Hi all. I need some advice please. In my excitement to get set up the first time this year I drove off from my old (1990) pennine pullman without unhooking the brake safety cable!! It has snapped and I am worried that when I pack up tomorrow the brake will be locked on. Does anyone know if this will be the case? If so, how can I release it? Also, are they easy to replace? Many thanks for your help
Effectively the brakes should be released providing that the handbrake is off.
The safety cable is there to pull on the brakes if the coupling becomes detached, when you are moving the unit by hand the cable is not connected and the brakes are not applied.
You did not say whether you still had to move the unit once you drove the car away, if this is the case did you manoeuvre the unit after moving the car, if so then you can assume that your brakes are not on.
All breaking the breakaway cable will do is pull on the handbrake, if its done that, release the handbrake & your brakes will be off. Lack of breakaway cable will not stop you towing it home but it is not legal to tow without one although you would be unlucky if a cop noticed.
You can buy a new one anywhere that sells towing parts so that will be caravan shop or nearest Halfords or any other car shop. You will have to remove old bit of breakaway cable from bottom of handbrake & you may need a hacksaw for this depending on fitting or a couple of pairs of strong pliers might do it.
If you buy a new cable look for one with easy fit, ie key ring type ring or shackle rather than type that needs clamping together to fit.
Look underneath hitch, you will see end of breakaway cable goes through hole in bottom of handbrake lever. There is a ring through the hole that cable attaches to. You need to buy a new breakaway cable that has a ring that can be fitted easily through this hole. Some have a ring that needs to squashed together & you might not have tool required to do that so find one that can be easily fitted. Halfords appears to be easy fit here. The end with the screw bit fixes to handbrake end.
These were the answers to your question on facebook -
As long as handbrake disengages it will be fine, easy to replace pick one up from a camping/Caravanning shop. Replaced ours last week!
U can get a new cable from any caravan shop
If the cable has snapped then the brake should not be on, but you should at least put a safety chain on like an unbraked trailer would have. I understand that the safety cable pulls the brake on if the tow hitch brakes off to slow the trailer but then the cable snaps so you are not dragging an out of control trailer behind you.
The idea of the cable is to apply the brakes in event of the hitch becoming detatched from the tow car, the cable then snaps leaving the brakes on the trailer applied .
Just take the handbrake off and all will move again.
It applied the handbrake on my Dandy when I did the same trick, the handbrake should release just like a car handbrake though [it did on my Dandy anyway] ......easy enough to replace.
Thank you all for your advice, it was great. I bought an easy fit from halfords for £7 and clipped it on in 30 seconds! Job done. Happy camping everyone, camber sands here we come!