Should Trailer Breakaway Switch to Very Difficult to Pull

Updated 06/15/2022 | Published 06/14/2022

Question:

Force required to pull pin? I had a trailer breakaway this weekend. The cable broke the plastic loop on the pin. The pin never pulled, and the brakes never deployed. The trailer is just at 1 year old. Fortunately, all turned out about as good as possible given the circumstances. No injuries, and only minor damage to the trailer. I’m assessing the system now, and did manage to lever the pin out with a tool. The force required to do so seemed excessive. The pin was pushed in flush as in the second photo, but it seems to require reasonable force to pull when only inserted to the first ring. Was the pin over inserted? I damaged the edges of the second disk prying the pin. The only visible damage prior was the two small circles where the loop connected. Did I simply have a defective unit? Should I try a replacement pin, or should I go with a completely different switch?

asked by: Kevin K

Expert Reply:

Glad everything worked out okay but sorry to hear about your breakaway pin not doing the ONE JOB it was designed for. I would go with an all new switch just to be careful and because they are relatively inexpensive. I would go with the Hopkins part # HM20059 which we know works well and wouldn't have same issue you had. Just make sure the pin would pull straight from the switch if the trailer was to become disconnected again and you'd be fine. The force to pull the pin shouldn't be too hard but it should take some substantial force by hand as it's not designed to pull out accidentally.

expert reply by: Jameson C