breakaway cable

[jinty0_0]

does anyone know the law about where this cable is to be attatched to

my dealer said round tow ball is ok but we have heard this is against the law, as if the tawball had to come away from car then the breakaway cable would'nt work.

can anyone help

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi jane

thats where mine goes round the ball if the ball came off as you suggest it would not matter where you attached the cable to you would still have a written off van

colin

 

[Lutz]

Some weeks ago we had information in this forum from Rob_jax that it is illegal to wrap the breakaway cable around the towball in Holland but to my knowledge that's the only country that has such a law. On my previous car there was no other dedicated anchorpoint for the cable so I don't know what I would have done had I gone on holiday to Holland.

 

[Hamer_5041128]

On collecting my new caravan, when hitching up I attached the breakaway cable to a designated hole in the towbar. I have used this method for a few years after being told not to put the cable round the towball. However on seeing me do this the salesman Said it was a no no, and the recomendation now was to put the breakaway cable round the towball. Confused?--Yes I am.

Hamer

 

[catherine2]

Although it is not illegal in this country to loop the breakaway cable around the towball, it is not good practice as if the caravan became detached from the towball there is a likelihood the cable would also come off.

Far better is to use the designated point on the towbar. If, like us, you do not have one you can use a karabine or a D shackle hooked through one of the holes in the towing bracket and loop the breakaway cable through this.

 

[Lutz]

Although it is not illegal in this country to loop the breakaway cable around the towball, it is not good practice as if the caravan became detached from the towball there is a likelihood the cable would also come off.

Far better is to use the designated point on the towbar. If, like us, you do not have one you can use a karabine or a D shackle hooked through one of the holes in the towing bracket and loop the breakaway cable through this.

Lucky for you if there is a hole in the towing bracket that one can use. My swan neck towbar came straight out of an aperture in the bumper so there was no hole and no dedicated anchorage for the cable, either.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi,

Attaching the breakaway cable to a dedicated fixed point on the tow-bar frame would seem to be the best way to guarantee correct operation. Then if you lost the caravan because the tow-ball failed or you didn't lock a detachable tow-ball in-place, then the cable should still do it's job.

Lutz correctly remembers my comments about Holland - the police have been having a clamp down on UK caravaners at the ferry ports - for incorrect attachment of brake-away cables (and other safety checks) - it's been mandatory to clip the brake-away cable to a fixed point for as long as I can remember. This is an easy check at the ferry port - you've got to stop anyway - but no similar checks are made on the UK caravaner arriving via Belgium (or Germany) which are "un-controlled" land borders - and a standard Euro 30 fine will be imposed

As others have posted, in the UK and most of Europe - it's perfectly legal to simply loop the breakaway cable over the tow-ball. But I've got to agree with the Dutch police that it's not ideal.

Robert

 

[rob_jax]

Lucky for you if there is a hole in the towing bracket that one can use. My swan neck towbar came straight out of an aperture in the bumper so there was no hole and no dedicated anchorage for the cable, either.

Lutz - macht nichts - Robert

 

[JeremyClarksson]

Just a thought - as I do not know much about detachable tow balls.

If you loop the cable around a detachable tow ball aren't you missing a potential failure point if the towball had not been inserted properly?

We have a fixed tow ball and the hole in the bracket is not big enough for the breakaway cable.

We loop ours around the towball and over the part of bracket that holds the plug assembly, this way if the van came lose the cable would still work and if the cable did not work before doing so it could rip the plug and cable assembly from the bracket - small pennies in the event of the van coming lose.

 

[BeemerMal]

There should be a definitive answer to this but it has always been a grey area when it comes to fitting the breakaway cable. My car has a detachable towball and it also has a screw thread located on the chassis close to the towball. This is for the fitting of the towing eye.

When towing I fit the towing eye and then attach the breakaway cable to this.

 

[Lutz]

I think the general concensus is to use the dedicated eye, if one is provided, or other suitable hole on the towbar or chassis frame, if in there is one nearby. If not, you haven't got much of a choice but to make do with the second best and to loop around the towball.

 

[paulktnichols]

Very interesting thread - particularly as I was planning to travel via Holland next year.

BUT I have a problem!!

I have an Audi with a factory fitted detachable towbar. There is no point to attach the breakaway cable and the manual states that it should be looped around the tow ball.

