If your trailer is fully equipped with a charged and functioning breakaway system, it can help you avoid disaster and move your trailer if it becomes disconnected. That’s where the breakaway brakes come in. Whether it’s an error or an accident, if the safety chains or ball mount break free of the receiver, then your trailer could collide with other vehicles on the road or roll into a ditch and cause destruction to the area and your cargo. Truly though! A trailer can become disconnected from the towing vehicle for many reasons, and when that happens, the breakaway brakes are there to ensure the trailer doesn’t go rogue. They wait back until they are the hero your trip needs right now. We talk about this a lot here at Trailer Valet because as much as we want to give you an easy way to move your trailer, we want you to always have awesome adventures.īreakaway brakes are the mostly silent hero of that safe adventure. RV Electrical Systems is available at Amazon.Breakaway brakes are as simple as they sound and are massively important for your towing safety.īy now, you probably know that the biggest challenge to towing a trailer is making sure the adventure goes as safely and securely as possible. The authors go into extraordinary detail without getting into engineering “lingo” and they tell you things nobody else does, and those things many authors assume you already know - that you don’t. If it’s not covered in this book, you can probably get along without it. Excellent 12 volt coverage and the best source on 120 volt AC systems. “RV Electrical Systems: A Basic Guide to Troubleshooting, Repairing and Improvement” covers both AC and DC electrical systems and is another must have. The RVer was a little embarrassed but relieved that it wasn’t a serious problem. The cable had somehow gotten snagged and when the RVer made the sharp turn to line up for the pumps the pin pulled out. While I was talking with him I noticed the pin had been pulled out of the break-away switch. He wasn’t sure what was wrong but had ERS on the way. I stopped to see if I could help and the RVer said that he had just started the turn into the pumps when the brakes on the fifth wheel locked up. It was parked in the approach to the gas pumps and the RVer was checking under the hood. Once I spotted a fifth wheel rig parked at a gas station. Make sure there is enough slack in the cable to allow for turns and make sure it cannot be snagged. The cable should NOT be connected to the hitch but rather to some secure part of the tow vehicle. When hitching up pay attention to where and how you connect the break-away switch cable the the tow vehicle. If the wheel stops firmly the switch is working. While it is spinning pull the pin from the switch. To check for proper operation of the switch jack one of the trailer wheels off the ground and spin it. Check the cable attached to the pin for weak or abraded areas and replace if necessary. Spray a little contact cleaner into the housing to clean the contacts. Pull the pin from the housing and inspect for dirt and/or moisture. The the placement of the switch means it is exposed to the elements… especially on a travel trailer… and should be inspected regularly to insure proper operation.Ī good time to check the break-away switch is when you are de-winterizing or otherwise getting the trailer ready for the RVing season. On a fifth wheel it’s mounted near the pin-box. On a travel trailer the break-away switch is mounted somewhere on the a-frame. RV Travel trailers and fifth wheels are equipped with a break-away switch design to apply full power to the trailer brakes should the trailer detach from the hitch and ‘break away’ from the tow vehicle. Last updated on April 27th, 2009 at 06:54 pm
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