Trailer brake breakaway failure - possible warranty claim?

[Drew510]

Cliff's notes: New trailer (less than 1 year) emergency brake cable unknowingly pulled and did not lock up the brakes but engaged them enough to destroy the brakes after about 50 miles. Is any of this on the MFG or dealer for not being properly adjusted from the factory?

Whole story:
My parents bought a new TT late last year. They park it at our private campground during the summer and store it in the winter. I am their personal delivery man.

One thing I noticed when I towed it from the dealer to storage to the campground is that I had to have my brake controller maxed out to get decent trailer brakes. On a Prodigy 2, that's 6.3 with the adjuster maxed. On my trailer, I run at 6.2 and about half on the adjuster.

The issue: When I was pulling it from the campground to storage, I stopped at a sharp turn onto the highway about a mile from camp. After I turned onto the highway, I noticed my Suburban struggled to get up to speed. I looked in my mirrors to see if the brakes had locked up, but the wheels seemed to have been turning fine.

Eventually the truck seemed to be driving fine. This trailer is about 1000 pounds heavier than mine (8000 vs 7000) so I chalked it up to that. Well, when we got home and got out and looked at the trailer, the wheels were COVERED in brake dust and the inside of the trailer stunk like burnt brakes. I looked down at the emergency trailer brake cable and it was resting on the ground!

When I turned that corner at the beginning of the trip, the angle must have been so much that it pulled the cable out and engaged the emergency brakes.

Shouldn't this have LOCKED the brakes up? I know it does on my trailer. The next day my dad pulled a wheel and inspected the brakes - they are toast. I'll be taking it to the dealer for it's annual checkup (he got suckered into the Blue Dog "Forever Warranty) in a couple weeks and he's already notified them of the brake issue.

My question is, is there any way for the dealer/mfg to have ownership of the issue because the emergency brakes did not lock up and instead just dragged to their demise?

Any other suggestions? Thanks!

[Old-Biscuit]

DOT Requirement.......
Trailer battery must apply full battery voltage for minimum of 15 minutes when Emergency Breakaway Switch is activated.

Tow vehicle brake controller does NOT allow full battery voltage unless manual lever is fully engaged.

Whether trailer brakes fully engage and lock up wheels is dependent on how tight brakes have been adjusted.

When trailer breaks away...detached from tow vehicle.....trailer brakes should STOP run away trailer


Brake adjustments, accidental pulling of Emergency Pin----wear/tear on shoes/drums/magnets--------non warranty items

[fj12ryder]

MarkTwain wrote:

Bionic Man wrote:
I guess the brakes on my 5er must be something special, because they will lock up the brakes when the break-away is pulled.

But I still don't think you have a warranty claim.

Good luck;

When the emergency break-away cable is disconnected, all 4 brakes are designed to lock up the wheels, that is the purpose.

I think a better way to state it is that when the break-away cable is disconnected all brakes will have maximum power directed to them. Whether that will lock up the brakes is another matter.

As was noted maximum braking effectiveness is just before the brakes lock up, not when they are locked up.

[MarkTwain]

Bionic Man wrote:
I guess the brakes on my 5er must be something special, because they will lock up the brakes when the break-away is pulled.

But I still don't think you have a warranty claim.

Good luck;

When the emergency break-away cable is disconnected, all 4 brakes are designed to lock up the wheels, that is the purpose.

[Drew510]

@Bird Freak - not trying to pass the blame at all. Just asked the question because if I didn't, it wouldn't get answered.

@12th Man Fan - Thanks for the suggestion. We might have to explore that route.

[DiskDoctr]

It's important to regularly inspect, adjust, and test your brakes and breakaway battery charge regularly.

I hope you didn't get too much damage. 😉

[BB_TX]

You don't want the trailer brakes to lock the wheels. Sliding tires have less traction and is a good way to get the trailer trying to come around and pass you on an emergency stop when your truck brakes are gripping the pavement. However the brakes should engage strongly enough that there is no doubt that they are engaged. Sounds like they were not properly adjusted.

[Bionic_Man]

I guess the brakes on my 5er must be something special, because they will lock up the brakes when the break-away is pulled.

But I still don't think you have a warranty claim.

Good luck;

[dodge_guy]

Nope, just a mishap that you happen to have caused. whether or not they locked up doesn't matter as to who`s fault it was.

With that said, trailer brakes should fully engage if not lock up. when I first got our current trailer the brakes barley worked. It took some work but found out the brake magnets were weak! replaced the magnets and I could lock up the brakes with 100% braking efficiency. I set my controller so the brakes don`t lock up, but you always want good brakes!

[fj12ryder]

Yeah, sounds like operator error to me too. Kind of like the computer error "CKI": Chair/Keyboard Interface. 🙂

[navegator]

Brake shoes and brake pads as is the clutch in a manual transmission are not covered by any manufacturer on any vehicle, they are considered wear items and there fore can be abused and misused, in any court of law the manufacturer's lawyer will argue that you the client misused or abused the item in question and that in the bill of sale there is a stipulation that wear items are not covered in the warranty, worked for a few automotive dealers and know this for a fact, I got to repair the clutches and brakes of new drivers and stick learners, boy were they pissed when told that those items were not covered by ne vehicle warranty.

navegator

[Bird_Freak]

Sounds like you screwed up and looking to blame someone else. Lesson learned. Fix it and carry on.

[WackAway]

Once saw a guy put full throttle to his boat while anchor was set. Taking that few extra seconds to check proper setup or operation can save $$$$'s or lives. Ask any pilot. To them, its required seconds and not "extra". Premature lack of altitude is not good.

Count your blessings and chalk it up as a lesson learned. Making mistakes and living through them helps us either become wise or a lucky idiot. I'm still trying to figure out which I am (or going to be).

BTW, I was that guy in the boat.

[12th_Man_Fan]

Might check with your insurance company. A buddy of mine did the same thing and his insurance covered it less the deductable.

[paulbeauchemin]

did this the first day I got my 5th wheel. Went to a lot to practice backing and inadvertently pulled the safety out. Being new i had no idea this happened but I felt something was wrong

So I towed it back to the dealer and arrived with clouds of smoke billowing out of the trailer brakes.

Fortunately did not ruin the brakes