Break-Away Cable - Your Trailer's Emergency Braking System
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Certified Mobile RV Technician, Darren Koepp, shows you the proper operation of your trailer's break-away cable. Discover how it works and why it should be in your pre-trip inspection list!
If you are in need of RV Repairs in the Olympic Peninsula area of Washington state, submit a service request on our website at myrvworks.com today!
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3 yrs later and this video is still helping RVers like me. Thank you.
This was super useful. I've always wondered if I could just use the breakaway cable as a parking brake, but now I know that would be a bad idea due to the power consumption and heat generated in the brakes.
Quick, concise, clear. Great no BA approach . Thanks Vancouver Wa.
They don't tell you these things when you first get your rv. Learned the hard way!
Absolutely correct and critically important for safety, another outstanding instructional video Dave.
Not sure what I’d do without your knowledge. Definitely my goto guy when doing repairs on the TT. Thanks
Got it! Just bought a used tandem axle trailer and the seller had no clue how it worked. There are also many here on TH-cam that don't know how it works. Best explanation yet!
Hi
Tom,
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Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Thanks, I always learn something when I watch your videos. That was not on my pre trip list but it is now !.
Hi
John,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
You taught me enough to fix my trailer, my breakaway had broken away and I wasn’t sure how to reattach. Thanks so much. I also reconfigured how I hook breakaway to my tow vehicle. Much safer.
When i picked up my camper trailer, no one told me about this break away cable. It came disconnected while I was on a trip, I had no idea where it belonged, so I didn't put it back in. Many miles later my brakes locked up on me. Thanks for this video, it totally helps me understand how it works, and how much danger we were in the entire time the breakaway was unplugged. Yes, my trailer brakes are shot.
Thank you for this great video and put everything in perspective whenever everything works
You are such a good teacher! Thank you.
I always feel good when I learn something new. You are a natural at teaching.
Awesome! Thank you!
Thanks man My camper dealer gave me horrible instructions on it. This was the information I needed
Still working my way through your excellent series of videos. The one thing I like the most is with your videos is I get a better understanding of what might actually be wrong and how to possibly diagnose it, depending on what the problem is! As I don't want to get zapped!
Should any of your videos problems happen to me. Already got to use the "close the power awning with a battery" because the RV dealer had, unknowingly, severed a wire bundle affecting both the bedroom slide and the power awning. They ultimately fixed their error at no cost to us but after opening the awning I couldn't get it to close again since the fuses kept blowing for the awning and slide. Unplugged it at the top, made a long harness and used a 12V battery to get it closed, so I could take it back to the dealer the following Monday. It was on a Saturday afternoon, and we'd just picked the RV up and gotten it home from them having it for 9-months working on the RV. Oh, what fun that wasn't!
Last year I got to experience the emergency line pull when making a right turn in a town and the breakaway wire had been caught under part of the 5th wheel hitch on our truck. In the middle of the intersection in the middle of the right turn and the breakaway line got pulled. Sudden stop made me think I had hit some unseen vehicle it was such a hard stop. Then it was very quickly trying to see what happened, my wife saw the line was hanging there, so I got out and plugged it back in then I was able to clear the traffic buildup of where we'd stopped. After that experience, I switched to one of those springy coiled red wire emergency lines. I'd read both good and bad about them but so far I like it. Not only does it keep a constant length with the built-in tension it also keeps the breakaway line up and not in any danger of being caught when the 5th wheel is parked and unhooked.
Thanks for sharing your story, I use those red spirally coily Breakaway cables. I like that they keep everything taught.
This was an awesome video to watch, exactly what I've been looking for in regards to how to install a breakaway switch and what it's for.
I also like the added tip at the end, the trailor I have acquired happens to have 4 electric Brakes and this is an easy way for me to test the system quickly.
Glad it helped! Happy towing!
Great video!! Thank you for posting this!
Great video. Simplified & direct.
This is a perfect video. Exactly what I needed to see thanks!
Thanks for another great teaching segment & Love the beautiful cat TC to you and the family hope to see you out there someday
Great video. Direct snd to the point.
Great explanation and demonstration! 😀
Dude, i made my living teaching people to properly lay out and install ceamic and marble tiles. yeah I did it myself at the start but teaching others to was how it progressed when the wear and tear took me out. I feel like you are the reward for how i taught others. ...often they went off on their own to compete with my company directly too early. So yeah that wasn't a great reward on it's own. But you just love to teach and. it comes through to someone who took the effort on themselves. I can erase subscriptions to a few others now because we have a similar communication style. Thanks!... I don't knoiw how you make $ teaching others to do your job but hell yeah it works for me.
