Breakaway Cable

[War Eagle]

I always believed there was a reason why an OEM breakaway cable is always (?) considerably longer (2'?) than the OEM safety chains. In order of unfortunate occurrence: 1) if hitch fails, then 2) if safety chains fail, then 3) emergency brake application. Either way, I hope my hitch and chains are sound enough I never have to find out how, or how well, that emergency breakaway thing works.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Yes two camps,
Most Manufacturers will recommend the cable activate before the chains are taut.

other folks who say
The breakaway cable is meant for a complete breakaway. Still being attached by the chains isn't broken away, it's still attached. So the proper way to connect is to have the cable longer than than the outstretched chains.

Brian BP, please get in here to sort this thread out. He can think ahead and extrapolate out like nobody else here.

As to the first two paragraphs, let's not forget in the event of frame failure, the chains and part of the frame may still be attached to the tow vehicle and the rest of the frame and the "living space" may be on its very own journey. My point is, that neither camp can claim their point of view is superior the other camp's point of view.

As to the third paragraph, quit sucking up!
Seriously, there are a lot of people with a lot of expertise on this forum, and Brian is only one of them. IMO, Brian is one of the few who is willing to do extensive research on any question that comes up, and he generally provides very good information once he finds it. But I don't claim to speak for him. He may tell you he agrees with the first camp, he may tell you he agrees with the second camp, or he may agree (or disagree) with my assessment that neither camp is totally correct. And then, there are those of us with 5th wheels; we do not have safety chains but we do have breakaway systems.

[gbaglo]

I think we need somebody to run real-life comparison of the breakaway cables and set-up, fully documented with photos and video.

[gocamp]

Ha ha, well Brian has helped me out so much here with his time and effort he gets a Cheers from my campfire ring

[War Eagle]

Interesting AAA summary of state laws regarding trailer breaks:
Trailer Brakes - AAA Digest of Motor Laws
In states where breakaway brakes are mentioned, most infer total separation of trailer from tow vehicle. Or I assume (dangerous, I know) "breakaway," "break-away" and "separation" all mean AWAY - i.e. not being drug behind by chains. Now open for your interpretation....

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by gocamp

Ha ha, well Brian has helped me out so much here with his time and effort he gets a Cheers from my campfire ring

I was only being facetious. Brian is a good resource and has helped many here!

[float5]

I mean that you and the TV are completely separated from the trailer and it is off on its own.

Escapes are set up with chains and many even have a WDH. This scenario of losing the trailer is not too likely but still quite possible for some Escape owners to have. You may think that chains cannot break or come off, but they can. You may think that everyone puts their chains on and does so properly but they don't. Even long-time fiberglassers lost their trailer and did not know how to properly attach the chains and have them cross. When crossed, they are more likely to hold the tongue up if disconnected.

People with older trailers lose their trailers much more commonly because they do not have a proper set-up in the first place, however, it can certainly happen with us. For one thing, it is not that unusual for someone not to get the coupler completely on the ball, and right there, you will likely lose the trailer.

Which is why we use a coupler latch lock (some say that one will go on theirs even if not hitched right, but ours will not), use a locking pin and check everything. But we have a WDH also. One guy was saved by his sway bar.

Originally Posted by gocamp

Float5, what do you mean by breakaway activated "separated from the tow vehicle" Chains taught or chains completely broken free? The only way I can think of to "not want the trailer to be attached to the tow vehicle" when a failure happens, like you mentioned, is to not hook up your chains in the first place.

So according to Rubicon below, we have Glenn being told to do the opposite of the manual. "REMOVABLE PART"

[float5]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

Laws of physics, any object moving at "considerable" speed, including a trailer with electric brakes is not going to quickly stop. A detached trailer with its brakes being applied may still veer into oncoming traffic and maim or kill someone. A breakaway system may prevent some accidents, it is not a fail safe mechanism or a guarantee that nothing bad will happen. As Forrest Gump said "It happens."

It is going to try to quickly stop, is it not, and I wouldn't want to be connected to it when it does.

Of course, it is incredibly dangerous which is why the breakaway laws exist: Trying to get a trailer stopped instead of it still runnng all over the place. There are lots of possible reasons why people lose trailers all of the time. The breakaway is an effort to try to keep such occurrences from being even worse.

[Donna D.]

