Trailer Brake Cable

[John Dorrer]

This has been bothering me for a while. When I connect the brake cable to the truck it hangs down to 2"-3" above the road.

 

Can you run it up through the hitch pin with the 7-pin cord?

 

What does everyone do?

 

I'm concerned it is matter of time before it is hit by road debris. Having the trailer brakes activate at 60+ mph is a scary thought.

 

Thanks,

Edited November 19 by John Dorrer
Typo

[DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI]

I find if I twist mine it makes it more taut and doesn't hang so low. Same for chains. I've always worried low hanging chains and brake cable could create a spark and possibly fire in dry conditions.

[Mike and Carol]

Mine is zip tied to the tongue so it doesn’t hang down.

[rich.dev]

Get one of these John

https://a.co/d/iYv5OWt

[DavePhelps]

I have what rich.dev showed above and has worked great. Otherwise zip ties as Mike and Carole suggested.

56 minutes ago, DaveAndBecky_NorthernMI said:

I find if I twist mine it makes it more taut and doesn't hang so low. Same for chains. I've always worried low hanging chains and brake cable could create a spark and possibly fire in dry conditions.

Twisting chains to adjust length is not recommended and can dramatically reduce their strength. Best to cut them to the required length with no twist!

Dave

[John Dorrer]

37 minutes ago, rich.dev said:

Get one of these John

https://a.co/d/iYv5OWt

Nice, 👍

[rideandfly]

1 hour ago, Mike and Carol said:

Mine is zip tied to the tongue so it doesn’t hang down.

Same here

[Patriot]

I hang my cable in the Sea Biscuit “Moose Rack”. It keeps it at the right height while under way. So far so good.

[Mountainman198]

15 hours ago, John Dorrer said:

This has been bothering me for a while. When I connect the brake cable to the truck it hangs down to 2"-3" above the road.

 

Can you run it up through the hitch pin with the 7-pin cord?

 

What does everyone do?

 

I'm concerned it is matter of time before it is hit by road debris. Having the trailer brakes activate at 60+ mph is a scary thought.

 

Thanks,

I route my cable over the whale tail of the Andersen. This keeps it far from the ground

[Steve Morris]

16 hours ago, rich.dev said:

Get one of these John

https://a.co/d/iYv5OWt

That's what came on ours in March 2023.

[Jason Foster]

Cut them down to the correct length if they hang too much but also make sure you cross them at least once, so if the trailer hitch comes off the ball, it drops onto the chain crossing.

[Jason Foster]

 

 

[John Dorrer]

2 hours ago, Jason Foster said:

Cut them down to the correct length if they hang too much but also make sure you cross them at least once, so if the trailer hitch comes off the ball, it drops onto the chain crossing.

My post was about the brake cable hanging too low, not the chains🙃👍

[Jason Foster]

35 minutes ago, John Dorrer said:

My post was about the brake cable hanging too low, not the chains🙃👍

I plea the 5th.

 

[John Dorrer]

7 hours ago, Jason Foster said:

I plea the 5th.

 

🤣 I did get a good chuckle.

[Ronbrink]

I soon replaced the stock brake cable with the red coiled cable, like the one @rich.dev mentioned, after stepping over the trailer tonge when hitched and tripping myself; yep face forward fall, lesson learned. (It’s okay to laugh!)

[John Dorrer]

3 hours ago, Ronbrink said:

I soon replaced the stock brake cable with the red coiled cable, like the one @rich.dev mentioned, after stepping over the trailer tonge when hitched and tripping myself; yep face forward fall, lesson learned. (It’s okay to laugh!)

Just got mine from Amazon. When I go to storage, I will swap it out and coil the old one and keep it as back-up.

[Coastal Aggie]

Lucky this came up just as I was getting around to fixing it. On my way back from alaska this year I ended up having to hit an empty DEF box in the middle of the road. Didn't have a chance to avoid it but if I had thought more about it I would've at least gone over it off center instead of just straight on (initially figured itd be better for it to hit the part of my bumper that sticks down to protect the winch/diff in the center), ended up smashing the plastic loop that holds the cable to the "pin thing". Didn't even realize it was broken until a couple days later when I went to inspect everything to make sure it was still good.

[Ronbrink]

8 hours ago, Coastal Aggie said:

On my way back from alaska this year I ended up having to hit an empty DEF box in the middle of the road.

Had a similar incident last trip on our way out of Houston, but a slow rolling tire was the ‘target’! Out of nowhere, said tire came rolling into my lane with little time to react and lane change not an option given the heavy traffic. Following some ‘flagrant language’, I immediately started to slow my speed to time for an impact at vehicle dead center. As I worked my way over to the first available exit, my thoughts were on potential damage to the Oliver, most likely to the fiberglass. Thankfully all was found good, but had the tire been on a rim this would have certainly been a dire situation. 

Edited November 23 by Ronbrink