Daren again you saved my bacon and helped me out. YOU ARE THE BEST !!!!!!!!!!
Hi
Jim,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Hey sir thanks for the explanation about breakaway work. I will definitely help me for my boat trailer.👍
This was very helpful. Thank you.
Awesome way to explain, thanks !
Thank you for the video was a big help from odessa tx
Excellent!!
Now that I've watched the rest, its even better. I'm toying with buying a solo travel trailer but that rabbit hole has me thinking about my utility/mulch getter. It needs the lights rewired and I have thought about adding brakes. All of this helps a ton.
very great and useful video ,thank very much for post it SIR.
Excellent video!
Every year, when I jack up my wheels to adjust the brakes, I pull my safety pin and check each brake for full activation.
Totally Awsome! Thank you for all, and what you do. The blind RV tech ! :}
Thank you for the great video.
Great video. Beautiful cat
I don't have a trailer, and still liked this.
Again.....excellent video. What I did not think of was if the hitch pin comes out and the hitch falls out. Thank you.
And again... you are most welcome! Happy to offer tips/tricks from the repair trail!
Great video, I understand that damn switch now! 😁 Thanks from Bremerton!
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge, saved my skin:))
You just helped me unhook it, thanks buddy! 😎👍🏻
Hi there,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Great vid
Very helpful THANKS!!!
Excellent!!
Thanks!
that was very helpful , thanks
Hi
Edwin,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Great video thanks
Hi
Greg,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Excellent video - I learned a lot. You would have made a great high school science teacher with your enthusiasm and clear simple explanations!
(One question - are these breakaway devices only required on trailers over a certain weight limit? We used to tow a Coleman pop-up camper behind a minivan during the summers for years and we never had one of these; just the usual safety chains.)
That's what I am talking about. yep. a teachers soul for sure.
Thanks for the video...even though I am an electrician.... you've explained this very well 👏
I had one mounted on toad. With a few years of exposure to moisture, the internal wiring corroded and shorted out, creating a condition equal to break away, contact closed. Fortunately just leaving campground!
For trailers without batteries there are solar-charging plus charge-while-you-drive small battery units available at the usual places.
Good info
On my new 5th wheel trailer, the safety pin cable was too short. When I made right turns, it would pull out and activate the brakes! Happened three times before I finally smartened up and installed a longer cable.
Good video, I would suggest taking the wire nut connectors off though. Per spec any type of connectors where vibrations occur should be secured with proper crimp connectors and water proofed. Heat skrink is fine but a better solution is crimp connectors that have the skrink wrap and adhesive built into the butt ends. This is also the case with junctions, 3m makes a impressive line up of connectors for these applications.
Soldering is best.
The loop at the end of the breakaway cable is intended to literally go directly over the tow ball. Before lowering the coupler down onto the ball.
We have actually worked on trailer balls that were coming loose. Particularly the bolt that holds the trailer ball to the plate was loose. So, if the whole purpose of this is an emergency breakaway, I don't know that it would be advisable to attach it to anything that could fail. If that is the manufacturer's recommendation, I think that they might need to evaluate all the possible scenarios were a component can fail or come loose. In a catastrophic failure, it's not the Breakaway manufacturer that's going to be representing you in court though. Our best practice is to attach that cable to something on the frame of the tow vehicle that is not part of the tow coupling. Unfortunately, from our experience, that is rarely how these things are attached which basically renders them useless if whatever they're attached to were to fall off in the failure.
Thank you
Hi
Eric,
We are so glad to hear that our videos were able to help you! If you would like to support us please consider becoming an "RV Community Supporter" on our Patreon site: www.patreon.com/myrvworks
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
Fantastic. Question, are there brake pads on the trailer wheels? I don’t know that much either.
Checking out your video's, you mention part of inspection on hooking up do you do a tug test with the pin pull?
Thanks
Love your kitti🥰
Thank you!! Breaking this down really helped. How do you feel about the "spring breakaway cables?"
What's that? You talking them cooled up red wires? Same thing as cable jus coiled up so it doesn't drag on the ground.
Can you tell me where the wires going to j box from the brake away are hooked up I have 12 volts on one ..I don't know where brake away switch going to terminals are hooked up....thanks Rick....good video!
Great Vid, thanks.
One thing.
0:55
'this one happens to be on the LEFT side, ", eh?
Or, is this on Newfoundland Time?
Are there brake pads that have to be changed on teardrop trailers?
