possible danger with wires ran inside axle to other side

[Likes_to_tow]

This happened to a friend a few years ago and was very hard to find. It was very intermittent and without the suggestion of some experienced camper at a campground he may never have found the problem. Check out this video. I'm pulling mine out of the axle today on the new 5th wheel I just purchased. You can run small plastic conduit or water pipe to the other side rather than use them as manufactured....inside the axle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21QFaEw3NCE

[Planning]

"Yes, but great stopping ability is worth the price."

150%

Did ours with the Titan system. Cannot say good enough about it.

[Planning]

Minermark wrote:
Just a heads up on a few items here gents.
I worked a stint at a Clayton owned plant.
Clayton owns most trailer Mfg's.
Tweekers, Meth heads, Parolle's, Molesters and just about any other kind of dirt bag you can think of IS who is building your coach.
Think not? Take a tour of a plant sometime, any plant.

I have, more than one, and you are spot on. Negative tooth-to-tatoo ration in all of them.

[Likes_to_tow]

csamayfield55 wrote:

bucky wrote:
You do realize that the tube is just a tube, and only the drum rotates?

Has nothing to do with that, take 8 feet of wire and try and use it like a jump rope. This is what happens going down the road. That wire bounces around inside the tube.

While this is true I don't lend much to this explanation on this problem. It looks more like chafing during the install to me. I have seen many many trailers that have never had this issue and that goes for the 3 campers and multiple utility trailers I have owned.

Chris

The thin rubber grommet entering and exiting the axle tube will also wear with all the bouncing of the wire inside. Keep this in mind also. Since we do not know the condition of smoothness inside the axle I'm not comfortable with my wires in there bouncing. My friend had his trip to Yellowstone nearly ruined by this intermittant problem. He thought it was his brake controller and stopped by two different Ford dealers only to be told it was functioning properly. Had it not been for the nice fellow at the campground who suggested to remove the wire inside the axle they would have turned around at the end of the second day and returned home!! This video I have posted at the beginning of this thread and the opinions of those who have contributed look pretty darned conclusive that the wire inside bouncing could put you along side the road somewhere in the mountains.
This would especially be true on trailers with lots of miles on them.

[csamayfield55x]

bucky wrote:
You do realize that the tube is just a tube, and only the drum rotates?

Has nothing to do with that, take 8 feet of wire and try and use it like a jump rope. This is what happens going down the road. That wire bounces around inside the tube.

While this is true I don't lend much to this explanation on this problem. It looks more like chafing during the install to me. I have seen many many trailers that have never had this issue and that goes for the 3 campers and multiple utility trailers I have owned.

Chris

[bucky]

You do realize that the tube is just a tube, and only the drum rotates?

[Likes_to_tow]

bpounds wrote:
That wire is probably safer than it would be outside the axle. I'm not going to run out and rewire my brakes any time soon. And it is about as likely that they scraped that wire pulling it through at the factory, as having worn through.

Good to know that it can happen, although fairly obvious that if you have a short, it could be inside the axle tube.

As the wires bounce around inside the axle the intermittent short is nearly impossible to trace. This drives the brake controller crazy and gives false errors. If there is one thing I can do while at my residence to prevent problems on the road I will do it.

[Minermark]

Just a heads up on a few items here gents.
I worked a stint at a Clayton owned plant.
Clayton owns most trailer Mfg's.
Tweekers, Meth heads, Parolle's, Molesters and just about any other kind of dirt bag you can think of IS who is building your coach.
Think not? Take a tour of a plant sometime, any plant.

[JIMNLIN]

The guy in the you tube had no idea what he was looking at. Shoddy workmanship from the axle maker.
The damaged wire shown in the last few second wasn't caused from laying in a steel axle tube but rather when the wires at assembly were jerked through those small holes. Those sharp edges scrapped the insulation off and even cut strands in the copper wiring .

I saw this when working at a mobilehome mfg in the early '60s when final assy line electricians did their brake wire testing.
We pulled lots of shredded/scuffed wiring out of the axle and ran our own wiring after redrilling the hole at a angle with a plastic grommets for that purpose
I would never put trailer brake wiring on the outside of a axle tube.

[Labman7]

When our puppy chewed off the brake wire to both sides, leaving a few inches at the drum, I enlarged the hole slightly, added grommets and pulled 10 gauge wire through the axle. Worked so well I did the other axle also. That was much easier since I could use the wire already in the axle to pull the new wire.

[rhagfo]

fj12ryder wrote:

aruba5er wrote:
Replace wire with hydralic line and be done with it. Then you don't have to worry about a chafed wire. And then you can stop better even.

And you'll be traveling lighter with all that green stuff gone from your wallet. 🙂

Yes, but great stopping ability is worth the price.

[fj12ryder]

aruba5er wrote:
Replace wire with hydralic line and be done with it. Then you don't have to worry about a chafed wire. And then you can stop better even.

And you'll be traveling lighter with all that green stuff gone from your wallet. 🙂

[bpounds]

That wire is probably safer than it would be outside the axle. I'm not going to run out and rewire my brakes any time soon. And it is about as likely that they scraped that wire pulling it through at the factory, as having worn through.

Good to know that it can happen, although fairly obvious that if you have a short, it could be inside the axle tube.

[aruba5er]

Replace wire with hydralic line and be done with it. Then you don't have to worry about a chafed wire. And then you can stop better even.

[ScottG]

Very common and ancient problem. It can take an awfully long time to happen - my 04 still hasn't done it.