pull out the pin.

We pull it when doing an axle service. Let’s us know if the pin is stuck and if the brakes are working. If it’s good, put the pin back in and start pulling wheels.

 

[CedarCreekWoody]

Regardless of length I would never weave it through the chain. In a breakaway the chain could snap the cable before it activated the brakes.

 

[JABURKHOLDER]

My experience is with a fifth wheel, so it may apply differently.

My last rv, the switch was mounted on the driver side of the pin box. I had shortened the breakaway switch cable and attached it to the hitch. Learned that a sharp right hand turn would pull the pin and lock the breaks. Luckily, I figured that one out quickly. Now I don’t mess the length or routing.

On a side note, I thought the breakaway switch was there if the trailer/5th wheel/etc, COMPLETELY SEPARATED from the tow vehicle.

 

[JRTJH]

...

On a side note, I thought the breakaway switch was there if the trailer/5th wheel/etc, COMPLETELY SEPARATED from the tow vehicle.

If you think about it "from hitch separation to stopping the rig, IF (a big word made with only two letters) the cable doesn't pull the breakaway pin when the hitch/pin separate, and the trailer brakes do not work, then IF (that word again) you apply the truck brakes (probably while you're in panic mode) you will end up "ramming the pinbox into the back of the truck cab. Few people have the experience AND the ability to react quickly and avoid doing the "wrong things at the wrong time"...

IF (this is 4) the brakes are applied by the breakaway system, the trailer MAY (a 3 letter IF) hang up on the tailgate and ride there until you can get stopped. IF (#4) the trailer is "freewheeling" and you apply the truck brakes in a panic response, you risk making things worse.

I'm no expert on fifth wheel separations, I've never had one, don't really know how I would react if (#5) it occurred at 65 or 70 MPH with DW sitting beside me when I suddenly realize there's a lot of extra "sunlight between the back window in the truck and the trailer nose" about the same time I feel the "crunch" and realize the SHTF and I'm no longer controlling the rig the way I was just 2 seconds ago....

Having the ability to not panic isn't something that happens automatically "when things happen" It comes from having thought about the what, when and why and a planned, thought through sequence of "what I'd do if (#6) it happens to me" and being ready "IF" (#7) it ever does happen to me.....

I do wonder how many people towing fifth wheels have ever even considered "what would I do IF... (#.

I am certainly not criticizing you. Far from that... What I'm attempting to do is get those who sit behind the wheel when towing to "think about what might happen and what they would do (and more importantly, what they would NOT do) in the middle of their "first ever crisis with a trailer behind them"...