Electric Brake Question by Newbie

[Badunit]

I'm new to towing, other than a U-Haul here and there. This is my first experience with electric brakes. I have a new pop-up trailer and my question is whether I should be able to lock up the trailer brakes on dry pavement using the manual control on the controller. Not that I should be able to do this if it is adjusted correctly, but should it have the power to do this if it is set to apply maximum braking? Nothing I do on the controller I have will allow me to lock up the trailer brakes on dry pavement even though the instructions make it sound like I should be able to.

 

[lmills]

I have never had a pop up camper with brakes. I didn't run into brakes until I stepped up to a larger trailer.

 

[Fireman Dave]

I'd say yes - they should lock up if you put the juice to them. If they aren't, maybe the shoes need adjustment, or maybe the magnets need some work. Or maybe it's electrical - not enough juice flowing? The controller could also be the problem. Like lmills, I didn't get into brakes until I stepped up to the bigger trailer 2 years ago. Our pop-up (a '97 Coleman) wasn't as heavy as they're making them now, so it didn't have brakes.

 

[lmills]

Our 2001 Palamino didn't have electirc brakes either, and it was a rather large pop up

 

[R-N-R]

Badunit,



What controller do you have?



Bill

 

[Casey Balvert]

I never could on my popup. Not on dry pavement anyway. The brakes are pretty small on those trailers. I can't lock them up on my fiver either. Or the tag along I had before that. Three different trucks, four different brake controllers, and three different trailers. None of them locked up. I think part of the problem is the wires are too light for that length and the voltage drop is too high to deliver full current to the magnets. They use 14 gauge on this truck. In my opinion it should be 10 gauge Considering the round trip on my fiver is probably close to 100 feet. Battery to the magnets and back to the ground. That is a long way. FWIW.

 

[HBarlow]

Originally posted by Casey Balvert

This Canadian supports the President and US troops.

Casey:



Thanks! Your support is appreciated. Although many don't realize it or want to admit it, we are all in this together.



Harvey

 

[DavidC]

I have never been able to lock up a 26' travel trailer or now a 32' 5th wheel with the manual override. Although on a recent trip I had to stop in a hurry and the 5th wheel definitely locked up and skidded to a stop (prodigy controller). Kind of makes me think that the manual side limits voltage to the brakes.



Dave

 

[Prairie Dog]

I had to panic stop my 22 ft TT one time (guy in front of me had no brake lights). I remember hearing tires screeching and thinking that someone was going to slam into me f/ behind. Then I noticed the trailer was slightly sideways!

 

[Badunit]

It's a Tekonsha Voyager.



Thanks for the help.

 

[R-N-R]

My Prodigy would not lock up my TT brakes whereas my last truck/controller would. FMcClaren helped me out and discoverd a perfectly good looking 40amp fuse that failed testing on a meter. The controller worked when connected to the TT, but still would not lock up the brakes. I'll find next month if getting 12v from the truck to the controller fixes the situation.



Bill

 

[skobylenski]

Typically the manual override doesn't go any higher than what the braking power is set at. For example: you set the wheel (or whatever it is) at 5. 5 (meaning you get something like 5. 5 pulses per second) - (I think thats the way it works). When you hit the truck brakes, the EBC goes to 5. 5, and you stop. When you manually override with the little slider (or whatever you have), the highest setting it brakes at is going to be 5. 5 (or whatever your setting is). The less you move the slider, the less braking power (pulses/second) you get, thus the slower you stop.



I've found that the best way to set your EBC is to find a flat parking lot, and get going about 5-10 MPH. Then have someone else squeeze the override and move the setting wheel up until you hear the grind of rubber on pavement. Then back the wheel off by . 5 - 1, and you should be set. Of course, this is with an empty horse trailer, so you need to re-adjust your setting to something you feel is better once you get rolling with a load, and are using the truck brakes as well.



I'm sure this doesn't make any sense to anyone but me, but it's much easier to explain these things in person, and with a demonstration.



BTW - a pop-up with brakes?



Good luck,

Scott

 

[R-N-R]

Scott,



I follow you!



I set my controller to the highest setting voltage and boost setting and could not lock up the trailer wheels.



My last truck with a drawtight controller would lock the trailer up without any problem. Well, actually that was a problem... forgetting to turn the controller up and down for highway and slow speeds. That was why I changed to the Prodigy when I purchased the new truck.

(Gotta love the porkbarrel thing)



I swapped out the Prodigy for a new one without change. Now that I have replaced the fuse in the truck, the controller should be getting the full 12 volts from the truck. Hopefully this will allow the controlelr to operate as it was designed.



Bill

 

[skobylenski]

Yeah, I have a Drawtite. Your plan sounds like it should work.



Scott