I am now on my second trailer, and never have pulled it. I have always had a fear that the brakes would lock up. Any one else feel the same !Guy

That is just what the emergency trailer brake cable is supposed to do when pulled, lock up the wheels.And yes I pull mine once a year for a test. I only leave the clip out long enough to see if the wheels drag when I try to pull the trailer.

Pull it to test then push it back in immediately...once a year.Do not leave it out.

Yes, pulling the cable will engage the emergency brakes in the trailer. The brakes will continue to remain engaged until the pin is put back in. The brakes, when engaged, are drawing from the trailer battery. So if you leave the pin pulled, there will be a constant draw from the battery to the brakes until the pin is replaced.Unlike an automobile that has a manual parking brake that is engaged by a lever inside the cab of the vehicle to the vehicle wheels (all mechanical), in a trailer, it's all electric from the battery.If you need a mechanical parking brake in a camper. They do make them. There call, "chocks".

I check mine once a yer and lube the shaft. If it does not lock the brakes I adjust. One of my kids pulled the cable and I inly noticed it as my running lites came on in adition to the brakes.

I pull as a test occasionally to verify operation.Like anything else, if you don't test it occasionally how do you know it will work when needed?

Does any not pull their emergency trailer brake cable?

wanderingbob
Explorer II
Feb 24, 2016
Normally when a trailer comes loose the chains will keep it behind the tow truck , all mine did . I have had no damage by coasting to a stop . Mostly what causes a trailer to come loose is the transition from a driveway or a large bump of some kind , the trailer lifts off and drops onto the chains . All trailer hook ups are different , length of chains is important , they should catch the trailer before it touches the ground , if chains are too long at hook up you can twist them round and round and shorten them .
In the movies and on these forums the trailer always comes completely off and strikes a school bus full of kids and then careens into a fuel supply dump ! Some times we go weeks without that happening . Make sure your breakaway works , make sure your chains are right and watch out for school buses!
mjbenedict
Explorer
Feb 24, 2016
Nvr2loud wrote:
Searching_Ut wrote:
tatest wrote:
It should not lock up. The cable does not operate the brakes mechanically, it operates a switch to apply power to the brake magnets. The brakes are then applied by forward wheel motion, as they are when you power the brakes from your brake controller.

When you're using a brake controller, the output current to the brake solenoids is controlled by the controller gain settings, and depending on the controller inertia, time, or even how hard the brakes are being applied. You rarely send a full 12 volts, non pulse modulated. With the breakaway switch a full steady 12vdc is sent from the trailer battery and if the brakes are sufficient to lock the wheels they will.

As for not having a working breakaway system, personally the thought of having a runaway 15,000 lbs mass destruction device isn't appealing to me. I check mine breakaway system regularly, and since I use an Andersen Ball hitch for my 5er I also use safety chains even though they aren't required where I'm generally using the trailer. I've never had a trailer get away in years of towing, but why take the chance.

I've lost a trailer, and I wish it had brakes and a brakeaway switch. It was only a utility trailer, I was only 16, it did not fit properly on the ball and it jumped off. It careened off the dirt road, into the woods, and destroyed itself. The rear bumper of the van and the tailgate were heavily damaged, brake/marker light smashed.

I have NEVER had another towing incident yet. That was a real eye-opener at a young age... and it wasn't totally my fault
As the driver of that vehicle, it was totally your fault. It's up to the driver to make sure the vehicle and all its contents/attached devices are secure. That includes at a young age. Now if you were on a permit and a licensed driver was with you, you share that responsibility.
Not that this is you but too many people are on the roads that know nothing about the mechanics/maintenance of a vehicle, they really shouldn't be driving.
Nvr2loud
Explorer II
Feb 23, 2016
Searching_Ut wrote:
tatest wrote:
It should not lock up. The cable does not operate the brakes mechanically, it operates a switch to apply power to the brake magnets. The brakes are then applied by forward wheel motion, as they are when you power the brakes from your brake controller.

When you're using a brake controller, the output current to the brake solenoids is controlled by the controller gain settings, and depending on the controller inertia, time, or even how hard the brakes are being applied. You rarely send a full 12 volts, non pulse modulated. With the breakaway switch a full steady 12vdc is sent from the trailer battery and if the brakes are sufficient to lock the wheels they will.

As for not having a working breakaway system, personally the thought of having a runaway 15,000 lbs mass destruction device isn't appealing to me. I check mine breakaway system regularly, and since I use an Andersen Ball hitch for my 5er I also use safety chains even though they aren't required where I'm generally using the trailer. I've never had a trailer get away in years of towing, but why take the chance.

I've lost a trailer, and I wish it had brakes and a brakeaway switch. It was only a utility trailer, I was only 16, it did not fit properly on the ball and it jumped off. It careened off the dirt road, into the woods, and destroyed itself. The rear bumper of the van and the tailgate were heavily damaged, brake/marker light smashed.

I have NEVER had another towing incident yet. That was a real eye-opener at a young age... and it wasn't totally my fault
Searching_Ut
Explorer
Feb 21, 2016
tatest wrote:
It should not lock up. The cable does not operate the brakes mechanically, it operates a switch to apply power to the brake magnets. The brakes are then applied by forward wheel motion, as they are when you power the brakes from your brake controller.

