trailer brakes not right??

[ryecreek]

i've been towing a 3 axle equip tlr 21K

went through all the bearings drums looked good except 1 that spun a bearing so i had a new spindle put on and bought a new drum/backing assembly. so here is the deal:

when loaded i have no brakes UNLESS i turn my level knob real aggressive and the power max ( loaded=10-14k) and it stops very ___did i say VERY___

harsh but thats the only i have some brakes. (and dont tell me its cause im too heavy cause i have another tlr that i haul a 17k backhoe on with the buckets on and its just fine)

all the shoes have tons of meat left and i adjusted the brakes too.

Do i need magnets

btw

when empty at @5-6k it stops fine when i get it fine tuned but the power/gain is still pretty high 3/4 or more

 

[jelag]

Most brake shops have the ability to turn the drums and the surface that the magnet rides on... the magnet should be smooth as well as the surface that it rides on... .

We have a tandem with duals, each axle is 12 K, we finally had to move this trailer to disc brakes to get a great brake... the power disc brakes out performed the electric brakes at least 2 to 1...

I have several suggestions... . as we were always worried about the stopping distance...

1 - make sure that the wiring doesn't go through the axle, we've had problems with the wiring chaffing in the axle an causing great headaches...

2 - we finally moved to a brake controller that had a sensor in the brake line, (brake smart and there's another one) to get even braking based on pedal pressure... in each case we'd change the controller based on how heavy the trailer was... than we had real proportional brakes...

3 - we finally ended up rewiring all our trailers to get ride of the scotch locks and other loose connections... we used butt connectors and shrink tubing that has a heat activated adhesive when it shrinks to make a water proof connection...

This is a starting point... hope this helps...

 

[ryecreek]

Most brake shops have the ability to turn the drums and the surface that the magnet rides on... the magnet should be smooth as well as the surface that it rides on... .



We have a tandem with duals, each axle is 12 K, we finally had to move this trailer to disc brakes to get a great brake... the power disc brakes out performed the electric brakes at least 2 to 1...



I have several suggestions... . as we were always worried about the stopping distance...



1 - make sure that the wiring doesn't go through the axle, we've had problems with the wiring chaffing in the axle an causing great headaches...



2 - we finally moved to a brake controller that had a sensor in the brake line, (brake smart and there's another one) to get even braking based on pedal pressure... in each case we'd change the controller based on how heavy the trailer was... than we had real proportional brakes...



3 - we finally ended up rewiring all our trailers to get ride of the scotch locks and other loose connections... we used butt connectors and shrink tubing that has a heat activated adhesive when it shrinks to make a water proof connection...



This is a starting point... hope this helps...

its a trailking so ya have a hot and ground for each axle at the tounge and all are good (did new lighting and wires with the hubs)

brake controller is inertia type and is smooth as could be with my other trailers

 

[jelag]

OK so if you have no problems with your other trailers you've got a problem with the trailer... Now that you tell me this, I think you have a bad ground or connection... .

As the brake controller applies voltage and current to the axles, its progressive... . I can only assume that you have a resistance in the circuit and once the voltage overcomes the resistance value, current flows and jams on the brakes... .

Let me give you an example... .

I had a customer years ago that had a problem with starting a car... . when they would turn the key nothing would happen unless they held the horn down when the key was switched on..... there wasn't enough current flowing in the circuit to overcome a bad (dirty post) battery connection... . when the horn was honked, the draw from the horn overcame the dirty connection, and current flowed, and once the key was turned, and the starter started to draw current, than you could release the horn and the car started... .

I believe your trailer is the same with either a bad 12+ side or the ground side in the trailer... I can't of course tell you where it is... . but I can only assume you need to open all the connections and check them... I'd use an ohm meter across each of them to verify there wasn't more than . 1 ohm resistance...

I can think of no other problem... . you say it happens when the trailer is loaded or was it not loaded... . in either case, the difference in the height or level of the trailer is moving the wiring enough to create the problem..... OR you've got some connection through a spring shackle, hinge or other such part that moves and changes resistance... .

Hope this helps.

 

[Hoefler]

Your brake controller may only good for 4 sets of brakes, you may need to upgrade your controller.

 

[ryecreek]

i have a seprate #1ga ground to all my trailers

and

my controller is good for 3 axles (sp) techoncha voyeger or prodigy cant remeber one or the other i think voyager

 

[PBJ2500CTD]

Are all the brakes activating when you press on the brake pedal? Have someone hold the brake pedal down and go to each drum. You should hear the magnets hum, squeel, skreech, or just plain let you know they are energized. If one or more are silent you have found a starting point to peform a fix.

 

[HBarlow]

A Tekonsha Voyager is the worst possibly brake controller ever manufactured for what you are towing. It was a crude and marginal design that required the tow vehicle to be capable of creating deceleration first in order to activate the pendulum circuitry in the controller. When pulling such a large and heavy trailer your Dodge is simply not capable of providing much initial braking to swing the pendulum so you have adjusted the gain up to maximum. When you do get a little braking started the controller overreacts and overbrakes.

Been there, done that. In the early and mid '90s I pulled a 9,500# triple axle Airstream with a Ferd F-250HD with front discs and rear drums. Had the same and other problems with the brake controller. Tekonsha replaced it for free once, told me to run a heavy gauge ground wire from controller to negative post on battery another time which I did and still could never obtain satisfactory braking. I slid the truck into a few intersections when the traffic lights changed, experienced the common lurching and skidding or no brakes on a routine basis.

The lousy Tekonsha Voyager still rests on a shelf in my barn. I've offered to give it away numerous times. No one even wants it for free. Worst brake controller ever manufactured. A cheap $50 ramp type controller does a better job.

Buy a good brake controller, check and make sure the pins in your seven pin connector are clean and making good contact.