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Wire on chain?

tab17tab17 Member Posts: 14
in Trailer & Towing
What is the wire in picture? Also, having a hair pulling time trying to unhitch. The ball gets stuck or the latch won't release. I have watched  Youtube and and one suggestion was move the TV (look at me I'm learning the lingo) up or back a very small amount and sometimes that works. Yesterday, I left the TV and T@B in storage area. Couldn't unhitch. :o Daughter drove me home and we came back an hour later to try again. Finally released! Just picked up my 2017 T@B last week and camped one night. My daughter and I had a terrible nights sleep. The camp site was on a slope and I didn't have enough pads to raise the back. Is there a safe number of pads to use to get level?  Yes, I know your asking why I took that site.  :) Well, it was the only one available. The first campground we stopped at was full. As most campgrounds this past weekend here in Ohio.
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    edited July 2018
    The wire is your emergency brake-away brake.  You connect it to your TV and if your trailer completely disconnects, it pulls a pin which causes the Tab brakes to deploy and stops the trailer in it’s tracks.  You need to place a carabiner clip on the end to attach it to your TV.  Also, make sure your battery cut off switch is turned on while towing.  Not only will it charge your battery enroute, but it will keep your break-away brakes energized in case of a disconnect.  

    Unhitching on unlevel ground can be difficult.  Even on level ground, you may need to use the handles of the Tab to rock it forward.  This will move the coupler forward on the ball and allow you to open the latch.  Make sure you are not over turning the crank handle lifting the rear of the TV as this will put too much pressure on the coupler and it may not release.  My best advice is to have someone move the Tab and another person open the latch.  If by yourself and unable to unhitch, get back in the TV and try moving the TV an inch forward or backward to try to move the ball within the coupler.  

    I recommend the Anderson leveler.  If you use pads to level, I think they come in a set of 12.

    Hang in there.  Welcome to the big learning curve😊
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • atlasbatlasb Member Posts: 584
    The wire with the loop laying across the hitch is for the break away switch in the brake system. You need it hooked to the tow hitch so that if the trailer comes loose from the TV. it will pull the brake away switch and lock the brakes on the trailer.  It is real easy to pull that wire and set the brakes if you are not careful when working with hooking up and unhooking.  If you do happen to pull the wire follow it back to the switch and push the plunger back in the switch.  If you happen to activate the brake away and try to drive the brakes will probably be locked on the trailer.
    2018 T@B 400, 2017 Nissan Titan Crew cab
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  • tab17tab17 Member Posts: 14
    Thank you, for the answer. I noticed the wire when I took T@B to storage the first day. It wasn't connected to anything, kind of twisted on one of the chains. Dealer walk thru didn't cover wire?? Will google search images and hope to see where to connect. 
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  • DalehelmanDalehelman Member Posts: 2,410
    Make sure your tires are chocked before you unhitch to prevent a possible runaway situation. 
    1. Hash  T@B Fun
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  • dsfdogsdsfdogs Member Posts: 604
    @tab17 congrats on your new trailer and first outing.

    I had read the brake cable should not be twisted in with the chains. My dealer gave me a screw locking type carabiner to attach through that loop on the end of the cable and attach it to the TV. Where ever you attach your chains is where the brake cable is also attached. 

    Your first camp site sounds frustrating. To help move the locking mechanism on the trailer, I use silicone spray. I spray it on the ball, all around the top and underneath too. It does help, but that mechanism can be tricky.

    I use the lego like level pads. I have used just one or two for side to side leveling, then lower the tongue jack for front to back level. My last trip the tongue was so low I couldn't put the wheel on, but have not had to raise up the wheels as you describe.

    Good luck!
    Debbie in Oregon
    2023 Tab 400 / 2022 F150 XLT Sport 3.5EB
    Traded in - 2018 T@B 320 S/2019 Toyota 4Runner SR5

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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,961
    So, the brake cable:  mine is coiled amid the chains, attached with a carabiner-type connector.  It is usually close to the end of the chains, but not quite to the vehicle.  There usually is plenty of slack in that cable, and I'm always poking at it to keep it from being too "saggy". 

    So, where/how should that brake cable be attached?  Directly to the TV, ( and another thing to connect and disconnect) .   Or, connected to the chains?  And, I figure I can cut that cable down a little to help with the sagging issue?

    I've had that little pin pull out on one of my first trips,  and I can confirm the trailer will only skid if that pin is not connected.

