Brakes grabbing
Today while cruising along about 60 mph, I suddenly felt the trailer jerk once, pretty hard, about 1/4 mile later another jerk, not so bad. Then everything felt fine for about another mile or so an th...
Forum Discussion
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for your background explanation. It helps.
I can see the weak braking, that adds up. I'm still trying to sort out on how the extreme braking is happening. H'mm, I have to think in this some more. Somehow the brake controller is reacting to the shorting of the hot wire.
The wire chaffing issue, for sure a problem. For those wanting to keep an older camper to still be towed from camp to camp, yes, just abandon the wires in the axle tube and upgrade the wiring outside the tube. 10 years towing is what caused the wear in the pic I posted on the one I was restoring.
The emergency breakaway switch, yes a forgotten safety feature. Again, restoring older campers, they where never changed since the day it left the factory. And they do not get on the annual maintenance list to pull and check them, and put silicone spray on the O ring. If one reads the instructions that comes with the switch, many brands recommend changing them every 3 to 5 years. They really do not have a lot of faith in them. I have found the switch most times corrodes inside and creates extreme heat the day it ever gets pulled, to the point the insulation can started melting. The O ring cracks over time, the pin gets jammed in, or water leaks in and kills the switch. That said, I have not seen one yet that corroded on. I know it is not impossible, maybe just not as common.
Happy camping
John
Thanks for your background explanation. It helps.
I can see the weak braking, that adds up. I'm still trying to sort out on how the extreme braking is happening. H'mm, I have to think in this some more. Somehow the brake controller is reacting to the shorting of the hot wire.
The wire chaffing issue, for sure a problem. For those wanting to keep an older camper to still be towed from camp to camp, yes, just abandon the wires in the axle tube and upgrade the wiring outside the tube. 10 years towing is what caused the wear in the pic I posted on the one I was restoring.
The emergency breakaway switch, yes a forgotten safety feature. Again, restoring older campers, they where never changed since the day it left the factory. And they do not get on the annual maintenance list to pull and check them, and put silicone spray on the O ring. If one reads the instructions that comes with the switch, many brands recommend changing them every 3 to 5 years. They really do not have a lot of faith in them. I have found the switch most times corrodes inside and creates extreme heat the day it ever gets pulled, to the point the insulation can started melting. The O ring cracks over time, the pin gets jammed in, or water leaks in and kills the switch. That said, I have not seen one yet that corroded on. I know it is not impossible, maybe just not as common.
Happy camping
John
