cancel
Showing results forย 
Search instead forย 
Did you mean:ย 

Trailer brake problem?

mdcamping
Explorer
Explorer
The Jayco 24 RBS I purchased this spring I noticed the back 2 brake drums where super hot and the front 2 drums where not hot at all after doing a trip. Had to wait 1 month for my scheduled service today. Tech said rear brakes were almost frozen, cleaned up brakes and calibrated. After hooking up trailer at the service center which was on a slight down grade I let the truck & trailer roll slowly in neutral. I then put on the manual break to full gain... Nothing... I then got the tech we repeated the test with him pulling the brake away pin.. still nothing... So tomorrow the shop foremen is going to work on the brakes.

So my question is on my past 2 trailers when doing a similar test when I activated the brakes in full manual gain the trailer brakes always locked up or almost locked up. I a missing anything? help.

Also had the bearings repacked.

Mike
2022 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost 4X4 Supercrew GCWR 19,500 157WB
Payload 2476 Maxtow 13,800 3.73 Equalizer 4 Pt Sway Hitch
2017 Jayco Jay Flight 24RBS
Old TV, 07 Toyota Tacoma, Double Cab, Factory Tow Pkg, retired towing at 229K. (Son now owns truck)
12 REPLIES 12

nickthehunter
Nomad II
Nomad II
Deleted

Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Explorer III
PAThwacker wrote:
On my scenario my brakes were working and then not. Go down road and they worked. Still puzzled


Dollars to Doughnuts I would bet your problem and the OPs problems are one in the same..

Wiring.

Two major wiring trouble spots are the connections at each backing plate and the wires that are run inside the axle tube.

Frame manufacturer will run the wiring down one side of the frame to the first axle, splice in the backing plate, the wire inside the axle tube and a jumper to the next axle.

At the next axle they wire the jumper to the backing plate and the wire in the axle tube..

The wires in the axle tube are loose. Since they are loose they move around inside the tube which can rub the insulation off exposing the bare wire to the tube creating intermittent shorts or eventually breaking the strands of wire until you have no connection or shorted wires.

That can cause the controller to shut off the output causing no brakes condition depending on where the wire in the tube is at any given moment.

Investigate the connections at the backing plates, if in doubt about the condition of the connections, cut the splices and re do all of the connections.

Manufacturers typically do not use weatherproof splices, water gets in to the copper wire and over time the copper wire corrodes enough to no longer make a good electrical connection. And yes, copper wire does degrade with repeated or constant exposure to water/moisture. Moisture exposure with copper creates a oxide coating on the wire surface which does not conduct electricity very well..

If your axles have the wires running through the axles, cut all connections to those wires and run new wire outside the axle tubes to the backing plates on the other side. You can wire tie the wires to the tops of the axles or across the frame.

PAThwacker
Explorer
Explorer
On my scenario my brakes were working and then not. Go down road and they worked. Still puzzled
2015 Keystone Springdale Summerland 257rl
Tow vehicle: 2003 GMC K1500 ext lb
Previous: 14 years of 3 popups and a hybrid tt

valhalla360
Nomad II
Nomad II
mdcamping wrote:
I pulled into the shop with just the back brakes working. This was a scheduled service as 1st tech did the repair. I hooked up trailer to truck, tested brakes and they were not working at all. I "never" left the shop with the trailer.

What they have told me was they have a senior tech that has now been working on the trailer the past 2 days taking it out for some test rides trying to figure where the problem was and my last conversation was they got half the brakes back working and yeah they mentioned that the problem could be the magnets. Hope tomorrow this gets resolved.

I have never worked on brakes my whole life, rv or auto as this is something I have always had a service shop do.

My last 2 trailers never had issues with brakes. My present trailer sat for 5 years unused as owner had run into a hardship and had to sell. so my guess this probably contributed to the brake problems?

This weekend we are supposed to go to the catskills in NY, so my trip is in jeopardy... not a happy camper...

