Brakes on 2011 Sundance

rikchris

Member
In May we bought a 3100ES Sundance. We are having problems with the brakes. When we first move the camper 200 ft, the brakes really work hard (lock up). Once on the road they lose their effectiveness (40%). The controller has been checked and is fine and all wiring to the unit. We have adjusted the brakes to specs.

Any thoughts to correct this would be appreciated
 

katkens

Founding Illinios Chapter Leader-retired
If your sure the brakes are adjusted correctly , it almost has to be your controller setting. There is a lot of controllers out there that are not worth the box they come in and are hard to set , maintain settings. What controller do you have?.....Kenny
 

Ray LeTourneau

Senior Member - Past Moderator
I haven't had the problem you are having since we've owned our Bighorn. On all of our previous and much lighter weight rigs, I have had the same thing occur. I've heard it has something to do with dampness. Maybe a light film of rust starts on the drums and until it gets scrubbed off during the first few miles, the brakes seem grabby. Just a thought I had because it was only with the lighter weight rigs we used to own. This even occurred with our Prodigy which is controller I've moved from truck to truck in the last 7 yrs.Since you say your brakes are adjusted properly, you might also open them up and make sure the drum surfaces are clean. Both the braking surface and the magnet surface. A good quality controller always helps. There are several good ones out there.
 

jnbhobe

Well-known member
All the things that Kenny and Ray said but while you have the wheels off check to make sure the grease seals aren't leaking and repack the bearings while your at it.
 

rikchris

Member
If your sure the brakes are adjusted correctly , it almost has to be your controller setting. There is a lot of controllers out there that are not worth the box they come in and are hard to set , maintain settings. What controller do you have?.....Kenny

We have a prodigy controller.
 

Willym

Well-known member
I've had this issue before with a Tekonsha Voyager controller and a few times with my current Tekonsha P3. It seems to occur more frequently on cold mornings. I find that if I cycle the brake controller manually a few times before I set off, then I don't get any problems. Maybe the electronics in the controller need warming up, I don't know. You could email Tekonsha via their website with this issue and see what they say. They have always been quite responsive to me queries in the past. Let us know how this proceeds.
 

Bob&Patty

Founders of SoCal Chapter
Mine does it too on cool damp mornings.. Its damp lining....when damp they swell up and get grabby. When they start doing it...I apply the manual knob a few times on the brake controller. Gets the lining warmed up.
 
Top