Trailer Brake Question

[stevenP]

Uhh, taking anything back to the RV dealer is a angst producing thought. Good luck on that. By the way installing the after market tekonsha controller with the right adaptor harness ($20)only take like 10 minutes. It would plug into your existing wiring.

 

[Tulecreeper]

As stated above the brakes may be out of adjustment or not seated, go back and have the dealer adjust the brakes maybe have them hook up to their truck for a test pull, Go for a drive and ride the manual control on the brakes to get them hot and let the trailer sit for a few hours to cool down and try. Also as stated above pull the brake away switch and give a pull, a 5th wheel is a heavy unit and you will probably never get them to lock up on pavement my 28 ft bumper pull will lock on gravel but not pavement.

If all else fails check your plugs, we just worked on a trailer that had been to ever shop in town. It was a mess of wiring issues so we replaced all of the wiring with new but still could not get the brakes to lock, We finally figured the pin on the trailer side of the plug was green replaced the plug and all was good. Not sure why no one changed the plug when all the wiring was replaced.

Hence, my comment regarding a loose/corroded connector. It's amazing how many electrical issues are due to a bad ground at the plug.

 

[BCMike]

Try manually adjusting the brakes first. Even if they are auto-adjusters that doesn't mean they're working properly. I just did this drill last week with a buddy's trailer and hand adjusting fixed the issue.

 

[Pttrader]

Hope you got your brake issue resolved. I pull a 12.000#(loaded) 5th wheel with my controller set to Heavy Duty and at 10.
A while ago I was in a line at a stop light and was going slow hoping to make the light. When the car in front of me stomped on the brakes, so did I! Keep in mind I had kept a good space in front of me since I'm pulling a heavy trailer. Anyway, my trailer brakes locked and I could see smoke coming from them! Normally, the trailer tires never lock up because I typically never hit brakes that hard. Good thing I left some stopping space in front of me and even had room to spare once I was stopped.

When I first hook up the camper and start moving I try the brake controller to make sure my camper brakes are working. I've had one time where it didn't work and found the plug was not all the way in.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Hope you got your brake issue resolved. I pull a 12.000#(loaded) 5th wheel with my controller set to Heavy Duty and at 10.
A while ago I was in a line at a stop light and was going slow hoping to make the light. When the car in front of me stomped on the brakes, so did I! Keep in mind I had kept a good space in front of me since I'm pulling a heavy trailer. Anyway, my trailer brakes locked and I could see smoke coming from them! Normally, the trailer tires never lock up because I typically never hit brakes that hard. Good thing I left some stopping space in front of me and even had room to spare once I was stopped.

When I first hook up the camper and start moving I try the brake controller to make sure my camper brakes are working. I've had one time where it didn't work and found the plug was not all the way in.

Yep, and checking them every couple hundred miles while out on the road is a good idea, too. I've had them drastically change after originally being set, I'm thinking because of heat expansion.

 

[Jane S]

Yep, and checking them every couple hundred miles while out on the road is a good idea, too. I've had them drastically change after originally being set, I'm thinking because of heat expansion.

I think you have a problem. I've had my TT since 2016 - about 40K miles on it - original brakes.

I set it at 7.0 at the start and just moved it to 7.5 last week.

 

[Tulecreeper]

I think you have a problem. I've had my TT since 2016 - about 40K miles on it - original brakes.

I set it at 7.0 at the start and just moved it to 7.5 last week.

Don't take everything so literally. I said "I've had them drastically change after originally being set". As in, a couple times...many years ago. So, since then I've made the habit of checking them every couple hundred miles when traveling. Hasn't happened in 20 years. Why? I don't know. Maybe because I check them regularly, maybe because brake technology has gotten better since then. Still a good idea to check them regularly.

 

[Riccochet]

I've wrenched on plenty of "auto adjusting" drum brakes where the auto adjusters were seized up. Always made a habit of putting a dab of anti-seize on them when changing the brakes or having the drum off.