Losing a trailer can having deadly consequences: Freak crash proves deadly in Kentucky - CBS News

[Brian B-P]

I'll start with a couple of assumptions:

1. As long as the hitch stays intact, the breakaway cable and safety chains are irrelevant.
2. If the hitch fails and the safety chains also fail, all cables (electrical and breakaway) will be disconnected.

So the remaining question becomes: which, if any, of the breakaway and electrical cables should disconnect while the safety chains are still intact?

There are two issues that I have considered:

• When do I want the brakes to be fully applied by the breakaway switch?
• What interactions would be bad?

I decided that if possible I want the trailer brakes to be controlled, so I think that the electrical cable should have enough slack to stay connected while the trailer pulls at the chains... although with the thrashing around, there's a good chance it gets ripped out anyway. Since I hope to have normal control of the brakes, I wouldn't want the breakaway feature activated, so I want the breakaway cable at least as long as the safety chains.
Although a small factor on the scale of loss-of-control incidents, a trailer brake controller may be damaged by being connected to the trailer when the breakaway switch is applied... so keeping the release cable long so it isn't activated while the electrical plug is in is preferred.

So the net result is: everything stays plugged in as long as the chains survive. This implies taking two risks:

• the electrical plug pulls out (as stuff thrashes around) without triggering the breakaway feature, so I'm trying to control a trailer with no brakes and attached by chains - I would rather risk this than have the trailer brakes slammed on reducing trailer tire lateral control
• the breakaway cable pulls out (as stuff thrashes around) while the electrical plug is still in, possibly blowing up the brake controller - not great, but both unlikely, and easily and quickly fixed with a new controller.

As already explained, this is consistent with both the legal requirements that I have seen, and the name of the system: it is to minimize danger (to others) in the situation in which the trailer breaks away (entirely) from the tug, not to handle the partial failure of the system of connections.

A decade ago, I did wonder if the breakaway switch should trip before the chains were fully extended, to ensure that the trailer didn't run into the tug if the electrical cable let go; however, on consideration I decided that I didn't want uncontrolled trailer braking and would want the normal braking to be maintained as long as possible.

So my order of stuff is

1. safety chains as short as possible while allowing normal motion
2. electrical cable longer than chains so it isn't pulled out unless the chains fail
3. breakaway cable longer than chains so it isn't pulled unless the chains fail and the electrical cable pulls out

Would the cables and chains on my trailer actually work out this way? I don't know... and I close the latch on my coupler so it's unlikely I'll ever find out.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by War Eagle

I always believed there was a reason why an OEM breakaway cable is always (?) considerably longer (2'?) than the OEM safety chains. In order of unfortunate occurrence: 1) if hitch fails, then 2) if safety chains fail, then 3) emergency brake application.

That makes sense to me... but I'm practical enough to consider that setups vary and a long cable can be cut more easily than a short cable can be lengthened, and cynical enough to wonder if most trailer designers even think about lengths of safety chains, electrical cables, and breakaway cables.
Also, breakaway cable is really cheap and so a longer cable which might look more desirable to customers only costs a few cents.

[msweet]

Originally Posted by float5

You may think that everyone puts their chains on and does so properly but they don't. Even long-time fiberglassers lost their trailer and did not know how to properly attach the chains and have them cross. When crossed, they are more likely to hold the tongue up if disconnected.

The chains on my trailer are attached to the tongue on a rod welded to the a-frame. The links are free to move side to side in either direction until they meet. I doubt it would make a significant difference whether I crossed them or not.





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[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

And then, there are those of us with 5th wheels; we do not have safety chains but we do have breakaway systems.

I think that's an interesting observation: a trailer can break away regardless of the hitch system, so some form of breakaway braking is required. With electric brakes, it is a cable pulling a switch. (Air brakes have a hose disconnecting, surge brakes use a cable to pull a lever...)

I think that the requirement for chains with most hitches and the exemption for fifth-wheel hitches is not entirely related to the probability of components breaking - I think it is at least partially a result of how likely a trailer is to be towed without a properly latched coupling. With a fifth-wheel, if the hitch doesn't latch it usually becomes apparent very quickly as the trailer's king pin pulls out of the hitch and falls into the pickup bed or onto the truck frame. With a conventional ball hitch, the coupler can be dropped over the ball and the trailer towed for an entire trip, and as long as no bump is severe enough to bounce the coupler off of the ball, no one notices... so safety chains are needed for those bumps.

