Electric brake effectiveness

I got to try the brakes on dry asphalt and could lock up the front axle with the brake controller on 7.5 or 8 and they still seem to be getting better. Even with the front axle locking I still did feel like I was getting as much braking as I wanted and the only solution was to increase the braking effort of the rear axle. The only way to do that was to turn up the brake controller. Not wanting to lock up the front axle too much at the higher gain I went in search of a resistor to bring the front back down to where it was at the lower brake controller setting. At my local building supply store I found a 65' spool of 20 gauge 2 conductor wire for a doorbell at a very reasonable price. I tied the two conductors together at one end so that I effectively have a 130' of single strand then put this in series with the front brakes, using wire ties to tie the entire spool to the axle. It will still lock the front tires but only after getting a lot more effort from the rears. I am quite pleased with the stopping effort now and feel much safer. My infrared thermometer indicates that the rear axle is now doing about 2/3 of the braking. If heat or wear become an issue I will upgrade the rear to 3 1/2" brakes.

I am really amazed at the difference burnishing the brakes made and feel that not being informed of that when purchasing a new trailer put my life and a lot of others at risk. This needs to be better communicated.