Anyone know about Asteem Breakaway Brake Controllers?
Submitted: Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 at 19:55
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glids
G'day all,
I'm helping a mate sort out some electrical problems with his caravan, and I am seeking any info on Asteem Breakaway (or Break-away) Brake Controllers. I believe the unit may be Asteem model ABA-01 - it is in a
Roma 'van. It has an inbuilt battery, charging selector switch (vehicle alternator or charger), battery test button, and LED indication for 'Charged', 'Recharge!' and 'Charging'.
He has had very little help from
Roma with a number of 'issues' and can't really be bothered chasing them - the usual response is "sorry, xxx is not available at the moment, I'll get him to call you back" with no callback; or no response to emails, not even acknowledgement of receiving an email for help.
We have Googled "Asteem" etc with no hits.
Does anyone on the
forum have ANY information about these units? We would like such things as:
* Agents / distributors
* Circuit diagrams
* Installation / maintenance details etc.
Hope someone knows something about them...
Cheers,
glids
Reply By: Dennis Ellery - Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 at 23:32
Saturday, Dec 01, 2012 at 23:32
Break away controllers on caravans are a safety regulation overkill.
They only operate if the safety chains break and that is not likely if you have them correctly fitted.
A caravan is a very unstable device and if disconnected from the towing vehicle at speed, it will nose dive and flip anyway.
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Follow Up By: GEMAC Solar and Power - Monday, Dec 03, 2012 at 09:22
Monday, Dec 03, 2012 at 09:22
Dennis
That's one of the best replies I have seen in a long time
So very bloody true.
And I agree as
well.
I am very sure the same would apply to my van if it did manage to somehow break free at say 90K.
Nose dive, break lockup and round and round and round as in roll roll etc
Well at least until the walls and roof came away the it would be flat again
And after the 1st roll the batteries would have broken free and the power to the brakes has now gone and so it goes on.
best way to stop it happening, Check all connections every time you hitch up and use RATED Shackles. How often do you see a snap lock holding the safety chain or even some shackle that is not rated or way too undersized. I have seen 2 big chains with a piece of wire attaching them to the tow vehicle. anything to stop the coppers seeing them dragging on the road.
there are a lot of bloody idiots when it comes to towing, drawer bar weight, GVM and overloaded vehicles.
As you can see its one of my gripes
Regards
Geoff
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Follow Up By: Dennis Ellery - Monday, Dec 03, 2012 at 11:29
Monday, Dec 03, 2012 at 11:29
On the road last year was talking to a guy who had a vehicle with a towbar rated at 140Kg.
With a motor bike on the front of the caravan he said his tow ball weight was 400Kg.
He reckoned that vehicle specs were unimportant as he didn’t have a stability problem with that weight.
I’d hate to be passing him if he got a wobble up.
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