If the pin does drop out of the fifth-wheel hitch, should the trailer brakes slam on? Maybe not. Certainly, if the electrical cable can stay attached and brake control can be retained, that seems better to me.

[War Eagle]

Many years back, I purchased a locally-made 16' flatbed utility trailer, twin axle, without trailer brakes (by choice at the time), and I soon discovered that the so-called "safety chains" were really one single length of chain with a middle link spot-welded to the underside of the coupler. I could probably have popped the chain off with a screwdriver! Useless! So no trailer safety brake and the so-called "safety chains" were cosmetic only (since fixed). I was not a repeat customer....

[escape artist]

Hi: All... When we purchased our 2007 5.0 and truck combo, the original owner pointed out all the hitch locks he had installed. One on a bed rail pin, and one on the hitch jaw release arm. He emphasized how much a new tailgate for the truck cost, and what havoc those pesky kids could cause while our collective backs were turned!!!
My changing to a coiled breakaway wire was because while reversing into a campsite the straight wire pinched under the roller of the hitch pulling the pin out. The rig wouldn't budge and was blocking the roadway. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[float5]

Originally Posted by msweet

The chains on my trailer are attached to the tongue on a rod welded to the a-frame. The links are free to move side to side in either direction until they meet. I doubt it would make a significant difference whether I crossed them or not.





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Crossing chains is standard practice and will indeed hold up the tongue in many if not most cases. Not sure what you have that is a problem that way. I would think that Escape always sends trailers out with chains crossed.

Edit: Cross in front of the shank and then keep them crossed up to the attachment points at receiver. Perhaps that is what you are not thinking of?

[nathanj04011]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: All... When we purchased our 2007 5.0 and truck combo, the original owner pointed out all the hitch locks he had installed. One on a bed rail pin, and one on the hitch jaw release arm. He emphasized how much a new tailgate for the truck cost, and what havoc those pesky kids could cause while our collective backs were turned!!!
My changing to a coiled breakaway wire was because while reversing into a campsite the straight wire pinched under the roller of the hitch pulling the pin out. The rig wouldn't budge and was blocking the roadway. Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

I could get you the exact price of a tailgate in short order...well, although I have the Titan and not the Frontier...I will never divulge how I know how much they cost though...

[escape artist]

Originally Posted by nathanj04011

I could get you the exact price of a tailgate in short order...well, although I have the Titan and not the Frontier...I will never divulge how I know how much they cost though...

Hi: nathanj04011... Thanks... It was our '02 GMC Sierra we got with the 5.0. The OP wouldn't divulge how he knew either.
Was that you relaxing beside a 5.0TA I saw in a pic at Gerry's rally? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

[msweet]

Originally Posted by float5

Crossing chains is standard practice and will indeed hold up the tongue in many if not most cases. Not sure what you have that is a problem that way. I would think that Escape always sends trailers out with chains crossed.

Edit: Cross in front of the shank and then keep them crossed up to the attachment points at receiver. Perhaps that is what you are not thinking of?

I always cross the safety chains on trailers. My grandfather taught me that along with many other valuable lessons.

I was theorizing whether crossing the chains would make a difference based on the attachment method. The end link of the safety chains is slid onto a rod welded to the trailer frame. The links are free to move along the rod.

It appears to be original and I expect it is standard for​ that era. Though everytime I visit the factory for service work I hear that they no longer do something the way it was done on my trailer.

After reconsidering, it will make a difference because the chains will be crossed between tow vehicle and the jack. The jack will keep them crossed and acting like a cradle.

I was thinking they might be crossed closer to the frame attachment point (which isn't what happens in reality) where it probably would not make a difference.

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[nathanj04011]

Originally Posted by escape artist

Hi: nathanj04011... Thanks... It was our '02 GMC Sierra we got with the 5.0. The OP wouldn't divulge how he knew either.
Was that you relaxing beside a 5.0TA I saw in a pic at Gerry's rally? Alf
escape artist N.S. of Lake Erie

I believe that would have been Padlin00. We were relegated to the invisible section of the campground. Invisible? you ask...yes. Very few folks knew our trailer was there. That's because we booked late and that was all there was left...or at least that's what I was led to believe. Maybe my reputation proceeded me!!