question about trailer brakes.

Get out on the hwy and do an emergency stop. I think you will find the brakes are working just fine.

All of my trailers have been heavier than yours and I could not lock up the brakes on any of them.

You do not want the brakes to lock up if you are trying to stop in a hurry.

Yes, my TT brakes lock up. 8500 pounds is a heavy trailer if your brakes are defective.

You tried. Have a professional repair the TT brakes.

I never could lock up my breaks nor do i want to. They say to lock them up then dial down the gain so they dont lock up. Breaks are made to slow the trailor down some so the TV dosen't do all the work. If they engage and slow the camper , not the TV , they are most likely fine. 8500 empty is plenty heavy bud. They are countermuserate to the xamler. Smaller campers have smaller breaks.

Thanks for your relys. I understand you don't want the brakes to lock up under normal or emergency conditions. I would prefer that they would lock up them have to dial down the voltage going to them. Since I can have max voltage to them without them locking up, it almost seems as though they are under sized for my trailer.

You do need to adjust those BRAKES unless you have disk brakes and most RV's do not. I'm about to do it on our RV and just ordered a $5 brake spoon tool on Amazon to make it easier. You can do it with a flat head screw driver tho. Here is a youtube video that I found interesting:Adjusting RV drum brakes

tewitt1949 wrote:
Thanks for your relys. I understand you don't want the brakes to lock up under normal or emergency conditions. I would prefer that they would lock up them have to dial down the voltage going to them. Since I can have max voltage to them without them locking up, it almost seems as though they are under sized for my trailer.

What size are your brakes? How heavy is your trailer? Not sure if some 4,400 axles come with 12 inch brakes, but 5,200 axles do. In my experience the 12 inch brakes are much superior on a similar wt trailer. My IBC in rig, in sig, is set to 5.5, and works great! At a setting of 6 or more, with up to 10 possible, it will lock/squeal the tires on pavement at 25 mph when squeezing lever quickly.

Are you testing your lockup capability, by quickly squeezing the manual lever, or stepping on the TV brake, with gain set to max?

It does not take new brakes long to require adjustment, and not all people adjust the same. Myself...I adjust to can't turn the wheel, and normally back off 3 clicks, but never more than 5 clicks. I go by drag sound, and with a light spin with hand, watch for the valve stem to make 1-1.5 revolutions before stopping.

In some cases, the wiring may not be heavy enough to allow max voltage to the brakes.

Jerry

The number of clicks and the number of revolutions is not the correct way to adjust drum brakes. Why not use the instructions from a brake manufacturer? See page 13.

The heavier the trailer, the harder it is to lock up the brakes. I can lock up my aluminum stock trailer empty, but can’t with a few cows in it.

Get a DC clamp-on ammeter and look for 3 amps at each wheel when the controller is manually applied. Next check the brake adjustment at each wheel.

Drum brakes need to run in a bit if they have been sitting in storage. So you need to drive some to get them worked in and warmed up. In a clear and safe space fully apply just the trailer brakes manually at 30 to 40 MPH. They may lock and they may not but they should pull you firmly to a stop. This should give you a comfort level that they are working properly. There is no guaranty the wheels will lock.

If you are not comfortable with the braking force you will need to remove one or all drums to inspect.

If you really want superior braking I recommend converting to disk brakes.

Lynnmor wrote:
The number of clicks and the number of revolutions is not the correct way to adjust drum brakes. Why not use the instructions from a brake manufacturer? See page 13.

I was giving an example of what works for me, and approximates of clicks/revolutions, to get where I want my brakes to function. You may not have enough brake adjusting experience to know how much revolution is normal when having a light drag. Every ones light spin of the wheel may differ, as to revolutions. Like most important adjustments, if you are not confident to do it safely yourself, you should have a competent person perform this task for you. :)

Also...new brake shoes are hard to get to a proper adjustment, until after some break-in time.

Jerry