# Where Do You Attach Your T T Electric Brakes Breakaway Wire To Your Tow Vehicle?



## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

Even after all these years of towing this OB 21RS around, I still would like some feedback as to where other OB TT haulers attach their electric brakes breakaway wire to their tow vehicle so it is solid enough in case of separation to pull the emergency brakes on the TT.

Any and all ON TOPIC replies are appreciated.


----------



## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

I see people viewing this but not sharing how they do it?









Scared you're doing it wrong like me?









How about agreeing or disagreeing with the following answer I just found out there on the internets:

*Best reasonable answer*:

Run the break away switch pin through a safety chain loop on the hitch (left side if that is where your actuator is). Pass it through the loop on the other end of the cable, and then plug it in to the break away switch.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The cable should be attached to a solid part of the TV frame. It should not be attached to the hitch, receiver or safety chain.

The length of the cable should be just shorter then the extended length of the safety chain so that if the trailer comes off the ball or the ball fails the emergency brake will function just as the safety chains reach their full length.

That said I am guilty and seldom connect to the TV frame and just connect it the the receiver.


----------



## hautevue (Mar 8, 2009)

I plead guilty on where I put the breakaway wire.

I have a carabiner-style clip on the safety breakaway wire, and clip the wire to one of the two rings on the receiver that a safety chain clips to. I've never tested it out to see if it works, though!


----------



## Braggus (Aug 8, 2010)

hautevue said:


> I plead guilty on where I put the breakaway wire.
> 
> I have a carabiner-style clip on the safety breakaway wire, and clip the wire to one of the two rings on the receiver that a safety chain clips to. I've never tested it out to see if it works, though!


X2 I do the same exact thing.


----------



## jcat67 (Aug 8, 2008)

Braggus said:


> I plead guilty on where I put the breakaway wire.
> 
> I have a carabiner-style clip on the safety breakaway wire, and clip the wire to one of the two rings on the receiver that a safety chain clips to. I've never tested it out to see if it works, though!


X2 I do the same exact thing.
[/quote]
x3, and I have tested it inadvertently. One of the DD's was playing around the hitch area during a camping trip and I didn't think much about it until we had packed and were about to pull out of the site. I noticed the trailer pulling quite heavily, but I thought maybe it was in a hole or something. When I pulled it up on the drive in from of my site and it immediately stopped me when I let of the gas I knew something was up. At first I thought I had a serious problem, but when I aligned the breakaway where it would "slip" back in place, the brakes immediately released. Glad to test it that way.


----------



## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Mgonzo2u said:


> I see people viewing this but not sharing how they do it?
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I think this is how we have it. The wire runs through the loops and my chains are crossed - so that the break away switch wire is fed to the opposite side of connection to the hitch.

If you look closely at the attached pic, you will see the cable going through the links up to the right side (passenger) side connection on hitch.

Is this not right?

Rick


----------



## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

jcat67 said:


> I plead guilty on where I put the breakaway wire.
> 
> I have a carabiner-style clip on the safety breakaway wire, and clip the wire to one of the two rings on the receiver that a safety chain clips to. I've never tested it out to see if it works, though!


X2 I do the same exact thing.
[/quote]
x3, and I have tested it inadvertently. One of the DD's was playing around the hitch area during a camping trip and I didn't think much about it until we had packed and were about to pull out of the site. I noticed the trailer pulling quite heavily, but I thought maybe it was in a hole or something. When I pulled it up on the drive in from of my site and it immediately stopped me when I let of the gas I knew something was up. At first I thought I had a serious problem, but when I aligned the breakaway where it would "slip" back in place, the brakes immediately released. Glad to test it that way.








[/quote]

I do the same thing. Here is another question...How often do you test the switch? Either on purpose OR inadvertently?


----------



## H2oSprayer (Aug 5, 2006)

On the pre 2008 model Ford Superduty's, there is ring tucked under the bumper on the drivers side of the hitch that is specifically meant for this purpose. I'm not sure if it is there on the 2008 and newer models, but this is where I attach mine. It is separate from the hitch, thus binding the trailer brakes in a situation of complete hitch mount failure. Not gonna due you much good if you attach it to the same location as the safety chains.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

rdvholtwood said:


> If you look closely at the attached pic, you will see the cable going through the links up to the right side (passenger) side connection on hitch.
> 
> Is this not right?
> 
> Rick


Sorry Rick, wrong place to connect it. It should be separate from the chain and not connected to the receiver.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

H2oSprayer said:


> On the pre 2008 model Ford Superduty's, there is ring tucked under the bumper on the drivers side of the hitch that is specifically meant for this purpose. I'm not sure if it is there on the 2008 and newer models, but this is where I attach mine. It is separate from the hitch, thus binding the trailer brakes in a situation of complete hitch mount failure. Not gonna due you much good if you attach it to the same location as the safety chains.


I will have to look at my Dodge to see if it has a dedicated location.