I got a brand new Forest River wolf pup 17JGBL this year. 2022. I pulled mine to test it since it seems my brakes aren't working and the driver side brake started smoking and the wires connecting to the break away unit were too hot to touch.
Could the plunger coming out during me jacking up my trailer drain my travel trailer battery? It looks like my wire got under my jack pad when I was unhooking and pulled the plug out.
Ohms in parallel are not added they are divided, 4 brakes with 4 ohms each becomes 1 a ohm load, which at 12 volts equals a 12 amp load.
bro wires ripped off and i connected them and my brakes still locked did i connect it wrong
For your break magnets to energize they need to be getting a 12v power source from somewhere. So you need to go upstream and figure out where that's happening. Typically it might be an indication that the Breakaway cable may have a faulted or that the removable pin has been pulled out.
Good luck detective you got this.
My brake controller is not detecting the trailer after I pulled the brake away pin.Do I need a new break away switch.
4 brakes I get 2.69A / brake assembly 10.76A total seems low; Normal Y/N?
What gauge wire is running to your brakes?
Thanks nice video. About how much slack should be in the breakaway cable? I watched a different video where they said that the chains should be crossed to catch the hitch if it comes off the ball.
TK S It needs to be long enough so that it doesn’t get tight and activate when you make a turn. Also it has to be shorter than your tow chains so it comes out before your tow chains get stretched if your trailer happened to come off the ball. That happened to me once because I have two different trailer balls and I forgot to put the right one on and of course it popped off on the interstate going about 75 miles an hour. And yes, cross your chains to they form a basked to catch it of it pops off and hopefully not drag across the ground.
@@Meddawg799 Thanks. I just rebuilt the trailer and replaced the old cable with one of the new coiled cables. Your story reminds me of something that happened too me back in about 1983.... It is true what they say; that if it scares us enough then we won't forget it (we learn from it). The older I get, the wiser I get. LOL
I notice all my breaks locks down went I try to move my travel trailer from the space it was part what could be the problem
Doesn't unplugging it and plugging it back in repeatedly weaken the springs holding it in?
What is the electrical rating of this switch/Amps?
Very helpful video, thank you. I have a question though, I just bought a used travel trailer with the same system. However as I went to leave I could tell the breaks were engaged and after further looking around I noticed the plug was out, and the small black box was slightly crushed and I cannot plug it back in. Im trying to find a way to get this home so I can replace the switch. Will disconnecting the lead that goes to the battery disable this emergency braking? Or will the power from my truck for lights and brakes end up giving power to the safety feature? Is their any easy way to disable the breakaway switch so I can get this trailer home?
Sure, just cut the two wires feeding the switch and cap them off. One will be 12V hot. That should get you moving again until you get it replaced. With new switch just reconnect the two wires.
Great video. Thank you. Question: if the 6 volt battery goes bad, will that interfere with the ability to operate trailer brakes and the controller? Borrowed my friend's car hauler, and the trailer lights up when hooked up to my 08 F250 (still a great diesel thank the Lord) but brake controller inside says 'Trailer Disconnected' and I have no brakes. Tried cleaning the pigtail, etc. I thought it might be my truck, which is new to me as of one week. I thought hmm, maybe it's my new truck. My friend's 05 Dodge operates the brakes and lights on the trailer just fine. We decide to try another F250. Same thing: lights work on trailer but no brakes. Hmmm. How can this be? Dodge works, but Ford do not. Zee plot unfolds. Then I noticed the small battery box on this single car trailer. Did not have a voltmeter handy. But found you here . . this is going to be interesting I can tell. If I didn't live in Georgia I would call you to come to the scene. I may have to you airliner you out!
No, they jus won't work but if ur towing ur tow vehicle should be charging ur battery while you drive thus you'd have power. Power is needed to activate. Your trailer brake is separate from this system. This is a stand alone emergency brake.
I have a Discovery brand controller . Display reads the dot but not 0.0 or anything numbers. If I push the manual button it reads numbers but no breaks. Blue wire doesnt light with test light at the back of controller or at the pigtail plug at bumper...I thought bad controller but where I got it thinks I should have them check wiring.i want to do myself I got 12 volts at black and red wires at controller. Can you, or anyone help.
Is it a requirement to wire the shutoff switch to the battery side of the shutoff? I can see why you would want to, but just wondering if that is required by law
My 4x brakes only draw 10.75A 12x2?
I have a small battery for my break away system... I'm curious what you use the two batteries on your trailer for. Thanks!