Either way, jack your wheel off the ground and give it a spin. If it spins freely then adjust the brakes until there is barely a hint of the brakes rubbing. I mean a CH of rubbage. That's how I've adjusted drum brakes for 25 years.

 

[rving4us]

I would check your brakes on the camper. I pulled a 17,000 lb fifth wheel camper with the same truck and I could lock up the bakes. Now mine were disc brakes. Didn't want to lock them up if I could avoid it. Dang tires were $500.00 a piece LOL.

 

[Jane S]

I've wrenched on plenty of "auto adjusting" drum brakes where the auto adjusters were seized up. Always made a habit of putting a dab of anti-seize on them when changing the brakes or having the drum off.

Either way, jack your wheel off the ground and give it a spin. If it spins freely then adjust the brakes until there is barely a hint of the brakes rubbing. I mean a CH of rubbage. That's how I've adjusted drum brakes for 25 years.

Do you look at them reguarly or do you change them after a certain number of miles?

 

[Jane S]

Don't take everything so literally. I said "I've had them drastically change after originally being set". As in, a couple times...many years ago. So, since then I've made the habit of checking them every couple hundred miles when traveling. Hasn't happened in 20 years. Why? I don't know. Maybe because I check them regularly, maybe because brake technology has gotten better since then. Still a good idea to check them regularly.

Maybe write better.

 

[Riccochet]

Do you look at them reguarly or do you change them after a certain number of miles?

Once a year when I service the bearings.

 

[Tulecreeper]

Maybe write better.

Nope, my comment, "I've had them drastically change after originally being set, I'm thinking because of heat expansion," was precise and to the point with no room for misinterpretation. No timeline was mentioned, no particular point in my life when it happened, nothing to make the reader think it could be something that may have occurred in any particular year. You read something that wasn't there. Perhaps reading comprehension is the issue. But I'll try to write gooder in the future.

And based on your replies to most everyone else on this forum, you are only here to argue with every little thing anyone says. Your BP must be sky high.

 

[Jane S]

Nope, my comment, "I've had them drastically change after originally being set, I'm thinking because of heat expansion," was precise and to the point with no room for misinterpretation. No timeline was mentioned, no particular point in my life when it happened, nothing to make the reader think it could be something that may have occurred in any particular year. You read something that wasn't there. Perhaps reading comprehension is the issue. But I'll try to write gooder in the future.

And based on your replies to most everyone else on this forum, you are only here to argue with every little thing anyone says. Your BP must be sky high.

Quote an example, so I understand your positon?

 

[Danny Phillips]

i have a 2002 5th wheel that the sticker on it says 12,000 lbs. more like 15,000 lbs i put new breaks and wheel bearings on it before we moved. It will lock up the wheels on the trailer. I had an old Komfort 326 ft 5th wheel that had lousy brakes.

 

[RGRAHAM]

Personally, I would hook up a volt meter to the brake output wire, and have someone manually pinch the brake controller fully, with the setting at 10. You should be getting full 12+ volts. If you have full 12+ volts, then I would verify 100% that you have a good solid ground through the trailer plug. I did trailer wiring for years, lots of time the ground wire in the trailer plug was attached to the frame somewhere at the rear of the truck. It gets rusty and can cause issues. Back in the day, we had to do all this wiring from the plug to under the hood. I always ran the ground wire all the way back to the negative terminal on the battery. This is the only way you can prove it 100%. Even if you just run a temporary wire to test it.

 

[68PowerWagon]

Modern brakes are usually self adjusting.

Yes but sometimes initially they need to be adjusted & he stated that this is a brand new trailer.

 

[Jane S]

Yes but sometimes initially they need to be adjusted & he stated that this is a brand new trailer.

Vast majority of TT use these:

Home | Dexter Axle Co

www.dexteraxle.com

They can be manually adjusted.