Brakes sticking?

[BRinSCupstate]

I was reading about your controller. That’s a pretty interesting setup. Makes me wonder about the level calibration. Also read a comment on the Curt setup video, where it seems someone else was having a similar issue. Curt responded with a phone number to call for help. Here is a link to video and screenshot of the comment. Hope it helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk5ES3E52tg

[BRinSCupstate]

Originally Posted by Clg82

It's a 2022 and only had 2 camping trips on it, I hope there isn't something wrong with the hubs already.

I would think more toward brake controller than hubs. It’s unlikely multiple hubs have had something go wrong at the same time and just one hub would likely not have a drastic change.

[Aussieguy]

The OP went to the beach
good chance some contamination (sand or salt)



did you drive onto soft sand
or was there a lot of wind blowing sand , salt spray on one side of the trailer?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you not good with drum brakes ... have a professional inspect / fix

first time I did a set of drums... stretched the springs or something and the adjuster screws and other assorted parts kept falling off then grinding the inside of the drums
wasn't pretty

[Clg82]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

The OP went to the beach
good chance some contamination (sand or salt)



did you drive onto soft sand
or was there a lot of wind blowing sand , salt spray on one side of the trailer?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

If you not good with drum brakes ... have a professional inspect / fix

first time I did a set of drums... stretched the springs or something and the adjuster screws and other assorted parts kept falling off then grinding the inside of the drums
wasn't pretty

Didn't drive onto soft sand and we had a slight onshore breeze but nothing that would entail throwing sant or salt spray onto the brakes.

[Clg82]

Originally Posted by Custmachr

Please refer to the article below about locking brakes with this controller.


https://www.etrailer.com/question-56...20over%20again.

I'll take a look at that Cust, i appreciate the help!

[Clg82]

Originally Posted by BRinSCupstate

I was reading about your controller. That’s a pretty interesting setup. Makes me wonder about the level calibration. Also read a comment on the Curt setup video, where it seems someone else was having a similar issue. Curt responded with a phone number to call for help. Here is a link to video and screenshot of the comment. Hope it helps.

Yeah it is a very interesting setup, i'm not happy with it as I have a hard time trusting anything bluetooth or wireless when controlling brakes on a trailer. Thanks for the info, I'll give it a look.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by D W

I seriously doubt unburnished brakes is your problem. Those brakes should have been well burnished from the trip from the factory to the dealership. The fact that they worked fine, then all of a sudden started to violently grab indicates another problem.

Usually "unburnished" brakes do not grab but rather have reduced braking effect until they become more shaped to the drum.

The link previous post re: Curt Echo improper pairing is spot on to the problem.

[Clg82]

Unfortunately or fortunately it's raining here in california so it will have to wait until this weekend for me to give the "resetting" a try on the brake controller but I will report back as soon as i find anything out

[NavyLCDR]

Originally Posted by D W

I seriously doubt unburnished brakes is your problem. Those brakes should have been well burnished from the trip from the factory to the dealership. The fact that they worked fine, then all of a sudden started to violently grab indicates another problem.

Just curious, how do you know it wasn't delivered on a trailer and not towed?

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NavyLCDR

Just curious, how do you know it wasn't delivered on a trailer and not towed?

Or that the transporter even applied the brakes more than a few times while on the highway.

[Sbosserman]

Originally Posted by D W

Yup, sounds like grease on the shoes.

Grease on the brake shoes is most often the culprit, I’ve seen it 100’s of times when I owned a brake shop for 35 years that also specialized in electric brakes. A little grease makes them sticky, tons of grease makes them slimy & not work at all.

Inspection needed.

[Chuck_S]

Once the brakes are free of grease they should be adjusted.

Drum brakes need to be mechanically adjusted after they've worn in as due to manufacturing tolerances the brake shoe outside diameter never quite matches the drums inside diameter (the parts that make contact) when new and only partial areas make contact until the high points are worn away and full contact is made. Then the brake controller needs to be reset. This can be done in your driveway with a $3 "tool" from the auto parts store.

The way adjusting the controller works for me is a constant 25 mph on smooth pavement (like my suburban street) and squeeze the manual override. Adjust the gain until the brakes lock the wheels and then dial back until they just don't. Only takes a few minutes. (This assumes you have a proportional brake controller such as the wonderful Prodigy or Ford OEM controllers.) Brakes may still lock at low speeds on gravel.

-- Chuck

[pgandw]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

The way adjusting the controller works for me is a constant 25 mph on smooth pavement (like my suburban street) and squeeze the manual override. Adjust the gain until the brakes lock the wheels and then dial back until they just don't. Only takes a few minutes. (This assumes you have a proportional brake controller such as the wonderful Prodigy or Ford OEM controllers.) Brakes may still lock at low speeds on gravel.-- Chuck

My preferred gain adjustment is to have the trailer brake evenly with the vehicle. I should not feel the trailer pushing or pulling on the tow vehicle while braking. I like to use my normal towing speed for the test, because the correct gain will change with speed. Not so much with the Prodigy 2 controller I switched to, but the previous controller (I don't want to remember brand) was horrible at jerky stops from low speed if the gain was set correctly at higher speed.

I'm fortunate, I developed a finely-tuned butt flying helicopters so I can feel the trailer pushing/pulling very easily. Same with any tire imbalance. My tire guy says my butt is more accurate than most of his techs with the machine.

Fred W
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade

[PenJoe]

My thoughts are this is an electrical issue. The following may help.

https://www.etrailer.com/question-11...de%20and%20out.

[Jd2508]

Had similar issue. Our issue seemed to stem from the TOW vehical, not the controller. I believe the culprit was something like wheel bearing hub assembly, speed sensor, or brake relay.
I know that's kinda vague...

[TitanMike]

Seems like the answer to the OP's problem was provided in the link in post #20.

Cause is in the inherent problems with Bluetooth.

Sent from my SM-N950U1 using Forest River Forums mobile app

[Clg82]

Originally Posted by Jd2508

Had similar issue. Our issue seemed to stem from the TOW vehical, not the controller. I believe the culprit was something like wheel bearing hub assembly, speed sensor, or brake relay.
I know that's kinda vague...

How does the tow vehicles wheel bearing hub assy, speed sensor, or brake relay affect the trailer brakes? Aren't they totally separate systems?

[Clg82]

I apologize for the delay in getting you guys an answer to what happened to my problem. I haven't had a chance to hook the trailer back up to the vehicle to test the "incorrect connection" theory that was posted in post 20. Will update hopefully this weekend.

[Clg82]

Ok everyone sorry to report back much later than I planned, but after "calibrating" the bluetooth brake controller properly ie: plugging it into tow rig first, allowing it to calibrate and THEN plugging in the trailer, I NO longer have brakes that are sticking. Turns out that's what the issue was. Thanks again everyone for the great feedback and help!

[Chuck_S]

Thanks for the follow up. RTM.

-- Chuck