breakaway switch and cable

On my travel trailer when I pull the pin while parked I hear a loud "clunk" sound and my whole trailer shudders from the brakes engaging.

To test the switch, just raise one tire off the ground, pull the pin and try to turn the tire. Put the pin back, lower the tire and raise another.

Cinderelle wrote:
...I read that with the wheels turning, pull the switch out and the brakes should lock. That makes me a bit nervous, is it safe to do this if I am towing the TT VERY slowly, to have someone pull the pin out? Or should I take it to a garage and have it put a lift for testing?

I can't think of a safe way to accomplish that during a pre-trip inspection. I know the commercial vehicle officers in our area test commercially plated trailers with electric brakes by pulling the pin with the TV in park, then confirming the activated trailer brakes will hold back the truck/trailer combo at idle, once the TV is put in drive. That's the test I use during my pre-trip. That's in addition to any tests prescribed by the manufacturer of your trailer brake controller.

(edited for clarification)

As far as having it's on a "little" battery box this is true on utility trailers over a certain weight that are required by state laws to have brakes. This could be as simple as a small 12V lead acid battery in the 5 to 7 amp range. The battery sole purpose on the trailer is to power the Emergency break away. Travel trailers generally have a need for a battery so therefore the Breakaway is wired into the 12-volt system of the trailer.

As far as the person mentioning his missing Breakaway cable and pin, someone may have stolen it because he needed it, someone could have been doing it as an act of vandalism, it could have been teenagers pulling a prank. I heard a story once where someone who stopped at a rest stop said they saw teenagers hanging out around the front of their trailer as they returned from the restroom. They were looking at his trailer tongue. They saw him looking at them and they immediately scurried away. The person walked over and started looking at his hitch and found it had a pin missing from one of the spring bars on the weight distribution hitch. Most likely one of them had pulled it as a very dangerous prank.

When towing, anytime I ever stop for gas, food, groceries, use the rest stop, or leave the truck and trailer for any reason, I always check the hitch, all pins, trailer plug, chains, safety pins and break away cable upon returning.

Thank you all for your replies - a lot of good info. And YES, I do have a 12v marine battery on the tongue of my trailer. During my research, I was quite confused because it seemed like to me that the breakaway switch was supposed have it's own little battery box. So now I understand that this switch runs off my RV battery. And thanks for the tip about buying an extra switch. I can't believe someone would steal that! Hopefully this is correct protocol in replying to everyone, this is my first time on this forum. THANKS! The next thing I need to do is to test the switch. I read that with the wheels turning, pull the switch out and the brakes should lock. That makes me a bit nervous, is it safe to do this if I am towing the TT VERY slowly, to have someone pull the pin out? Or should I take it to a garage and have it put a lift for testing?

When you buy your break away switch, buy 2 and keep one as a spare. I had one stolen while parked in an RV park. The pin was pulled and the trailer brakes were activivited and I could not move the trailer. I could have cut the wire coming from the battery and took off but then I would not have an emergency brake system in the event the trailer broke loose.

Is there a battery box on trailer tongue behind the propane cover?

If no......
Inside forward compartment...is there a spot for a battery (two battery cables NOT connected)?


Even a small trailer like yours would have a trailer battery to operate the lights, water pump, furnace, water heater, fridge (12V DC components) etc.

And even a small single axle trailer like yours has electric brakes.

When plugged into 120V AC power (30A for your trailer) the converter would supply the DC System
BUT when NOT connected to a 120V AC power source your trailer battery is what would supply the DC System.


When connected to your Sequoia via the umbilical cord your Sequoia will supply DC Voltage to trailer.........very limited due to size/length of DC Power wire from Sequoia to Skamper
But ONLY when connected.....

Trailer battery is 'required' by FED Law and must be good enough of a battery to provide FULL DC Voltage to trailer electric brakes for min of 15 mins should trailer become disconnected from tow vehicle


If you do NOT have a trailer battery.find where it should be and buy/install one prior to next towing trip

You were lucky on those 15 trips and so was everyone around you. When is the last time your TT brakes were inspected?

Cinderelle wrote:
Hello - I am fairly new to this and after about 15 trips in my little RV I realized I wasn't hooking up the breakaway cable as it was broken and zip tied through my safety chains. I've ordered a new cable. My RV has a switch installed and through all my research I learned that I need to check the battery. I cannot find a battery - I crawled underneath and looked all over. Does the breakaway switch have to have it's own battery or is it possible to run off my 12V? Thanks in advance for your help. I have a 17 ft ECO by Skamper travel trailer. I tow with a Sequoia and have a brake controller installed in my TV.

It does run off your 12V. But your TT has to have a battery to run the 12V when not hooked to your TV. It WILL work off the TV power, UNTILL it unplugs it self. then the TT battery takers over. If no battery on the TT. No breakaway brakes once it pulls out

The switch "should be" wired to your trailer battery. It does not have its own battery.

The cable is attached to the pin that pulls out of the switch, if the trailer breaks away from the tow vehicle. When the pin pulls out the trailer battery supplies power to the electric brakes on the trailer, hopefully stopping it without any further damage.

Additional advice: do not pull the pin to act as a parking brake. If you keep electric brakes powered (energized) they will burn out and need replacement. The pin is suppose to activate the brakes in an emergency not as an everyday parking brake.