Mike


Hopefully, you aren't paying for the re-work because you can get the whole new assembly that just bolts on for not much more than the cost of a brake job...

No idea if this matches your trailer but gives you an idea of how cheap they are:

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/etrailer/AKEBRK-35R.html?feed=npn&msclkid=b8b4bb65056e18c801dcd9ce42011a0d&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Bing%20%7C%20Shop%20-%20Accessories%20and%20Parts&utm_term=4577266908256386&utm_content=Trailer%20Brakes
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Ouch. No comment on the shop, as it's obvious. electric trailer drum brakes are about as simple a system as it gets. Either there is power going to them or not and worst case, slap whole assemblies on all 4 corners. They're like $40-60 per wheel, pre assembled ALL components hide hair and feathers.

Use this info dispute any egregious charges.

1. Good wire from trailer plug back to the axles where it splits 4 ways to each wheel.
2. Good wire from there to each wheel.
3. Good magnet and properly adjusted at each wheel (or $34.99/wheel for a whole new pre-assembled 10" brake assembly including backing plate is almost a foregone conclusion if one needs to replace ANY of the components of a wheel brake.

Hope this helps with your ability to get fair and competent results with the shop.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

mdcamping
Explorer
Explorer
I pulled into the shop with just the back brakes working. This was a scheduled service as 1st tech did the repair. I hooked up trailer to truck, tested brakes and they were not working at all. I "never" left the shop with the trailer.

What they have told me was they have a senior tech that has now been working on the trailer the past 2 days taking it out for some test rides trying to figure where the problem was and my last conversation was they got half the brakes back working and yeah they mentioned that the problem could be the magnets. Hope tomorrow this gets resolved.

I have never worked on brakes my whole life, rv or auto as this is something I have always had a service shop do.

My last 2 trailers never had issues with brakes. My present trailer sat for 5 years unused as owner had run into a hardship and had to sell. so my guess this probably contributed to the brake problems?

This weekend we are supposed to go to the catskills in NY, so my trip is in jeopardy... not a happy camper...

Mike
2022 F-150 3.5 EcoBoost 4X4 Supercrew GCWR 19,500 157WB
Payload 2476 Maxtow 13,800 3.73 Equalizer 4 Pt Sway Hitch
2017 Jayco Jay Flight 24RBS
Old TV, 07 Toyota Tacoma, Double Cab, Factory Tow Pkg, retired towing at 229K. (Son now owns truck)

trail-explorer
Explorer
Explorer
valhalla360 wrote:
A break check


It was already broken.
Bob

valhalla360
Nomad II
Nomad II
Always do a break check when pulling out for a day's run (pulling out from brake work...doubly so).

You should feel a strong pull from the trailer when you activate them manually. If you don't, stop and figure out what's wrong.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV

Grit_dog
Nomad III
Nomad III
Did they work before, aside from the hot/cold thing?

Could be several things, fortunately trailer drum brakes are one of the simplest mechanical assemblies on a "vehicle."

First, if it appears that none of the brakes are working at all, then greater chance it's the power supply, wire, trailer plug, even brake controller, somewhere upstream of the individual brakes.
Other things.
Could be all are mis adjusted very loose and not enough travel to even engage.
Could be bad magnets, shorted wire to a brake.

There are many published diagnostic procedures, if you're actually trying to diagnose yourself rather than just haul it back to a shop.

Hope ya get it figured out easily!
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5โ€ turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold

Lwiddis
Explorer
Explorer
I believe you are missing nothing. Consider getting another shop to verify your TT brakes were fixed correctly.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad

BarabooBob
Explorer III
Explorer III
I do my own brake maintenance because I know that I do it correctly. Some shops hire anyone that thinks he knows what a wrench is.
Bob & Dawn Married 34 years
2017 Viking 17RD
2011 Ford F150 3.5L Ecoboost 420 lb/ft
Retired

midnightsadie
Explorer II
Explorer II
I don,t read where the shop tested your brakes before turning the rig over to you? need new shop. you could have pulled down the high way with no brakes.