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Old 05-20-2016, 12:52 PM   #1
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Trailer Brakes

Hello,
We went camping twice already (no more than 200 miles in total) with the new trailer and I noticed that every time I stop the rear axle brakes are hotter than the front axle ones.
I know there is an initial time for the brakes to settle and maybe I'm not over that yet but is there a different set up for front/rear axle brakes?
Can the brake controller control that?
My fear is that I may be locking the front axle when I brake and not even noticing....

Thank you,
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Old 05-20-2016, 02:08 PM   #2
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Trailer brakes are all connected to the same pin in the 7-way connector so they all get the same voltage and should all, in theory, provide the same braking force. There is no adjustment by axle.

Perhaps you could have a friend drive beside you on a four-lane road while braking at varying levels on your typical driving surfaces to see if the front axle is locking up.

The amount of available friction between the tire and the road before the brake locks up and the tire starts sliding would depend mostly on the weight and inflation of the tire (there shouldn't be a difference in the road surface coefficient of friction except in the special case where the fronts are plowing water out of the way for the rears). Technically, I guess that would be called the contact patch psi (i.e. the pounds of trailer weight jamming each square inch of rubber into contact with the road).

If you are towing nose-high, then you may be unloading the front tires and they may be more inclined to lock before the rear. Make sure you are towing level - the ball may need to be lowered a bit on the hitch.

Backing down the aggressiveness of the controller may also have an impact, as long as you still have enough braking action. You may have too much brake bias on the trailer. Both the TV and the trailer should be doing only enough braking for their own weight and sometimes its tricky to find the right settings. If you have too much trailer braking, on lower-friction surfaces (e.g. gravel, wet, etc) you could find they want to swap ends and that would be bad.

In the spirit of Donald Trump "not-going-to-mention-but...", I'm not going to mention that the GVWR of a 2016 23IKSS is around 6600 and the towing capacity of a 2006 BMW X5 is 6000 so I hope you're not towing the TT with that Bimmer.
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Old 05-20-2016, 02:33 PM   #3
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Dave,
Thank you for your reply.

Brake set up:
I played with the brake controller to see if the trailer had enough (too much?) braking using the override function and I think the set up is ok.
It's also right in the middle of what the Tekonsha manual says is the range for the boost for my setup so I think the brake controller set up is ok.

Nose level:
The nose is a little high but not to the level that I would consider significant for the bubble in the level is still within the center marks (though it's closer to the one closer to the car)... May I be wrong on this?

I didn't do a running test with someone outside looking at it ... I think I'll have to do it if I can't find another explanation other than front wheels lock up.

About towing with the X5, yes I tow with it but I'll not comment for I don't want to start an endless argument.

Thank you again,
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Old 05-20-2016, 02:54 PM   #4
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Each brake has its own manual adjustment , could be the brakes are not set up the same . Jack em up and see if the friction is close on all four wheels . Pretty easy adjustment with a ' spoon '.
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:02 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wanderingbob View Post
Each brake has its own manual adjustment , could be the brakes are not set up the same . Jack em up and see if the friction is close on all four wheels . Pretty easy adjustment with a ' spoon '.
Tks,
Do you have pictures of how it's done?
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:11 PM   #6
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Trailer Brakes

I had a similar problem. Turned out the dealer over greased the bearings on three out of four hubs. Grease was forced out the rear seals and coated the brake shoes. I had only one working brake for nearly 2 years. You probably should pull the hubs and check for grease coated brake shoes.


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Old 05-20-2016, 03:33 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by RACarvalho View Post
Tks,
Do you have pictures of how it's done?
http://www.reedpumps.com/manuals/AlK...nual042014.pdf

That is the complete ALKo axle manual including brake adjustment.
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:34 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SaskCampers View Post
http://www.reedpumps.com/manuals/AlK...nual042014.pdf

That is the complete ALKo axle manual including brake adjustment.
Thank You!!!
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:35 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by lesptr View Post
I had a similar problem. Turned out the dealer over greased the bearings on three out of four hubs. Grease was forced out the rear seals and coated the brake shoes. I had only one working brake for nearly 2 years. You probably should pull the hubs and check for grease coated brake shoes.


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Thank you!!!
I will Check That.
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Old 05-20-2016, 03:39 PM   #10
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I also need to mention that once driving under rain and coming to a stop I felt the trailer vibrating which I understood was the wheel (s?) locking for braking over painted signs while wet.
As soon as I released pressure from the brake pedal the vibration went away.
This happened only once.

So I was expecting that if the wheels were locking the trailer would vibrate of something like that...

Am I wrong?

Tks,
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Old 05-20-2016, 07:02 PM   #11
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Locked wheels 'hopping' on wet pavement is a possible explanation for the vibration you experienced in that case. Its possible this would happen on dry pavement too... we've probably all seen the double-dashed line skid marks left when a transport locks wheels.

I wouldn't expect grease-fouled brakes... the OP said the trailer is new and its quite unlikely that the dealer would have added grease to a just-delivered trailer.

Its possible its adjustment but just a bit suspicious that only the front axle is affected and apparently each side equally. Personally, I've never adjusted a trailer brake in my life.
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Old 05-20-2016, 08:11 PM   #12
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Originally Posted by DaveSchwartz View Post



I wouldn't expect grease-fouled brakes... the OP said the trailer is new and its quite unlikely that the dealer would have added grease to a just-delivered trailer.



Mine did, (or it was done at the factory) and I had only one operational brake until I decided it was time to repack my bearings. The one brake that was working was completely worn and had to be replaced. It IS one possible explanation to the OP. No power to to one axel is another. Both should be checked.
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Old 05-20-2016, 10:39 PM   #13
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Could also be that the juice isn't getting to the front axle brakes. Several posts here about wires to the brakes either not being connected or being broken. So check your wiring. Also: There is typically one wire going in (from the 7-pin connector) and one coming out. The one coming out is usually just grounded to frame. Several posts about the ground wire not being adequate connected to the frame or being broken. So you need to make sure BOTH wires are good.
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