    I use a Bal leveler, and since I travel mostly alone I think it is the easiest one person solution.  At one campsite, I actually had to lift the trailer wheel off the ground to get level. 
    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    I have read that a break-away brake cable should not be attached to the hitch (in case the hitch falls off), but to the TV itself.  However, I am willing to bet that most people attach it to the hitch where they attach their chains.  That is where ours connects as there is nowhere else to attach it on our minivan.  
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    edited July 2018

    https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ppp/ppp-92.pdf
    Read about the break-away brake cable starting on pg 58.  Good info re how to determine length.
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • pthomas745pthomas745 Moderator Posts: 3,961
    @SAM , thank you for the Purdue Extension link.  The link you have in your post would not connect, but I found the document with this link:


    And then the "Free Download" option took me to the document.  And a fun "how many things that can go wrong connecting a trailer to a tow vehicle" read.

    The article does specifically state the emergency brake cable should be attached to the tow vehicle.  And not "tangled" with the chains.

    So, I've been doing it wrong !  My cable has been "threaded" with my chains and I've never connected it to the tow vehicle frame.  I don't remember if this is how it came from the dealer and I never questioned it, or it was something that I messed up myself. 

    And, I also never knew why the chains were supposed to be crossed.  I assumed it was for added strength, not for providing a "cradle" for the trailer's hitch to rest on if it disconnected from the TV.

    Thanks again!





    2017 Outback
    Towed by 2014 Touareg TDi
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    @Tbone, I think that is camera angle.  @tab17, can you post a picture of your coupler from the side.
    @pthomas745, you are welcome.  Sorry about the link.  I copy and paste to create the link and it NEVER works.  I need a link tutorial.  Anybody?
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    edited July 2018
    OK.  I reviewed my very own thread from Oct. 2017 about linking (slow learner)!  I am trying again.

    The copy/paste version:  https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ppp/ppp-92.pdf

    The link version:   Towing

    Yeah - small wonders, they work.  I recreated the link in the previous post, too.  On a roll.

    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    edited July 2018
    @Tbone  How does this one look?


    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • PhotomomPhotomom Member Posts: 2,217
    It sounds as if you might be trying to level the trailer using the stabilizers. Don’t do that, they aren’t strong enough. First level the trailer side to side by driving the low side wheel up onto leveling blocks, then level front to back using the tongue jack. Only then should you put the stabilizers down. 
    John and Henrietta, Late 2016 T@B S Max in Western New York
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    Here’s the side view.

    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • Sharon_is_SAMSharon_is_SAM Administrator Posts: 9,747
    Verna taught me ho to use the pencil marks.  Now I look almost brainy!  LOL
    Sharon / 2017 T@B CSS / 2015 Toyota Sienna Minivan / Westlake, Ohio
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  • MarcelineMarceline Member Posts: 1,605
    tab17 said:
    Thank you, for the answer. I noticed the wire when I took T@B to storage the first day. It wasn't connected to anything, kind of twisted on one of the chains. Dealer walk thru didn't cover wire?? Will google search images and hope to see where to connect. 
    IMO unless you somehow gave the dealer the impression that you have ample experience towing vehicles, the dealer did you a terrible disservice in not teaching you how to properly hook up your vehicle (including the break-away cable). I think that you might want to consider bringing this to NuCamp's attention so they can ensure that this doesn't happen to future buyers. 
    San Francisco Bay Area
    2013 CS-S us@gi
    2015 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner Double Cab
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  • ericnlizericnliz Member Posts: 4,437
    @Marceline, Couldn't agree more!!!!
    2016 T@B MAX S-aka: WolfT@B
    TV: 2006 Chevy Avalanche LT Z71 aka: WhiteWolf, or 1972 Chevy Custom10 P/U aka: SnarlingWolf
    Spokane, Wa.
    Eric aka: Lone Wolf  


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  • ScottGScottG Administrator Posts: 5,553
    At the very least, I would have expected the dealer to properly hook up the trailer for you, if only to cover their own liability as you pulled it off the lot.
    2015 T@B S

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  • JustJohnJustJohn Member Posts: 171
    One suggestion, buy a spray can of silicone lubricant. Soak you hitch and let dry. Soak again. I found my hitch is much easier to unhitch when lubed and they do seem to get easier to use as they wear in.  
    2016 Outback.....North East N.C...... Former 2012 Silver Shadow
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