breakaway cable attatchment

[CameronBurns]

how do you attatch your breakaway cable?

the Fit To Tow DVD included with this month's issue of Practical Caravan stated that it should be attatched around the towball. Surely that's not right? what if the towball drops of, as most towball's today are detachable, what if is comes off by accident? the caravan is lost. we have a loop or 'pig tail' to fasten it on to our towball, which is safer. Are the experts telling us wrong information?

 

[Lutz]

Even the experts are not unanimous. One would think that the optimal solution would be to attach the breakaway cable to a fixed anchorage point, as you say, rather than to loop it around the towball. In fact, it is apparently even a legal requirement in the Netherlands. However, some detachable towbars (including the one on my car) do not have such a facility and you have no option but to loop it around the towball. But, to be fair, I have never ever heard of a detachable towbar coming adrift, so the chances of the worst happening is extremely remote.

 

[CameronBurns]

thanks for commenting!

i think it would be a good idea if towball fitters were to weld a small loop to the underneath of the car, it isn't difficult to do, we have a small loop on our towbar. and you are right, the chances of a towball coming off are very slim.

 

[Lutz]

There are are quite a lot of fitters that I wouldn't trust to be capable of welding a loop to the underneath of the car properly.

 

[Mikey1]

I have always looped my breakaway cable around the towball.

Caravanners have told i am breaking the law!

Best case i saw was a guy with a ML270 had clipped the cable to the underside wheel carrier and he was told it was against the law to loop around the towball.

On the Alko cable there are 2 types,1 you loop back on its self the other you clip onto the breakaway point,make sure you clip the correct type or it will just pull apart.

 

[Lutz]

I don't know which law you are referring to, Mikey. To my knowledge it's only a legal requirement in the Netherlands. Elsewhere, it is only necessary to ensure that the breakaway cable does its job properly if car and caravan seperate, and this would normally be the case even if you loop around the towball.

 

[CameronBurns]

the point i am making is if the towball comes off. if the breakaway cable is attatched to the towball, the towball would drop off, and the caravan would follow with the breakaway cable not pulling the brakes on. if the cable is attathed to a loop, the caravan will be stopped.

a tip i was told is to have the jockeywheel tyre facing forwards (towards the car) so if the caravan comes off, it will follow the car instead of moving into the side of the road, which it does if you pull it up to the A-frame fairing. someone told me this, as a result of their caravan coming off and moving into the middle of the road, causing more damage than the caravan coming off the car. i hope that isn't too complicated...

 

[Lutz]

I can only comment on fixed and detachable swan neck towbars because over here on the Continent, bolt-on towballs are only to be found on commercial vehicles and 4x4's. Furthermore, bolt-on towballs, where fitted, must be marked to indicate that the bolts have not been tampered with by the owner. Therefore, in cases like that, the chances of separation are really remote and there is no risk if the cable is looped around the towball.

However, in the UK, where there is nothing to prevent anyone from unbolting the towball, I would have certain sympathy for a requirement to provide a fixed loop ahead of the bolted attachment.

 

[Mikey1]

Im not referring to any law Lutz,some presume that you cant use the towball to loop the cable around then proceed to tell everyone else they are breaking the law if they do.

 

[Mikey1]

The jockey wheel is locked in the straight position so it shouldnt matter which way it is facing,if it comes off and bounces whichever way it is facing it will go that way.

 

[CameronBurns]

it is hard to explain without showing, but the jockeywheel is locked in a position so the tyre of it is almost touching the fairing at around a 45 degree angle (depending on the size of the a-frame) towards the middle of the road. someone i met said that their last caravan came off the car, with the jockeywheel in the position just described and the caravan rolled into the middle of the road. had there been car in the other lane it could have been a disaster, so they told me to have the jockeywheel facing the car in a straight line towards the car, so if the caravan comes off it will follow the car and not stray in the middle of the road. better be safe than sorry.

on new caravans, the jockeywhhel is in the middle, i'm reffering to older caravans. maybe there is some confusion...

 

[Lutz]

The jockey wheel on my caravan is on the outside of the 'A'-frame and when it is retracted, it would not contact the ground. The coupling would hit the ground first if it came off the towball.

 

[SwiftGroup_374327846]

Hi

I have a PDF file that shows the correct instruction. This document is one that was agreed by the Caravan Industry a number of years ago.

I do not know how to attach the file, can anyone advise me please?

Thanks

Kath

 

[Lutz]

Send the *.pdf file by email to my address and I'll do it for you.

 

[Lutz]

Here's the *.pdf file that Kath is referring to:

Advice Sheet; Correct Attachment of Breakaway Cables

 

[SwiftGroup_374327846]

Thanks Lutz. I love this forum for its helpfulness and how people just offer to do something if another is struggling.

Kath

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi all

thanks for the info kath and lutz. it made interesting reading seems the old way (loop over)is still acceptable.

one one point I would be wary about though welding a loop on a tow bar that does not have one, surley this would alter its type approval as it would then be modified.

colin

 

[rob_jax]

Colin,

I believe you are right - so for an after market alteration, and what's done in Holland where you must by law attach to a fixed point, it is recommended to use a bolt-on fixed point loop.

The cassette in the tow-bar frame that holds the swan-neck or detachable tow-ball is bolted in place, and is often used for this purpose.

Robert

 

[Chrisbee]

I have an Al-KO heavey duty type cable that clips directly onto a bolted on purpose made attachment. As my towbar is detachable at least I know if the towbar should become detached for whatever reason the cable will still do it's job. Even with a fixed bar I was never happy just looping over the tow ball. If the coupling head jumps off, what's to stop the cable doing the same?

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi chrisbee

basically what stops the brakeaway cable jumping off should in the unlikley event that the hitch comes off the ball is momentum the cable is slack because the hitch is attached to the ball so there is no tension. if the hitch came adrift the a frame would drop onto the jockey wheel forcing the cable down causing the loop to tighten like a snare applying the van brakes. the cable would then snap to stop the van being tow with the brakes applied.

I hope this answers you inquiry

colin

 

[Mikey1]

Has anyone ever seen or heard of a towball breaking?

 

[Chrisbee]

Hi Colin

Yes I realised how the cable is meant to work. I wonder what would happen if when hitting a large bump at speed the coupling head jumps off the tow ball and the slack cable "whips". Is there not a chance it would come off? Highly unlikely I know but so is loosing the caravan in the first place.

 

[rob_jax]

Mikey,

"Has anyone ever seen or heard of a towball breaking?"

Not recently, but I've heard reports of badly fitted tow-ball nuts / bolts failing or just coming undone. Maybe the owner forgot to torque the nuts or maybe someone tried to steal the caravan by removing the bolts - but those fixings would seem to be a reasonable concern.

I've not heard of a swan-neck or detachable failing either - but some designs of detachable aren't the easiest to use.

And I'd agree with Chrisbee - if the caravan departs from the tow-bar on a speed-bump - then it is reasonably likely that the brake-away cable will follow the tow-coupling rather than work properly.

A fixed point must be (is) the best way to attach the brake-away cable, but looping around the tow-ball is probably good enough too.

Robert

 

[CameronBurns]

i met someone on the continent whose detatchable towball wasn't fitted correctly or something like that, and it came off and the caravan followed. but you are right, the chances of it happening are very slim.