----------



## BlueWedge (Sep 11, 2005)

H2oSprayer said:


> On the pre 2008 model Ford Superduty's, there is ring tucked under the bumper on the drivers side of the hitch that is specifically meant for this purpose. I'm not sure if it is there on the 2008 and newer models, but this is where I attach mine. It is separate from the hitch, thus binding the trailer brakes in a situation of complete hitch mount failure. Not gonna due you much good if you attach it to the same location as the safety chains.


The 2008+ have the ring and that is where we attached ours on the 2k and now the 2k8.


----------



## 6J'sWilbraham (Jun 22, 2011)

So why not attached to the reciever ?


----------



## wolverine (Mar 5, 2009)

[quote name='CamperAndy' date='08 July 2011 - 04:43 PM' timestamp='1310157788' post='411907']
The cable should be attached to a solid part of the TV frame. It should not be attached to the hitch, receiver or safety chain.

The length of the cable should be just shorter then the extended length of the safety chain so that if the trailer comes off the ball or the ball fails the emergency brake will function just as the safety chains reach their full length.

I personaly would never have the chains shorter than the cable, because I have heard of guys flipping their trucks by the sudden locking of the trailer brakes. I have always been told that the emergency brakes were to stop a runaway trailer. If the trailer is hanging on by the chains you can use the manual slide on the brake controller.


----------



## Mgonzo2u (Aug 3, 2004)

6J said:


> So why not attached to the reciever ?


In case of weld or bolt failure holding the receiver to the truck frame. Long shots sure, but the very reason you want to attach the wire to a separate stable part of the truck frame. You want to isolate the wire from all of the towing equipment so it can activate on its own in case of catastrophic failure.

Glad to see some discussion on this important safety subject. Like me, I can tell some lightbulbs went on in this thread.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

wolverine said:


> The cable should be attached to a solid part of the TV frame. It should not be attached to the hitch, receiver or safety chain.
> 
> The length of the cable should be just shorter then the extended length of the safety chain so that if the trailer comes off the ball or the ball fails the emergency brake will function just as the safety chains reach their full length.


I personaly would never have the chains shorter than the cable, because I have heard of guys flipping their trucks by the sudden locking of the trailer brakes. I have always been told that the emergency brakes were to stop a runaway trailer. If the trailer is hanging on by the chains you can use the manual slide on the brake controller.
[/quote]

I would MUCH rather have the trailer brakes locked up and have tension on the chains between the trailer and the truck then have it swinging randomly behind me or running up under my rear end if I stop the truck faster then the trailer if it did not have its emergency brakes on. If anyone can provide a scenario on how the brakes locking up can cause the truck to flip I would love to discuss and see how it could play out.

I can see no situation where a trailer with locked brakes on the end of the safety chains can cause the truck to loose control. I can see many where an uncontrolled trailer could cause the truck to loose control. As for using the manual control, your instinct would be to go to full manual and you do know that full manual would be the same as the emergency pin being pulled. The only difference between the two options is you now only have one hand on the steering wheel instead of two.


----------



## wolverine (Mar 5, 2009)

CamperAndy said:


> The cable should be attached to a solid part of the TV frame. It should not be attached to the hitch, receiver or safety chain.
> 
> The length of the cable should be just shorter then the extended length of the safety chain so that if the trailer comes off the ball or the ball fails the emergency brake will function just as the safety chains reach their full length.


I personaly would never have the chains shorter than the cable, because I have heard of guys flipping their trucks by the sudden locking of the trailer brakes. I have always been told that the emergency brakes were to stop a runaway trailer. If the trailer is hanging on by the chains you can use the manual slide on the brake controller.
[/quote]

I would MUCH rather have the trailer brakes locked up and have tension on the chains between the trailer and the truck then have it swinging randomly behind me or running up under my rear end if I stop the truck faster then the trailer if it did not have its emergency brakes on. If anyone can provide a scenario on how the brakes locking up can cause the truck to flip I would love to discuss and see how it could play out.

I can see no situation where a trailer with locked brakes on the end of the safety chains can cause the truck to loose control. I can see many where an uncontrolled trailer could cause the truck to loose control. As for using the manual control, your instinct would be to go to full manual and you do know that full manual would be the same as the emergency pin being pulled. The only difference between the two options is you now only have one hand on the steering wheel instead of two.
[/quote]

There is going to be a big jerk once the trailer brakes lock up and the slack is taken out of the chains. There is a chance that the chains may brake and you will have no chance of controlling the trailer. That jerk may be enough to loose control especially if you were in a curve on the road.

If you were cruising down the road in the rain and the chains were still connected with the brakes locked up, the trailer would be sliding around like it was on ice.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Brakes or no brakes if the trailer drops off the ball there is going to be a MAJOR jerk as the trailer comes to the end of the chains.

As for sliding on wet roads, I don't see it being worse with the brakes on max, few if any trailer brakes can actually lock up the wheels when at speed (even on wet roads) and the trailer will track better behind you if it has some restrain then if it has none.

Not sure where the urban myth comes from that trailer emergency brakes are more of a danger then not having them. There are many more issues to be worried about, if you inspect your towing equipment regularly and drive within reason you should never have to worry about the emergency brakes.


----------



## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

The link below is for a trailer break away emergency switch.

Break away switch installation manual


----------

