Trailer Brake Question

It sounds like the trailer's brakes are not providing enough braking power. Is this a brand new trailer?

Test the trailer by pulling the break-away switch, this should put 12 volts on the trailer's braking system and should offer a great deal of resistance to rolling.

I have a 15K Montana, I can not lock up the wheels (on paved roadway) with the break-away active but the resistance to roll is significant. This is normal for electric drum brakes from what I have read and been told.

The truck and trailer should work together proportionally stopping, the trailer should stop its weight as should the truck. Neither of the two should provide braking for the other.

This thread by Jbarca is one of the best...within that thread is a link to LAdams thread, which ia also a good reference thread for trailer brake wiring upgrade

http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/23470880/srt/pa/pging/1/page/1

Twist connectors better than crimp connectors???

the best upgrade I did to the braking system on our tt was wiring

I replace every piece of wire from the truck battery to the last brake, literally EVERY piece

I ran new 10 ga from the truck battery to the controller, controller to the 7 pin, new whip for the tt and ran 2 12 ga cables to the brakes, one cable down each side. I also added a 10 ga ground wire from the truck's 7 pin to the truck battery. I eliminated all crimpon connectors, put new twistons where needed etc etc.

brake circuit amp draw went from 4 or 5 amps to 12 amps, normal for 4-7 inch brakes

its ok to check the resistance and voltage in the brake circuit, but the real indicator of electrical performance is the amps used

You should also verify the brake shoes have been installed properly. The magnet only starts the process. Most of the braking comes from the front shoe being pushed down by the drum. It in turn cams the rear shoe out which does most of the braking. They work much, much better going forwards than backwards. If they are installed wrong their function is greatly reduced.

Do you remember ever backing out of your driveway and then finding your parking brake set when you tried to go forward? That's typical of how drum brakes work.

And they will work on heavy trailers too. Ever see disc brakes on a semi trailer?

Personally want as much OVER the mandated minimum required by the regulatory agencies for GVWR

Even in stock form...each should have enough brakes to stop its GVWR in the listed max specification

Anything less...have the dealer fix it

Great points guys, thanks for the feedback. I will bring it in for an inspection at another RV Dealership or a RV repair place.

I had to stand on the truck brakes when I had to stop in a hurry once, thus my question here.

Thanks everyone for your posts, I appreciate your expertise.
Happy camping and safe travels to all.

Larry

If you have a 9000 lb truck and a 15,000 lb trailer, NO, your truck should not be doing 80% of the stopping. The truck should be doing about 35% of the stopping, because the truck's weight is about 35% of the total combined weight of truck + trailer.

Feeling that you can't stop is NOT normal in any size trailer.

I personally feel that from your description, your brakes are not up to snuff. Have you adjusted them?

Be wary when an RV dealer says they "checked" or "inspected" something. Normally that is a simple visual inspection, and if it isn't falling apart or falling off, it's deemed "good." A true check would involve pulling the hubs and drums to make sure the wheel bearing grease hasn't leaked into the brake drum, to see if there is adequate friction material left on the shoe, to see if the drums are not overly worn, and a proper adjustment upon reassembly.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your feedback, we appreciate your help. I've lurked RV.NET for a while, I love the sense of community and the helpfulness of the members.

Judging from applying full brakes from the controller alone vs. doing the same while also applying the truck brakes, it seems that my truck is providing about 75-80% of the stopping power. Is this normal for trailers this size / weight?

It seems that many large trailers (15,000 lbs +) cannot lockup brakes on full controller.

Would the lack of braking be because there are 3 axles / 6 brakes on the trailer so there isn't enough voltage coming from the OEM Ford brake controller to fully engage them? mkirsch mentions current on wiring, this kinda "sparked" (pun intended) that thought.

I should've mentioned that this is used toy hauler bought from a dealer. They inspected everything prior to sale. They offered to replace the brake backing plates (magnets, springs and repack bearings) for $1200 (with $500 their cost on parts) if I was overly concerned, which I am. If some yo-yo cut in front of me and I had to emergency stop, I'm not sure if I could. This 40 ft trailer with a F450 defiantly takes longer to stop than a 29 ft bunkhouse with a 1/2 ton..

Thanks again for the feedback, we appreciate your insights.

Larry & Sylvia.