Trailer Brake Question

Part of the problem is trailer manufacturers cheap out on the wiring. The 12ga-14ga wires they use for the brakes are not adequate to carry enough current.

Many people have replaced their wiring with 10ga, and it made a world of difference in braking power.

Your best bet would be to install disc brakes. I believe any trailer that grosses over 10K lbs should be equipped with them. I had Titan disc brakes installed on our rig by Performance Trailer Braking. The difference in braking performance between the disc and the original drum brakes is like night and day - the truck stops just as well towing the 5er as it does empty.

Happy trails,
Bill

You should be able to lock the brakes. I would pull the drums, clean and inspect the brakes. Might repack the bearing while there. I'd make sure all the brakes were getting power. When I had electric brakes with a 38 ft. trailer 8.0 work just about perfect for me. It did for my buddy as well.

Two things come to mind.

First it can take 1-2 thousand miles before the trailer brake shoes wear to match the drums. Typically most trailers have 1000 or miles on them due to the distance the dealer had to have it towed from the factory.

Second the brakes may be contaminated with grease. When my trailer was new I had problems and found 3 of the 4 brakes had grease on the shoes from torn grease seals. It appeared they were damaged when they were assembled most likely in China were the axles came from.

path1 wrote:
I would start with brake adjustment first before digging in deeper to other causes.

Agree with this. My trailer brakes grew weaker so gradually that at first I did not really notice it. When I finally realized it, I adjusted them and the difference was very significant. Mine are not self adjusting though. Don't know about yours.

I would start with brake adjustment first before digging in deeper to other causes.

Assuming the brakes are in good working order, either the trailer is too heavy for it's brakes (near or over the axle weight ratings), or the controller and all the wiring thereafter isn't providing enough juice to the trailer's 6-brake system. Could be a wiring issue: wire gauge too small for length of run, or bad connections.

Weekend Warrior, and others, made alot of giant toy haulers, which were built on chassis that were too small for their weight... They were often already overloaded as they came out of the factory, before anything was loaded into the cargo bay...

In that case, you may need to upgrade to heavier rated axles (and their correspondingly larger brakes).

My 15,000 lb 5th wheel with only two axles will not lock up the brakes. I was told this is normal due to the weight and how the magnets grab to activate the shoes.

I was never happy with the brake operation, I always felt they were too week. The meter showed the correct voltage and amperage at the connector and I always kept the brakes properly adjusted.

I bought a new truck a few years ago with an aftermarket brake controller installed and was surprised at how much better the trailer brakes worked. They still won't lock up but they have a lot more holding power from this electronic controller. It's a DrawTite brake controller.

I've been very happy with the brake performance since switching to this new truck.