Oops! Brakes on for 24 Hours!

Well, everything worked out fine. Battery water level was good. Prodigy P3 did not get fried with backwash. Brakes function exactly as before, And, btw, the sunset over Lake Superior was Magnificent!

At the risk of sounding like Paul Harvey, now you know the rest of the story! As usual, I respect and appreciate all your input.

Crikey, what a tale.
Thanks for the reminder to always chock before unhitching.

And to add to this:

BFL13 wrote:

...
You need to do a pull test with 7-pin disconnected and breakaway pin out again. Just hearing the brakes work or that hum/whine at each wheel with the brakes on and trailer stopped does not tell the tale.

I have a brake job coming up so I know that. I get the 12amps ok, the voltage is good, get the hum/whine. You can hear the brakes apply. But the trailer has "no brakes."

Various possibilities, all expensive, but never mind that--the point is you have to do the pull test to see if the brakes actually stop the trailer from moving, both with the breakaway test as above, and also with the brake controller and 7-pin way with no truck braking and the manual slider on the brake controller.

I frequently check the brake drum temperatures after a "hard" brake to make sure they are working. Just a touch.

That's how I discovered that one of my drums had been greased by a leaky seal.

I did get it plugged into shore power after I got the slides out and everything else set up. VDC on monitor in the trailer showed 12.76 before plugging in, with a single incandescent light on and a couple of LEDS on. Just about right. When plugged in, I did notice the fan on the converter was on--not a sound I frequently hear. I noticed it again when I returned from a long day of sight seeing. Only then did I even think to check that breakaway switch. I stuck it back in last night, but not all the way. Heard brakes release, stepped inside--no more fan on converter. Will check battery fluid (2x 12v)in a bit--After sunset!

Next time, tell everyone to back up or shut up. You have to expect people to be backing into sites at a campground.

I did the same thing a few years back and drained the trailer battery flat (this was on a flatbed car hauler with a small dedicated battery for the breakaway system).

I recharged the battery, but the brakes still didn't work… so I replaced the battery with a new one but that still didn't solve the problem. Swapping in new magnets did the trick and it was quick, easy, and cheap.

Keep in mind that while driving the brakes are energized by the brake controller, not the battery. Anyway, you might have gotten lucky and simply be able to recharge or replace the battery, but I have first hand experience that it is possible to damage the electro-magnets.

Cheers,
-Mark

Gsturner wrote:
...pulled the breakway cable, reached end of safety chains (which fortunately I always remove last)...

If it pulled the breakaway, it sounds like it didn't work. Are you sure the switch even activated the brakes? Maybe nothing happened for 24 hours.

Been there, done that a couple of times. Killed both batteries each time. Brakes still work fine.

You need a beer! (or three) Isn't Rving great? :)

No. Mine got pulled and killed both batteries. Everything still works fine.

So, I pulled into McLain SP in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan late yesterday afternoon. Had Site 99 reserved--large back-in site with terrific view of Lake Superior--looking forward to seeing sunset over lake. I tried to extend my stay for two days, to accomodate some sight seeing in the area without the trailer. Had to choose site 69, a wooded site to be able to stay two nights without moving. Fine. Drove thru entire crowded park, very narrow road, vehicles parked right on the edge of the pavement--watching closely the two little kids on roller blades now trying to climb a hill--8 year old on bicycle squeezes past me on the right! Unbelievable! Got back to the extreme end of the loop--site 69--a very short site, 90 degrees to the left. I surprised myself by getting it roughly in position in a single swipe (while being passed on the right again by the same kid while backing in! Arghh!) Left side was pretty low--quickly stacked lego blocks two high ahead of both wheels--that would put the oak tree right between the two slides. Pulled her up on the blocks. Great! Now i have two cars waiting with no way to get around, Mind you, I’m working solo here. I quickly toss some wood blocks under tongue jack, raise her up, drop the bars, (literally-drop bars, pins, everything on the ground--three cars in line, getting impatient. Raise it more to clear ball--latch open, lifting truck--No time for this! stepped down on truck, trailer breaks loose, and starts down toward the pretty valley behind the site (no bumper block btw). Crap! in my haste I didn’t chock the wheels! Rolled off the legos, pulled the breakway cable, reached end of safety chains (which fortunately I always remove last).

So, NOW I chock the wheels, then back up to relieve the pressure on the safety chains. Car number 4 is now honking. Move the truck out of the way. After traffic clears, had to get back under the hitch, hook it up, haul it back up onto the legos, CHOCK THE WHEELS, remove from truck. park truck and commence to setting up camp. By now, of course I missed the sunset I was looking forward to, but at least i didn’t have to explain to an insurance agent how birch tree became imbedded in the back of the trailer.

Now the question remains, can i expect issues from the brakes being activated for 24 hours?