Where do you attach the break away cable?

[Diamondpilot]

Here is some more food for thought. I have seen 5 failures that I can remember in my 20 years in the marine business and 3 close calls.

I have never seen a ball break but have seen 3 hitch failures and 2 draw bar failures.

The 3 close calls were 2 times the pin had fallen out of the hitch. The last one we went to Michigan last spring to pick up a motorcycle for my mechanic. The keep pin came out and the hitch pin itself was 75% of the way out with the only thing holding it in was the trailer lights wire. Just pure dumb luck the wire routing was such to hold it in. The other was the keeper pin came out of the hitch pin and we caught it during a walk around inspection at a gas station. The other was my new 04 F-250. I bent and cracked a few welds on the hitch by overloading it by 3,000#. My fault 100%.

So when its me towing the break away gets hooked seperate from the hitch. On my Fords there is safety chain loops under the bumper (for ball mount in the bumper if you do not have a Reese style hitch). On my Titan I hook it to the bumper itself.

Chris

 

[BoonvilleKid]

If I had the authority to stop and inspect every pulled trailer on any highway, I would venture a guess that 95% of the emergency brakes didn't even work and therefore it didn't make any difference where the break-away cable was attached. Might as well cut it off and throw it away. Why? Because I'd bet that 95% of the batteries on the trailer don't even exist, or the battery is old and has defective cells or the auto-wiring is such that the battery never receives a charge from the vehicle pulling the trailer. I've seen many an empty battery box. I've seen batteries that were probably at least 10-years old with both terminals fully corroded over. I've seen wiring installed for the vehicle that probably incapable of carrying enough current to light a small bulb, fully incapable of charging the battery. And, I doubt in 1 in 1,000 of those stopped trailers have ever had their break-away cable pulled out to verify that the brakes worked.

 

[Reg]

If I had the authority to stop and inspect every pulled trailer on any highway, I would venture a guess that 95% of the emergency brakes didn't even work and therefore it didn't make any difference where the break-away cable was attached. Might as well cut it off and throw it away. Why? Because I'd bet that 95% of the batteries on the trailer don't even exist, or the battery is old and has defective cells or the auto-wiring is such that the battery never receives a charge from the vehicle pulling the trailer. I've seen many an empty battery box. I've seen batteries that were probably at least 10-years old with both terminals fully corroded over. I've seen wiring installed for the vehicle that probably incapable of carrying enough current to light a small bulb, fully incapable of charging the battery. And, I doubt in 1 in 1,000 of those stopped trailers have ever had their break-away cable pulled out to verify that the brakes worked.

One in a thousand ?
OK, I've been called FAR worse things than that (-:

On my gooseneck trailer I pull the pin every time I do brake adjustments.
The battery gets an implicit check as I actuate the brakes with it using 40 ft or so of bell wire - so I can stay squatted at the wheel arch.
Typically a couple of times a year.

The 2 horse trailer, not so much now that I have put self adjusting backing plates on it.
If you are in a State where trailer inspections are required it is little/no problem to pull the pin and test drag the trailer a couple of feet down the driveway the day you take it for inspection - BEFORE you hook up the trailer plug, so you can verify that the battery has held a charge.

BTW, the Union Connecticut weigh station will check all that for you.
I have heard that they will even time it out to the full 15 minute requirement.
They have a reputation for chasing down EVERYTHING that doesn't stop there, even little pop-up campers; a trailer is a trailer, is a trailer, etc.

 

[Diamondpilot]

If I had the authority to stop and inspect every pulled trailer on any highway, I would venture a guess that 95% of the emergency brakes didn't even work and therefore it didn't make any difference where the break-away cable was attached. Might as well cut it off and throw it away. Why? Because I'd bet that 95% of the batteries on the trailer don't even exist, or the battery is old and has defective cells or the auto-wiring is such that the battery never receives a charge from the vehicle pulling the trailer. I've seen many an empty battery box. I've seen batteries that were probably at least 10-years old with both terminals fully corroded over. I've seen wiring installed for the vehicle that probably incapable of carrying enough current to light a small bulb, fully incapable of charging the battery. And, I doubt in 1 in 1,000 of those stopped trailers have ever had their break-away cable pulled out to verify that the brakes worked.

While I agree that there are plenty of irresponsible people out there I am not one. I tow about 75 different trailers per year for my customers and my personal use and will not hitch anything up that is not right and legal. I do check every time. I have a test box that is powered by a 12 volt battery that can be plug into the trailer and test every light via a switch. Take only a few seconds and if not proper they can fix it or pay me to, either way I am on the clock.

Chris

 

[firefighter jim]

I used to attach it to the safety chain clip until just last week when a mechanic friend pointed out the error of my ways. Now I use a small spring clip from home depot and thread it through one of the "ears" that the safety chain attaches to.

The small clip doesn't go over the "ear". The wire goes through the ear and the clip is used to make a slip loop between the fixed loop on the end of the wire and the wire itself.

same way I do it..................

 

[Diamondpilot]

same way I do it..................

The error in that is I have seen 3 hitches totally fail. All 3 broke at the receiver tube welds. Mine was due to me overloading it, my fault. The other 2 were due to internal rust and they simply broke.

I would attach it somewhere totally independent of the hitch itself.

Chris

 

[bigtiller]

The error in that is I have seen 3 hitches totally fail. All 3 broke at the receiver tube welds. Mine was due to me overloading it, my fault. The other 2 were due to internal rust and they simply broke.

I would attach it somewhere totally independent of the hitch itself.

Chris

That is why I do it like I showed in the picture above. If the trailer hitch totally fails I want it to hurt me and NOT your family because it was more than likely my falt and not yours.

I have only seen one trailer and tow vehicle wreck. It was caused by improper loading and the truck pulling it lost traction and the entire thing ended up in the ditch, upside down. Luckly nobody was hurt but it sure made a mess of things.

 

[Skyco]

If you are in a State where trailer inspections are required it is little/no problem to pull the pin and test drag the trailer a couple of feet down the driveway the day you take it for inspection - BEFORE you hook up the trailer plug, so you can verify that the battery has held a charge.

BTW, the Union Connecticut weigh station will check all that for you.
I have heard that they will even time it out to the full 15 minute requirement.
They have a reputation for chasing down EVERYTHING that doesn't stop there, even little pop-up campers; a trailer is a trailer, is a trailer, etc.

Wow that is thorough! Only problem is they take a lot of the expected life out of the battery doing the 15 minute test...thereby possibly causing a problem that didn't exist before they tested it

 

[Ken45101]

I wrap the cable around the bumper and hook it back on its self with a carabiner.

That's the way I do it, it is as independent as I can reasonably do.

Regarding the break away batteries, I suspect that a lot of people do not know that they have to be be charged. Several of mine do not get charged when connected to the truck.

As for point of failures, I had a ball working loose on a hitch. The trailer was loaded with 100 bales of hay. Fortunately I found it before it came all the way loose.

Ken

 

[Diamondpilot]

That's the way I do it, it is as independent as I can reasonably do.

Regarding the break away batteries, I suspect that a lot of people do not know that they have to be be charged. Several of mine do not get charged when connected to the truck.

As for point of failures, I had a ball working loose on a hitch. The trailer was loaded with 100 bales of hay. Fortunately I found it before it came all the way loose.

Ken

I have had one start to loosen up so from now on the nut gets drilled after installed and a cotter pin goes in.

Chris