Hi Trevor,
Since this is my RV Repair Service trailer there is a lot of stuff in there - well over $80K of parts and tools! There is also a 3,000 watt inverter, refrigerator, microwave, air compressor. lights etc. So these batteries are my 'house' batteries that keep my systems (and me) running when I am on the service calls for hours each day. If the trailer was a simple cargo trailer than a small battery is more than adequate to stop the trailer in an emergency. Hope this helps!
Happy Camping,
Darren
They are 2 6V batteries to =12V.....suppose to supply power longer.
So you have a black and white cable coming from your trailer but where will the white cable coming from your trailer be attached to or connected?
The white will be connected to the trailer ground circuit. It is also a best practice to not rely on the color of the wire jacket when doing any wiring on an RV. Colors change but the circuit should be intact. Best to use a meter and verify the circuit and not connect based on wire color. I have been on more than one service call to correct wiring issues because only the color of the wire was used to make connections. It is an expensive mistake...
Cheers,
Darren
Brake magnets are wired in parallel. Different formula.
Lots of comments, so hopefully I'm not repeating a question. First the context. I am in process of buying a travel trailer and the plastic plug where the breakaway cable connects is broken, so I need to get it replaced. In searching the internet I found someone who mentioned they pulled the breakaway cable after parking their trailer and left it this way at least overnight. Long story short, he said he had multiple locations along cable harnesses that were melted and his brakes were locked up. Thus, he had some repairs to do. Is this common or expected if leaving the breakaway disconnected for extended periods, or does this sound like a fluke due to faulty wiring?
It is not recommended to operate that switch that way. It's okay to pull it out to verify the circuits working but not to leave that circuit closed for any length of time
Thank you got a question.
I have a two axle trailer with electric brakes.
My batteries are 12 volt lithium phosphate batteries.
Is there any drawbacks to using my travel trailers lithium batteries for my breakaway break engagement.
I can't see any but would like to run it by an expert.
Thank you.
Doesn't make any difference.... 12v is 12v
Silliest question of the day... when the trailer brakes do lock up on test, how do I release the trailer brakes after the test? As simple as plugging the switch pin back in? Thank you to whoever answers...
Yes just shove the pin back in. Good to go.
Trailer brakes are magnets inside the drum, pull the pin and full power goes to those magnets and once you put the pin back in(voltage is cut to the brakes) the magnets release from the drum releasing the brake pads.
I pull the breakaway pin and the wiring gets hot and smoky.
Help.
If the battery is dead on the trailer tongue, will that stop the trailer brakes from working?
The actual brakes or this emergency break away??? If ur battery is dead break away won't work, it needs that 12v to activate once pin is pulled. If ur talking ur brake controller in ur truck the battery should be getting charged or 12v from ur trucks charging system if installed correct
I noticed my trailer pulling hard. I thought it was the wind. When I got to the camp site my pull away box was melted. It fell apart in my hands. I know now why it eas pulling so hard the pin fell out. I must have hit something. So is all I need to do is replace the pull away switch with new pin?
Well certainly that, but you really should have your brakes inspected if they ran that hard, that long, and got that hot.
If the battery he hooked up to is dead , then no brakes??
My dump trailer has a big 12v deep cycle battery to power the hydraulic dumper, not connected to the brakes in any way. The breakaway brake circuit has a separate tiny 12v battery for the emergency brake function. Is there a reason why I can’t get rid of the tiny 12v battery and instead power my breakaway switch from the deep cycle battery? It seems to me the big deep cycle battery would be much more reliable.
Absolutely, that's how we did ours as well.
Does the wheel spin again when you put the pin back in the sensor to continue on?
This is what I came to find out. I just accidentally pulled mine out (after I'd already parked and disconnected) and the controller and brakes started smoking.
Replaced the plug quickly and the burning stopped, but at this point I have no idea if the brakes are locked, or how to release them if they are.
Good question, was wondering that myself
also it's a cam superline ...2008...
👍
😊
Can I use it against thieves? Keep it out of that little box?
When I pull my break away cable it takes a maybe 5 to 10 seconds before the brakes kick in. What would be the problem, or is that okay?
Definitely not ok. Try checking with an ammeter as shown in the video. You should see a current surge as shown immediately. Perhaps your brakes are out of adjustment?
Why are my brakes making a humming sound?
I am getting a bunch of unclear info on how long the brake switch cable should be.
Should it be adjusted slightly shorter than the chains thus engaging the brakes if the trailer drops and the chains catch it? It seems like that would put a tremendous amount of stress on the chains with the trailer suddenly stopping and the tow vehicle still going.
OR should it be longer than the chains so it won't engages the brakes if the trailer drops on the chains? Thus it would only lock the brakes if the trailer came completely loose?
