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codycountry View Drop Down
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Joined: 26 Jan 2014
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Posts: 168 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Off to a blazing start in Alabama
    Posted: 25 Aug 2016 at 7:42pm
Keep it up and you folks are going to coerce me into telling my full embarrassing story....
I do know that the runaway e-brake cable does work when connected to the receiver chains hook up place, but IMO it's better looped over the ball.  
When my pod came off it did work, but it caught on the little wire flap things on the runaway chain and bent out that and pulled off and dragged on the road, but not before locking up the brakes thus saving the rpod (and my tailgate)-- all at about 15mph from six miles down the road from where I hooked up and then somehow drove at 65 mph into town with an unhooked hitch.  Cripes.  Duh. 
It all screeched to a slow speed halt, thank you God, no damage save the bottom of the jack stand ground down a bit because I didn't have my chains crossed and tightened/twisted up properly.  Learned that lesson in spades. 
A nice pedestrian nearby ran over and we picked up the tongue and set it back on the ball and I rapidly escaped the ridicule that was no doubt occurring with the other observers.    
The  hitch on my pod has now done that to me three times since then, but it was always caught during my new hook up procedure. 
I now always drop the trailer on the ball, hitch it up and then again raise the jack to see for sure if she's on.  It better lift the pickup when I jack it up.   And I now also grease the ball. 
It's just a crappy cheap hitch compared to all the others I've used.   Unlike the Bulldog hitch.   
Three other times I found it should have been shut, it appeared safe, the pin went in and the clip went down, but then I could crank  it up off of  the ball.  Too much paint on the new hitch is one cause, and frankly it's not a very good hitch. 
A "friend" of mine used to sneak up and jerk on my gooseneck horse trailer runaway cable hitch when the opportunity presented itself as a joke to lock up the brakes and keep me behind him on the road..... so be aware of that too.  If your brakes are locked up check the pin on the runaway unit to see if some clown has tripped it. 
I now loop the runaway over the ball  , and have for several years with no problemo. 
Happy travels. 
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ToolmanJohn View Drop Down
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Posts: 451 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2016 at 6:54pm
Originally posted by mcarter

Techntrek - Need some splaining. If the brake switch is the longest attachment on the TV, and one has hitch failure. The safety chains should hold the Pod on the hitch (not ball). If the brake cable is longer than the safety chains, how would the brake ever activate? I was thinking the brake cable should be a bit shorter than the safety chains deployed at max length. Help me understand. Are you saying the e-brake should only be used when the POD becomes completely detached from the TV? THANKS

 Yes. The break-away switch should only active IF the trailer gets completely free of the tow vehicle. It's to slow it down in the event it becomes free.

 Yes, if the ball were to break, or the coupler, the safety chains SHOULD not let go, and you would have a rough ride slowing down the rig while it's dragging on the ground, but that's the way it is designed.

 Yes, the chains can in fact break as well!!! All it would take is someone T-boning your vehicle and trailer at the hitch itself. A 3500+ pound vehicle could easily break the hitch and chains, and the safety switch would engage the trailer brakes to slow it down.
2017 ATC 7X20 Custom Toy Hauler
2013 R-Pod 177 (SOLD)
2013 VW Touareg TDI
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mcarter View Drop Down
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Location: Greenbrier, TN
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Posts: 3419 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2016 at 7:38pm
OK, my runaway or e-brake switch is going to be connected to the TV and adjusted shorter than the safety chains. I want the brakes to energize if I lose the R-POD. I do not agree with connecting it to the ball, some states don't either. The trailer needs to stop, not run up under the bumper, all you have is a leveling jack and a propane tank. The major failure point is the receiver and ball, not the hitch. Your safety chains are not connected there and neither should your E-Brake be there. I prefer the e-brake is connected to the TV, understand all personal preference , towed stuff all my life and had many bad things happen. Good judgment comes from bad experiences.
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codycountry View Drop Down
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Posts: 168 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2016 at 7:59pm
Originally posted by mcarter

OK, my runaway or e-brake switch is going to be connected to the TV and adjusted shorter than the safety chains. I want the brakes to energize if I lose the R-POD. I do not agree with connecting it to the ball, some states don't either. The trailer needs to stop, not run up under the bumper, all you have is a leveling jack and a propane tank. The major failure point is the receiver and ball, not the hitch. Your safety chains are not connected there and neither should your E-Brake be there. I prefer the e-brake is connected to the TV, understand all personal preference , towed stuff all my life and had many bad things happen. Good judgment comes from bad experiences.


If your trailer comes off the ball and you then hit your tow vehicle brakes, guess what, it is going to go under the tow vehicle with the chains to stop it going forward, pull the string, and lock the breaks, unless it first went back far enough to trip the emergency lock up to begin with. Yep. That's the idea of the system. Doesn't matter if it's connected to your chains, the ball, or the back axle, if it pulls back in an emergency and keeps things safe, it is good.
Just check your hitch at hookup, and it shouldn't happen.
Even the uhaul trailers have a better hitch than the rpods do, and I just rented one today to take to Idaho.
The major failure point of note is the trailer coming off the hitch. Obviously.
If that doesn't happen then this discussion is of no value.
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densmorema View Drop Down
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Posts: 70 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2016 at 9:04pm
Just found a new product on Amazon, it's called a fastway zip break away cable. It stretches like a slinky, comes in a 4 and 6 foot model 4 being for trailers , goes from the break away box to the place where your chains hook up, no sag so you get a nice straight pull. I ordered one to see how it works , don't like the idea of all that extra wire being routed somehow.
Mike and Cherie
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Joined: 29 Jul 2009
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26 Aug 2016 at 10:14pm
Big note - never "test" your breakaway pin/switch unless the pod is disconnected from the TV.  Some brands of brake controllers will be damaged if they are back-fed with 12 volts on the brake control line.  Prodigy is one.
Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ Pod instruction manual
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