David-and-Cheryl
Well-known member
We just got our Landmark out of the shop after its annual service, which included repacking the bearings and inspecting the drum brakes, which were fine.
We do a "tug test" every time we hitch up, to test both the integrity of the hitch coupling and the trailer brakes. Normally, when I hold the trailer brakes and release the brake pedal in the truck, the trailer brakes will hold the truck in place. When we started to leave the shop last night, though, the truck was pulling the trailer forward even with the trailer brakes engaged.
The truck's panel indicated that the trailer was connected and the trailer brake controller was outputting the proper gain. We disconnected and reconnected the electrical umbilical cable a couple of times, with the same result. I then pulled the breakaway switch, and the trailer still rolled with the truck in Drive and at idle. So the problem is definitely on the trailer rather than the truck.
The shop had closed by this time, but one of the senior techs happened to see us on the lot as he was leaving, and stopped to help me troubleshoot. He had actually done the QC inspection on our brakes and bearings. During the troubleshooting process, we noted that the trailer lurched a bit when we replaced the breakaway pin, indicating that the trailer brakes were in fact applied. But they clearly are not applying the same stopping force that they were before we had it in the shop. The tech said that they might need to be "reseated" by applying them at 20-30 mph to heat them up, or they might need to be self-adjusted which would happen during backing up. So we drove about 20 miles to our campground, doing both along the way. The brakes are working, but they are still very weak, not providing nearly the same stopping force that they did before the service. I felt the drums when we stopped, and all four were warm or hot.
So, do I continue to drive the trailer and wait for the braking to improve on their own? Or do I need to take it back to the shop? If I do that, what is the most likely cause that they should look for?
We do a "tug test" every time we hitch up, to test both the integrity of the hitch coupling and the trailer brakes. Normally, when I hold the trailer brakes and release the brake pedal in the truck, the trailer brakes will hold the truck in place. When we started to leave the shop last night, though, the truck was pulling the trailer forward even with the trailer brakes engaged.
The truck's panel indicated that the trailer was connected and the trailer brake controller was outputting the proper gain. We disconnected and reconnected the electrical umbilical cable a couple of times, with the same result. I then pulled the breakaway switch, and the trailer still rolled with the truck in Drive and at idle. So the problem is definitely on the trailer rather than the truck.
The shop had closed by this time, but one of the senior techs happened to see us on the lot as he was leaving, and stopped to help me troubleshoot. He had actually done the QC inspection on our brakes and bearings. During the troubleshooting process, we noted that the trailer lurched a bit when we replaced the breakaway pin, indicating that the trailer brakes were in fact applied. But they clearly are not applying the same stopping force that they were before we had it in the shop. The tech said that they might need to be "reseated" by applying them at 20-30 mph to heat them up, or they might need to be self-adjusted which would happen during backing up. So we drove about 20 miles to our campground, doing both along the way. The brakes are working, but they are still very weak, not providing nearly the same stopping force that they did before the service. I felt the drums when we stopped, and all four were warm or hot.
So, do I continue to drive the trailer and wait for the braking to improve on their own? Or do I need to take it back to the shop? If I do that, what is the most likely cause that they should look for?
