I read here or on another forum of inspectors checking caravans at a motorway services. They were rejecting cables looped around tow hooks. Something I was doing with the detachable hook on my (for me) new 2019 Octavia fitted with Westfalia bracket. It was mentioned that all new tow bars must have a fixing point for the cable. Got on floor at back of my car and found it! It's too far back to clip onto (it's designed for direct clip not loop through) without lying on the floor. I have fixed a karabiner to it rated at 25kN. I will clip the breakaway to this. An acceptable solution? Glad of advice from experts.
MoT rules re breakaway cable
- Thread starter Derek P
- Start date
I think this is the latest explanation of the current legislation. Please will someone correct if wrong.
https://www.hortoncommon.co.uk/caravan-brakeaway-cable/
https://www.hortoncommon.co.uk/caravan-brakeaway-cable/
I used a carabiner from a reputable climbing supplies company and it made it so much easier to attach the breakaway cable to my Superb estate with a detachable towball. From memory mine was 25 kn too.
All cars from 2016 must have a fixing point for the breakaway cable - my 2015-registered VW Touareg doesn't have one so I have to loop it round the towball.
All I could find on HMG is that from 2018 a carabiner clasp must be used not a spring clip. As far as I can ascertain , and as said I will be corrected, there is no Law that says you can’t wrap around the tow ball?
In which case don't go to NL. There it is a legal requirement that the breakaway is attached to the towing vehicle.
The Westfalia detachable ball has a plate with a hole in it above the release knob but it is a beggar to get the carabiner onto! I visited a chandlery just off Charing Cross road (sadly now gone) and got a 80mm stainless steel carabiner, then took the loop of the existing breakaway on the caravan and replaced it with the bigger unit. That cracked it!
Thule bars have a large (long) loop welded onto the mounting pipe to the right of the ball.
The Westfalia detachable ball has a plate with a hole in it above the release knob but it is a beggar to get the carabiner onto! I visited a chandlery just off Charing Cross road (sadly now gone) and got a 80mm stainless steel carabiner, then took the loop of the existing breakaway on the caravan and replaced it with the bigger unit. That cracked it!
Thule bars have a large (long) loop welded onto the mounting pipe to the right of the ball.
I find the document incomplete, as it does not tell the reader if the change in law is retrospective or not. I'm also concerned that it says its a comment based on another report rather than on the relevant regulations. A such its an opinion about an opinion, and that's how inaccuracies can easily arise.
If a customer has an older vehicle with no solid carabiner fixing point, and they by a caravans with a new style breakaway cable? Based on the way the article is written it seems the owner will need to replace the new breakaway cable with one of the older design.
If a customer has an older vehicle with no solid carabiner fixing point, and they by a caravans with a new style breakaway cable? Based on the way the article is written it seems the owner will need to replace the new breakaway cable with one of the older design.
Last edited:
Thanks everyone and especially dustydog for the video etc. I am confident that a karabiner rated far in excess of the breaking strain of the cable (200kg I think) will be an acceptable way of extending the fixed connection point - providing the karabiner is loaded correctly ie end to end. Mine is a screw gate so it can only sit end on and never sideways.
My last car the VW Tiguan detachable tow bar it had a fixing point for the caravan breakaway cable i would clip it in there .
If you check the date of the post on the other forum it is probably several years old as I remember the issue coming up previously. It was challenged in court and tickets were cancelled. There may be mention of the incident on this forum?
As mentioned there is no legislation regarding attaching the breakaway cable. Also caravans do not need a MOT so no check on break away cable.
I was surprised to see the comments in this thread Prof. I have known about the legal requirement in NL for a long time but I have never seen anything about it in the UK. If UK law had been changed I would have expected to see much (and ongoing) about it in the CMC or C&CC magazines but I have seen nothing.
The legislation may not apply to UK registered vehicles visiting Holland as Holland is not the country of origin for the vehicle. However fitting a breakaway cable with carabiner is a good idea.
Exactly what I've done. I've got to lay on the ground anyway to connect the electrics (I have a separate plan for that) but the fitted loop on the towbar mount is so thick that it's a real struggle to get the clip on.
We also have that problem with the hole on the plate on our Trust towbar. Takes a bit of wiggling to get it on and even more to get it off.
It does apply to foreign vehicles visiting The Netherlands, too.
By the way, the requirement also applies to Switzerland.
It's academic for me as I have no plans to visit the Netherlands but I wonder how VW Touareg owners get on there as none of the models up to 2016 model year with factory towbar will have a loop for the breakaway cable.
It's not only Touareg owners that are affected. It's most vehicles that have Westfalia towbars manufactured before the magic date. However various accessory manufacturers do offer specific cable anchorage adapters for such towbars.
Although there are devices for fixed and detachable swan-neck towbars I've never seen any devices suitable for the "electrically-deployable" towbars used by VW Group - if you know of any website links, I'd appreciate seeing them.
Facebook
Twitter