Brake Away Units

[MolongMick]

HI there,

I have finally managed to sell the Eagle, so I should be able to order the expanda now.

I went in and had a chat to the delaer today, who was very nice in everyway.

We went through a list of inclusions that we want, about 2 pages (so it seemed) and the brake away was mentioned as our weight was getting up there.

He was saying that there is unit that needs to go into the car to monitor the break aways batteries.

I have had nothing to do with these and ma not sure of the requirments. What is this module he is talking about, has anyone else had to have one fitted?

I am a bit confused



Cheers

 

[Bank of Dad]

He was saying that there is unit that needs to go into the car to monitor the break aways batteries.

Mick - He's correct; but it only applies in NSW at the moment. Must be a visual & aural (?) warning. Those from north of the border, comments.

 

[NissPat]

Yeah mate, just got mine fitted the other day. Apparently you need them by law if you reach a certain weight(might be 2t) not sure 100%

They fitted a Break-Safe Series 6000, its made by www.rvelectronics.com.au
They mount the little unit under your dash to monitor batteries in the van and then you have the actual switch on the A frame.

This will lock your brakes on the van if the van comes away from the vehicle..Peace of mind for $85

 

[Matty4]

Apparently now it is law in NSW that if you have a breakaway system fitted to a van, or anything weighing over 2T being towed, you must have some way of monitoring the state of the battery in the breakaway system from within the cabin of the tow vehicle.
See here,
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registration/downloads/vsi/vsi22.pdf

Edit..
Others beat me to it.....d'oh!!!

 

[MolongMick]

Thanks guys, it just that it was never menitioned before. Will need to get that sorted.

 

[straydingo]

So the way I read the RTA doc is that the braking system is
1. electronic brakes with a manual control in the cabin, (standard setup for over 750kg in all states)
2. a break-away trigger mounted on the A-frame for over 2t (again standard in all states)
but in addition the break-away battery has to be charged by the vehicle, and not relying on the Jayco wiring to charge when plugged into 240V main.

Is that right?
If so, is that another plug at the back of the car going from this Brake-Safe Series 6000 (or similar) to the battery in the van, or can it still run through the 7 or 12 pin plug?

 

[Bank of Dad]

Mick - Check out RTA site and look at VIB 6.

It says that over 2,000 kg must have a breakaway brake and that it must have a device to warn the driver when sat in the normal driving position that the charge has dropped. The warning may be visual or aural.

Hope this helps mate.

 

[MolongMick]

Yeah got onto those details. The dealer said he can supply a unit for me for under $100. Will need to get it installed and the van plug needs to change from 7 pin to 12 pin to accomodate the charging of the break away battery system. I was asking about the anderson plug and they basically said NO, CAN'T BE DONE. It all needs to go through the 12 pin plug, but he did say that he would give us one, but couldn't help in installing it.

It was suggested by the dealer to go to an auto electrician and get them to rewire for us.

 

[Matty4]

Just throwing it out there.............I wonder how long it will take for one of us travelling through NSW (but not registered in) to be pinged by the police for not having this monitoring device fitted?
The old "when in Rome" comes to mind here..

 

[Bushman]

My compliance plate reads ATM 2079 kg, No Break-aways fitted me thinks me better sus this out with the dealer

 

[Bank of Dad]

You need a breakaway unit regardless - that is standard across Aus. (to the best of my knowledge)

The alarm is required to REGISTER a van in NSW.

If your van is registered in another state then you are OK, no need for the alarm.

 

[MolongMick]

You need a breakaway unit regardless - that is standard across Aus. (to the best of my knowledge)

The alarm is required to REGISTER a van in NSW.

If your van is registered in another state then you are OK, no need for the alarm.

After looing into it more, if the van is over 2T, it is mandatory across australia to have the break away fitted, just us suckers here in nsw need the internal monitor. But it is no good having the unit if the battery is flat, at least we will be told if the battery is no good. SO, I will just stop the complaining and get it done, if it saves lives, it is $100 well spent.

 

[Bank of Dad]

But it is no good having the unit if the battery is flat, at least we will be told if the battery is no good. SO, I will just stop the complaining and get it done, if it saves lives, it is $100 well spent.

I'm sort of with you on that Mick - might look into it here in Mexico - they will probably follow suit anyway!

 

[Bushman]

My compliance plate reads ATM 2079 kg, No Break-aways fitted me thinks me better sus this out with the dealer

Well I called my dealer to get mine sorted out, he contacted HQ for further info, Mine is OK as per the ADR regs it worked out on on the GTM not the ATM, so i'm all good.

 

[relgate]

Hi Guys.
Bit of a bump on this thread.
As we know, it is required to have a battery monitor in the towing vehicle of a trailer over 2T in NSW
Today I installed my monitor. It was a little time consuming but not too hard. I've got a few pics for you too!

Pics show the unit mounted under the AC in the centre of the dash.
I have a bit of wire running to PIN 8 on the trailer plug and earthed it to the front seat bolt.

Running the cable from the break away unit in the van wasn't much fun. Lots of pushing and pulling small gauge fence wire through made it work ok.
Was able to join it all in to the existing loom on the drawbar so not much to see there. The blue wire sticking out with the knot in it is a draw wire for any future add ons (eg reverse camera)
Connecting to the unit in the van was also easy. There is a purple wire sitting there ready to solder or crimp on to. I soldered and used heat shrink then taped it up. Shouldn t need to worry abou that again.

Tested out fine, so happy days.....

Unit sits next to the brake controller under the AC


Left an extra draw wire for later add ons


This is under the van where the new wire enters the van


Solder and a bit of heat shrink


All done!

 

[MolongMick]

Hi Relgate, i'm not sure why you needed to wire right up to the unit in the van. Mine was wired already in the trailer plug from the factory.

 

[relgate]

I was hoping that would be the case but unfortunately not. Probably coz mine was delivered to a Melbourne dealer. Would have been much easier to get it done at the factory!

 

[MolongMick]

I was hoping that would be the case but unfortunately not. Probably coz mine was delivered to a Melbourne dealer. Would have been much easier to get it done at the factory!

That is a real "Bummer Dude",:rant:

All good now though? It is best to have it done.

 

[Burnsy]

Hi relgate, I also had no idea of this unit being required. Did you get your rego done without this?

Cheers.

 

[ROnEM]

Found this link to the NSW Regulations that require a breakaway battery monitor to be fitted to trailers with electronic brakes with a gross trailer mass (GTM) over 2T.

Only applies to trailers, vans, etc. that are registered in NSW.