When you're using a brake controller, the output current to the brake solenoids is controlled by the controller gain settings, and depending on the controller inertia, time, or even how hard the brakes are being applied. You rarely send a full 12 volts, non pulse modulated. With the breakaway switch a full steady 12vdc is sent from the trailer battery and if the brakes are sufficient to lock the wheels they will.

As for not having a working breakaway system, personally the thought of having a runaway 15,000 lbs mass destruction device isn't appealing to me. I check mine breakaway system regularly, and since I use an Andersen Ball hitch for my 5er I also use safety chains even though they aren't required where I'm generally using the trailer. I've never had a trailer get away in years of towing, but why take the chance.
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Feb 21, 2016
YES here in the USA it is a FEDERAL LAW to have a functional Emergency Breakaway Switch and it is also part of that law that the trailer battery supplying the power be able to do so at full voltage for 15 mins.
tatest
Explorer II
Feb 21, 2016
It should not lock up. The cable does not operate the brakes mechanically, it operates a switch to apply power to the brake magnets. The brakes are then applied by forward wheel motion, as they are when you power the brakes from your brake controller.
Westcoasting
Explorer
Feb 20, 2016
I check mine multiple times a year, it takes no time at all. All part of a good pre trip inspection before driving.
Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Feb 17, 2016
CavemanCharlie wrote:
I hate to tell you this guys but, most of the people I go camping with never even bother to make their brakes work. But, we all pull small trailers within 100 miles of our homes.

Had buddies when I was a kid that owned cars where the brakes barely worked. A friend with a 63 Falcon comes to mind. One late night when we were teenagers we got hungry and they decided to go um,, "liberate" some apples from a orchard. They let me drive the car as they did this. I found that the brakes didn't work, the emergency brake didn't work, and that park had been torn out of the tranny. They were mad at me when it took me 3 times to coast to a stop in the just the right place.

After growing up like that I don't feel the least bit unsafe if I don't risk pulling my brake switch to test it. I'm the only person within 100 miles of here that even has trailer brakes. (Unless you have a big 5th wheel then that is different)

And, I did try to pull it once and I could not get it back in because the plastic broke . I went to the dealer to get a new one. He told me there are several different "keys" to go in a switch and he didn't have that one. So he sold me a new switch. He had to force the key to get it into the switch. I tried to pull it back out on the way to the parking lot and it would not come back out. I took it back to him and he told me that there had to be electricity to the switch to get it back out. But, he sold me a new one that was completely together this time. I put it on the TT and I will never pull it again. Way to much hassle to test a safety device you will never need.

Just because "others" you "know" do stupid things doesn't mean that YOU should follow their stupidity..

Police WILL write you up AND you WILL BE FACING SOME COURT DATES if they can show evidence that YOU failed to ensure your break away was in good working order if your rig caused an accident..

Do you feel "lucky"?

YOU may not feel "unsafe" but YOU ARE PUTTING OTHERS LIVES AT RISK.

YOU most likely will not even get a scratch on your vehicle if the trailer breaks loose BUT OTHER MOTORISTS will have to DODGE YOUR TRAILER..

The breakaway system IS NOT FOR YOUR SAFETY, IT IS FOR OTHER MOTORISTS SAFETY..

Put yourself into another motorists position.. Would YOU personally like seeing a 10,000 lb trailer rolling free AND HEADED DIRECTLY AT YOU? I hope not..

Perhaps YOU should SHOW YOUR FRIENDS A BETTER WAY by TESTING AND ENSURING YOUR BREAK AWAY WILL WORK WHEN IT IS NEEDED.

There ARE different manufacturers of those switches, and the "keys" as you say will not interchange. It is BEST to buy a new switch with a new pin.

The reason you could not get yours in was the mere fact that they ONLY FIT TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.. If it doesn't fit just ROTATE the pin 90 degrees and it WILL easily snap in.
beemerphile1
Explorer
Feb 17, 2016
CavemanCharlie wrote:
...I will never pull it again. Way to much hassle to test a safety device you will never need.
CavemanCharlie
Explorer III
Feb 17, 2016
I hate to tell you this guys but, most of the people I go camping with never even bother to make their brakes work. But, we all pull small trailers within 100 miles of our homes.

Had buddies when I was a kid that owned cars where the brakes barely worked. A friend with a 63 Falcon comes to mind. One late night when we were teenagers we got hungry and they decided to go um,, "liberate" some apples from a orchard. They let me drive the car as they did this. I found that the brakes didn't work, the emergency brake didn't work, and that park had been torn out of the tranny. They were mad at me when it took me 3 times to coast to a stop in the just the right place.

After growing up like that I don't feel the least bit unsafe if I don't risk pulling my brake switch to test it. I'm the only person within 100 miles of here that even has trailer brakes. (Unless you have a big 5th wheel then that is different)

And, I did try to pull it once and I could not get it back in because the plastic broke . I went to the dealer to get a new one. He told me there are several different "keys" to go in a switch and he didn't have that one. So he sold me a new switch. He had to force the key to get it into the switch. I tried to pull it back out on the way to the parking lot and it would not come back out. I took it back to him and he told me that there had to be electricity to the switch to get it back out. But, he sold me a new one that was completely together this time. I put it on the TT and I will never pull it again. Way to much hassle to test a safety device you will never need.