tt brakes

[thoms]

Hi all, just got a 2011 jayco 24rb tt and noticed the brakes were not working on the way home, I now have it unhooked and back next to house,
my question is how to check the brake system without moving it again,
the tv system is ok as it worked ok on my last tt. but I will check it again. the battery on the tt read 13.4 so I think it is good. I know I have to be up and running to adjust the brakes properly.i just want to know the do work??? Thanks for any help

[BurbMan]

LVJJJ wrote:
If brakes don't work at all, I suspect wiring, including GROUND, rather than adjustment. Those magnets can move the shoes quite a ways.

Any in-line fuses?

Agreed, I would start here. If you look by the tongue jack under the frame there should be a bunch of wires that come together at one or more grounding points. Take off any bolts, clean the rust and reinstall. Then try GDETRailers' process for jacking up the trailer and testing the brakes.

[SoundGuy]

thoms wrote:
Hi all, just got a 2011 jayco 24rb tt and noticed the brakes were not working on the way home, I now have it unhooked and back next to house,
my question is how to check the brake system without moving it again,
the tv system is ok as it worked ok on my last tt. but I will check it again. the battery on the tt read 13.4 so I think it is good.

The trailer battery has nothing to do with it's brake system except in the unlikely event the trailer disconnects from the tow vehicle, causing the breakaway switch lanyard to pull the pin and apply full battery power directly to the trailer brakes. During normal towing your trailer brakes are powered by voltage provided by the brake controller mounted in the tow vehicle so obviously they won't work if the TV's brake controller isn't outputting the correct voltage on Pin 2 of your vehicle's Bargman connector. Have you measured for this correct voltage between Pin 2 (brake controller output) and Pin 1 (Ground)? :@

[rbpru]

I bought a three year old TT, two of the brake magnets ere worn down through the coils windings causing an open circuit.

As suggested, using your emergency brake switch to check each tire would be an easy first start.

Personally I would want to remove the drum to inspect and clean the brakes on any used unit.

[LVJJJ]

If brakes don't work at all, I suspect wiring, including GROUND, rather than adjustment. Those magnets can move the shoes quite a ways.

Any in-line fuses?

[JIMNLIN]

I've bought a lot of trailers in my life and one of the first things I've done is do away with those clamshell type wire connectors trailer mfg (all trailer types) like to use. I solder each connection and use a protective wrapping then several layers of electrical tape. This way I get full amps from the controller which is what you should be looking for. Just 12 volts doesn't tell much....one or two strands of the brake wire can carry 12 volts but not the required amps for 100 percent braking performance.

[2112]

Passin Thru wrote:
2112 I took mine to Wallyworld and repeated what you said. Finaally I started screaming at them but they still didn't adjust. As soon as I get out of this padded cell I'll see what I did wrong.

Activate them using the brake controller, not the TV brake pedal.

On Edit, maybe not all brake systems have self adjustment systems on them. YMMV

[Passin_Thru]

Ford puts the wiring harness in a box and throws it behind the seat somewhere. Have found them before. Not sure why they think it saves time.
2112 I took mine to Wallyworld and repeated what you said. Finaally I started screaming at them but they still didn't adjust. As soon as I get out of this padded cell I'll see what I did wrong.

[clutch1]

Your brakes may also be full of grease if someone has misused the fancy grease fitting on the hub. If you can't adjust them try pulling a brake drum to check for grease contamination.

[2112]

donn0128 wrote:
First thing, adjust the brakes.

I take mine to a large school parking lot to adjust the brakes. Back up and stop with just the trailer brake controller. Pull forward and stop using just the brake controller twice. Repeat until happy.

[kerrlakeRoo]

Do you have a brake controller that you can adjust on that truck? I believe some of the F-150's back in 01 had a wiring port for you to add a controller, but did not actually come with one.

[Lwiddis]

What a comprehensive TT brake checklist, Gde!

[donn0128]

First thing, adjust the brakes.

[Gdetrailer]

simple and easy "test"

Make sure you have a fully charged 12V battery connected to your trailer.

Jack up a tire, PULL the breakaway pin.

Check tire to see if you can rotate it.

If you can't rotate the tire when the pin is pulled that means you have good functioning brakes on that tire.

Put break away pin back in and you now should be able to spin that tire.

Repeat the process for all tires on the trailer.

If any of the tires fail to lock and not spin with the pin pulled you have found the problem on the trailer side eliminating the vehicle side.

If none of the tires lock with pin pulled then you have a wiring issue on the trailer side and/or a break away switch failure.

If any of the positions give a slight or no resistance instead of lock then you have a problem with that position and will need to remove the drum and check further for mechanical adjustment or electrical connection issues.

Issue could be shoes not adjusted correctly or even bad magnet or magnet wiring. Check the wire connections on each position, sometimes they break or corrode (corrosion acts like an insulator and will not allow full voltage and current to the magnet).

You do also need to ensure the plug and socket from the vehicle to the trailer has good clean connections, don't want any corrosion on the contacts.

I will take a piece of sandpaper, fold it a few times then insert it into the plug and socket to remove any corrosion and brighten the connections.

My number one rule is to verify my trailers brakes function correctly before driving on public roads each time I hitch up.

Without the trailer plugged into the vehicle I will pull the breakaway pin, then pull forward slightly.

All wheels must lock up, typically will slide the tires depending on surface.

Put pin back in and then plug in the trailer.

Then I check to make sure controller indicates it has detected trailer brakes.

Then I will start moving forward and use the manual brake button, this button manually activates the brakes and you should feel the resistance.

If none felt, I then go back to the trailer plug and make sure it is clean and well seated.

Then repeat the pull test with manual control.

I will double check the brakes using the manual control whenever I stop for fuel or need a break before moving onto public roads..

Sounds like the process takes a lot of time, it doesn't, perhaps a minute or two..