Breakaway cable on trailers with surge brakes

[Navy Jr.]

A while back I authored a post regarding heat that I could feel on the outside of the trailer wheels. At first I thought it might be the bearings, but then after towing a few more times I determined it must be the brakes. Sometimes the wheels were warm or even hot, sometimes they're weren't. If it were bad bearings, they would be hot all of the time.

So this morning I broke out the owners manual for the hydraulic brake actuator on our Shorelandr' trailer. The actuator itself is model A-75 made by UFP. I recall reading the manual when we got the boat last year, but now that I've got 40 trips under my belt it makes a lot more sense.

I wonder if the problem has to do with the breakaway cable, the cable that is used as a last line of defense after the coupler falls off the ball and the safety chains fail. The cable would then be pulled and the trailer brakes would be applied gradually to bring the loose trailer to a stop.

When everything is running normal the breakaway cable should never come into play unless, however, it is installed wrong. The manual says, "Inadvertent setting of the brakes by pulling the breakaway cable is the single most common mistake users make. To prevent light pulls from accidentally setting trailer brakes, a small metal clip has been installed on breakaway cable in front of the indicator bead. The clip will not inhibit the action of the breakaway mechanism during actual breakaway condition. However, if breakaway should occur the clip will be destroyed and should be replaced. Spare clips are attached to the cover of this manual."

There's also a pushrod on the bottom of the actuator that is used to release the trailer brakes after they have been activated by the breakaway cable.

Interesting stuff.

When we bought our rig the salesman showed me to attach the breakaway cable to the forward side of the left ring on the hitch that one of the safety chains hooks on to. I'm thinking it should probably be fastened to the rear most part of the hitch so it would have more slack when making tight turns.

Have any of you had problems with your breakaway cable inadvertently setting your brakes ever so slightly?

 

[burp]

Re: Breakaway cable on trailers with surge brakes

Have any of you had problems with your breakaway cable inadvertently setting your brakes ever so slightly?

I have not......Is the break away clip on the cable installed properly? Disk or drum brakes? Are all wheels with brakes heating up? or just one wheel. If drum brakes....If you jack up the wheel and spin it, does the brake shoes drag or rub the drum slightly? If so, back off the star washer adjustment slightly to prevent the brake shoes from dragging.

If only 1 wheel is heating up....Is the wheel cylinder piston retracting fully? If the wheel cylinder is corroded, the piston may not fully retract and thus the brake is partially activated.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Breakaway cable on trailers with surge brakes

Thanks, Burp. Our trailer has disc brakes on a single axle. It is fairly new, used only in fresh water, and has less than 2,000 miles on it. Yes, both wheels were hot to the touch. I removed the right wheel this morning and noticed there is a very slight drag from the disc. The disc pad itself appears to be fairly new; has lots of thickness left to it.

But the breakaway clip...

Well, there isn't one, at least not that I can see. The manual for the actuator came with two extras taped to the front cover, so I think I know what it looks like. The instructions say the clip should be installed next to the "indicator bead." Thing is, I don't see any such bead on our breakaway cable. The cable goes into a hole in the actuator. When I carefully pull the cable out as far as I can, I see there is a ball on the other end inside the actuator that keeps the cable from pulling out all of the way out, but not sure where the so-called indicator bead is located. Also, there doesn't seem to be any tension on the cable. I can pull it all the way to the end to where it is stopped by the ball inside without any resistance.

It sounds like the breakaway clip is used to keep the cable from activating the brakes until a real emergency occurs, in which case the clip is sacrificed.

I wonder where the breakaway clip is supposed to be on the cable. Thanks. -Ken

 

[burp]

Re: Breakaway cable on trailers with surge brakes

Does your disk calipers have an "R" on them? Reliable calipers had problems several years ago where the puck would not fully retract due to corrosion/chrome plating on the puck. The brakes would drag and you could feel the heat radiating from several (3-4) feet away. I had to replace a couple of the calipers due to dragging brakes. (I opted to replace all 4 of them....I went with Kodiak calipers)

http://www.ufpnet.com/Portals/0/PDFs/A-60, 75 _ 84 Actuator Maintenance.pdf on page 25, the clip is shown.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Breakaway cable on trailers with surge brakes

Thanks again, Burp. Having pulled a wheel this morning and not having the ambition to do it again today, I can only respond that the heat the built up on the wheel was hot to the touch, but not so hot that you could feel it from any distance, even close up. Also, as mentioned previously, it doesn't happen every time out. Some times after driving for 15 miles the wheels are nice and cool.

Yep, the .pdf file you attached is the very same manual I have here. You know, I think I might make a little detour to my dealer the next time I head out in that general direction to go fishing. The folks there are pretty nice about taking a few moments to educate me when politely asked.

I'll let you know how it all comes out.