Make two lists. "Why I should put it on" "Why I shouldn't" See which one is longer.
I put mine on. When things go wrong and your hitch and everything else fails, I hope my break away will at least slow down my 4000 pounder traveling down the road at 60 mph. (I'm bettin everyone behind me or oncoming does too)
Kinda like a " belt and suspenders" A belt will probly do the job, but combine the suspenders, you can try and make sure that you don't get caught with your pants down and your butt hanging out.
I know some people live by the "it'll never happen to me" idea, I meet them all the time, but why not add the suspenders? A "C" note , heck you spend that or more on one tank of fuel.
I built my tow bar and all the attaching pieces for my Samurai. I have no concerns that they will fail. I have pulled it for 30,000 miles with Ready Brake but not their break-away.
Jim
Jim, Sharon and Buddy the Yorkie
1999 Gulfstream Sun Voyager 31' ISB Cummins 210 uprated to 275
AIMS 2500w inverter 4-6v GC batteries
3- Kyocera 130w solar panels
Pressure Pro TPMS
1987 Suzuki Samurai tintop Toad w/VW 1.6 turbo diesel power
I have a break away cable. 2 reasons, I like the idea of redundancy - if my hitch fails and my chains fail then my toad will still be stopped.
That way I can stand up in court and comfortably say to the grieving Mother/Father/Widow that I did everything I could to prevent the death of their love one(s). Cheap insurance IMHO.
2008 Itasca Sunova 35J Class A
1997 TJ Sahara, hard and soft tops and AC
Held together via Roadmaster Falcon 2 tow bar and stopped by US Gear Unified Brake system.
I have a different brake system but still faced the break away question. examined the physical connection between coach and tow'd and reached the conclusion that there was no way the two could separate "unless" the connection of the hitch to the MH or the baseplate to the tow'd failed. I went the extra for the break away.
I found another use for it. Twice I have done the idiot thing of disconnecting the tow'd before setting the e brake, both times I had to grab the front and hang on until DW could get in and set the brake. Next time I'll grab the break away cable and the car will stop itself!
What is $100 compared to the totally unlikely happening? AS was said above, it is one tank of fuel (more or less) in a season of driving.
Paul
Trucking down the road in a 2004 Southwind 36E on Workhorse Chassis with a 2005 Toyota RAV4 AWD stick shift tow'd with US Gear Brake System. Check out my journal
FMCA 352081
Tow brakes are not required on "towed motor vehicles" in any of the states. Some state have a required stopping distance with a toad attached for the RV but there has never been a documented case of that test ever being given to a RV. California has the stopping distance regulation but again no evidence it has EVER been done.
The regulation that many post as evidence that brakes are required turn out to apply to trailers and toads are NOT trailers. Only one place that there is known to be a tow brake requirement is BC Canada. Their requirement is tow brakes are required for any towed motor vehicle that weights more than 2000Kg (4400 pounds). No mention of a break-away system.
One reason you want breakaway is so your toad does not hit the back of your coach when you slow it down when you see your toad wandering around the road on one arm of the tow bar. It protects you. I was just talking about this with my Blue Ox dealer and he had just replaced an arm on a system. He said the toad a did $6,000 worth of damage to a new motor home when the driver slowed and was hit by his toad. Cables will not stop this. I had one arm disengage when I very stupidly misapplied my clinch pin and the tow pin fell out at highway speed. My toad was all over the road for a second and until it pulled out the breakaway pin and it settled right in behind me until I could get stopped. I would never not use a breakaway stopping system. My problem was plain stupidity. I was talking as I was hooking up. Breakaways are there for a reason and sooner or later we all might need one.
Law? What Law? Many states do not require auxiliary brakes on a towed vehicle, at all. Have you ever seen a tow truck with Aux brakes and a brake away cable? I have towed large boats for years in Fl, and yes brakes are required, but NOT a break away system, only safety cables and this is on trailers with brakes, not towed vehicles. Different laws for different states.
VintageRacer wrote: If you have brakes on a trailer (and a towed vehicle is a trailer) then the law says you must have a breakaway switch and cable. .
Brian
Chuck
02 Travel Supreme, 2 street side slides
09 Toyota Tacoma 2WD
Yes, the breakaway cable is a good idea...
IF your towbar fails, AND your safety chains/cables fail,
OR your reciever comes off your tow vehicle...
But, hey, ANYTHING can happen, right? So, we should be prepared for ANYTHING, right?
Seems to me most (but not all) of the runaway toads I have seen described on these forums (all two or three of them) were the result of the reciever separating from the motorhome. Where were the safety chains connected? Why, to the RECIEVER, of course! Where was the breakaway cable connected? Why, to the RECIEVER, of course! Did the safety chains/cables and the breakaway cable do any good? Of course not, they were NOT connected to the frame of the motorhome!
All you safety advocates, where are YOUR safety chains/cables and breakaway cable connected? Do you have chains from the reciever to the frame to keep everything together if the reciever bolts break, or the reciever itself breaks? When was the last time you got under and inspected your reciever for loose bolts and/or cracks? If your towed or trailer brakes are electric, is there a power source for the breakaway switch so when the umbilical is disconnected there is electricity to set the brakes? Will the brakes be set before or after the safety chains/cables break?
To put it simply, are you REALLY as safe as you think you are?
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