I went for a wild ride today. Had a 2" ball on a 2 5/16" trailer (my fault 100%). trailer popped off at highway speed and the chains caught it. I was able to slow down and stop. Nobody got hurt and only minimal damage. But brakes did not engage from the breakaway (breakaway cable was longer than the chains), and I am kind of glad they didn't since I feel it may have snapped the chains off and the trailer would have stoped right in the middle of the freeway causing a major hazard.
The principal I follow is that the Breakaway should be longer than the chains and also separate from the chains. As a safety device it should not be part of the chain assembly. So if something should happen, like your story, the chains, which should be crossed in a cradle, will catch the trailer and prevent it from nose diving into the road. If the chains should fail then the Breakaway would be pulled and engage the brakes. There's also a comment here about a guy with a fifth wheel that was making a turn and the Breakaway cable came out in the middle of his turn locking up his brakes in the middle of the intersection. So that would be another reason to leave your Breakaway cable long so it never interferes with the Turning of your unit.
Jus make it long enough so none of ur turns won't trip it. It's not rocket science
If the break-away pin is pulled on a parked travel trailer will the breaks draw battery power continually until the battery goes dead?
Yes absolutely! There is nothing telling that battery not to send power to those brakes if you pull the pin. When the battery dies the brakes will release and the trailer could start rolling.
And worse, the switch is a fail safe only device designed to push 12v and a lot of amps for only minutes, sacrificing itself in the process to stop the trailer. Pulling the pin with a hot switch for even very short periods of time will cause the magnets and switch to heat rapidly, in some cases the switch will smoke and melt due to the current draw. It's good to pull the pin to test for continuity every now and then with a multimeter but NEVER with the battery attached.
@@hojo70 : Thanks! That ma be why my lovely little trella won't roll down the road at all. I plug in, and start to roll but the brakes activate by themselves - sometimes within a second, sometimes later. But still trying to diagnose.
i think you wore out your new switch
what brand break away is this?
Hopkins makes several sizes and styles - I just installed one. This kit simply adds an emergency switch to the existing brake system for safety.
Just to be clear, The Battery has to be charged?
Will the brakes not engage if the battery is low/dead?
Hi Q.C. Phil,
Your question has been selected for an upcoming video where it will be read and discussed by Darren - Certified RV Tech and online personality for the 'My RV Works' videos.
If you have not already subscribed to the 'My RV Works' TH-cam channel, please do so and keep a watch for the ‘RV Tech Talk’ video releases. This series is a selection of comments and questions that will be covered and released weekly.
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Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team
@@MyRVWorks my battery is practically dead and mine works fine.
@@GetUrPhil ,
Darren here, I covered your question in a video that is in post production now... Question I had for you is if your trailer is connected to the tow vehicle or not.
If connected than the battery should get its charge from the tow vehicle.
If not connected than the power to engage the brakes has to come from somewhere and if the battery is dead than where is it coming from?
In either case, It is good to have a healthy-charged battery on the trailer and connected to the brakes through the breakaway switch to keep catastrophe from striking.
Cheers,
Darren
If i hear you right, from what I've learned is that the trailer battery is only charging when the trailer connector is connected to the tow vehicle. If you leave the trailer connector connected when stationary, it could draw down your vehicle battery if I understand all this right. I would personally disconnect the trailer connection even if you leave the trailer attached to vehicle, say if you're camping or sitting anywhere for a length of time. The trick is to remember to reconnect the connector before leaving. Of course always do a walk around before leaving to check all this...
Yet another issue. I cannot find my breakaway batteries. It's a 2008 R-Vision Trail Lite. The company is out of business and I can only find the owner's manual on those shady sites that make you pay before you see the manual.
The breakaway batteries 'should' be the house batteries. To verify this is working, jack up one of your trailer tires, spin a wheel and pull the breakaway wire. Tire should stop.
To verify the tow vehicle is charging the house batteries, read the voltage of your house batteries with out connection to the tow vehicle and then connect the tow vehicle. If the tow vehicle is charging the RV house batteries you will see the voltage increase on the house batteries.
Cheers,
Darren
Hi
Tom,
Your question has been selected for an upcoming video where it will be read and discussed by Darren - Certified RV Tech and online personality for the 'My RV Works' videos.
If you have not already subscribed to the 'My RV Works' TH-cam channel, please do so and keep a watch for the ‘RV Tech Talk’ video releases. This series is a selection of comments and questions that will be covered and released weekly.
Here is our TH-cam link: th-cam.com/users/myrvworksinc
Happy Camping,
My RV Works Media Team