So how do I cope??

Many thnaks

 

[Lutz]

If you can demonstrate that there is no other suitable attachment point other than to loop the cable around the towbar, I am sure that the Dutch police will understand. They can't expect anyone visiting their country to have a shackle welded to the towbar or chassis before leaving home.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Paul,

If you have a detachable tow-ball, then a fixed point must (should) be fitted to the frame.

So you may need to crawl around underneath - and then find that the hole in the fixed point is only suitable to clip-on the brake-away cable. This is OK if the clip is designed for this purpose.

You can always fit a D-ring through the hole (galvanised steel type from B&Q) and then feed the brake-away through that - and clip it back on itself.

Or look underneath - and there should be a set of bolts where the cassette (the thing the detachable tow-ball clicks into) is fixed - there should be the opportunity to attach a fixed point mount from Towsure or similar (easy bolt-on job)

Or you can buy a fixed point to add-on to detachable tow-ball (well it's actually for a swan neck) - I've got an image on the EWriba Amiga web-site:

Dutch Swan Neck

Robert

 

[Lutz]

Why fit a D-ring to the hole and then loop the cable through that rather than clip the breakaway cable directly to the hole? Just curious.

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Lutz,

It's just something to do

Now serious answer - Some UK caravans are supplied with a clip that is not strong enough to be used clipped onto a fixed point - they will only work when looped back on themselves through the fixed point.

So some people prefer to just fit a D-shackle and loop through that - saves replacing the brake-away cable.

Robert

 

[Litespeed]

I have a quick release style removable towbar on my Espace. The instructions that came with the Renault part told me to loop it around the tow ball.

On my previous Espace I actually had a small loop welded to the tow bar frame.

If you are that concerned, find a suitable 'loop' (I think you will find a pig tail syle loop in the Towsure catalogue) and I'm sure any garage would weld it on for about

 

[Hamer_5041128]

In the Caravan Club hand book it states.

a. Pass the cable through an attachment point and clip it back on itself.--or

b. Attach the clip directly to the designated point. This alternative must be specifically permitted by the trailer manufacturer since the clip may not be sufficiently strong for use in this way.

Where no designated attachment point has been provided on the towbar,

a. Fixed Ball:- Loop the cable around the neck of the towball. If you fit the cable like this use only a single loop.

b. Detachable Towball:- You must seek guidance on procedure from the towbar manufacturer or supplier.

There are diagrams.

It then goes on about fixing it to a permanent part of the towbar structure as long as this meets the approval of th towbar manufacturer/supplier --OR--

to an accesory sold for the specific purpose of breakaway cable attachment.

How confusing???

Hamer

 

[Lutz]

I have no issue with the above excerpt out of the Caravan Club handbook. It seems all very sensible to me.

 

[Hamer_5041128]

Lutz,

Have I missed something about the caravan club sites book/hand book?

Hamer

 

[Lutz]

No, you haven't missed anything. It's all there, like on page 617 (except for the pictures).

 

[sunnybunny]

I have a detachable towball (which goes on in seconds) and on the mounting is a securing point capable of accepting the breakaway clip.

Unfortunatly I have been advised by my caravan dealer, the breakaway cable is designed to be looped back on itself which involves going around the towball.

Why can't we have stronger clips on an essential safety item?

Colin "Orpington"

 

[rob_jax]

Hi Colin,

You can buy a replacement cable - that can be directly coupled to a fixed point - from most caravan shops.

Concerning your question about "Why aren't quality items fitted to (UK) caravans?" - that's a different question and has lots to do with minimum quality / complying with specifications / maximum profit.

Robert

 

[sunnybunny]

Hi Colin,

You can buy a replacement cable - that can be directly coupled to a fixed point - from most caravan shops.

Concerning your question about "Why aren't quality items fitted to (UK) caravans?" - that's a different question and has lots to do with minimum quality / complying with specifications / maximum profit.

Robert

Thank you for the info Robert, I'm off to the shop tomorrow!!!

Colin.

 

[catherine2]

Why fit a D-ring to the hole and then loop the cable through that rather than clip the breakaway cable directly to the hole? Just curious.

Because the breakaway cable has to loop back on itself and you cannot fit the clip through the hole in the towbar because it is too small