Brake issue

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   We have arrived in beautiful Maine....on the trip up here I have encountered an issue with the trailer brakes.  When I checked the drum temp on one pull off an the driver side brake drums were much hotter than the other side. It was over 200 degrees but this was after several miles of stop and go traffic.  I suspect the brake may be dragging or one side isn't working?  I lowered the brake controller to try to decrease the brake pressure a bit.  I'm hoping to get home before I take it in to get the brakes checked.

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pedwards2932 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 337	Topic: Brake issue Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 9:09am
	We have arrived in beautiful Maine....on the trip up here I have encountered an issue with the trailer brakes. When I checked the drum temp on one pull off an the driver side brake drums were much hotter than the other side. It was over 200 degrees but this was after several miles of stop and go traffic. I suspect the brake may be dragging or one side isn't working? I lowered the brake controller to try to decrease the brake pressure a bit. I'm hoping to get home before I take it in to get the brakes checked.

podwerkz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 9:28am
	Yes, you have an issue. When you can, find a quiet, flat, level, dirt or gravel road with zero traffic, open your windows so you can hear, drive at about 10-15 miles per hour, then apply the trailer brake controller fully until one or both wheels lock, you will hear them scratching on the dirt or gravel and you will feel the 'tug' from behind as the trailer tries to stop the rig. As soon as one (or both) wheels lock or scratch, release and resume your previous slow speed. Do this 3 or 4 times, then stop, set your parking brake, and get out and look for scratch marks on the dirt, and feel (or use IR gun) to see which brake drum is cold, warm, or hot. This will help you confirm whether the brakes are in synch during application. If one of them is not working at all, and the drum is cold, it is likely to be one of the 'scotch-blocks' that forest river factory workers install to connect the brakes to the frame wiring harness. These often fail and need to be replaced, or as in my case, I completely re-wired my electric brakes.
	r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 10:14am
	What was the temp difference between the two drums? don't expect them to be the same, we're working with crude 1940s tech here. Within about 50 degrees is pretty normal. 200 degrees isn't very hot if you've been using the brakes, so I suspect the cold side isn't engaging, or at least not as much. Most likely it's what podwerkz is suspecting. To eliminate dragging on the hot brake as the issue, just let things cool off and dial the controller down to zero and drive a few miles. If the hot brake drum still gets hot then it was dragging, if it's cool the the other side isn't engaging.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

podwerkz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 11 Mar 2019 Location: Texas Online Status: Offline Posts: 966	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 10:54am
	Just FYI...I dont think this is the issue, but if the trailer is brand new (or the brake shoes are brand new) they can be 'out of balance' for awhile until they 'bed in' or become well burnished. The so-called 'nevr-adjust' means that sometimes one electric brake will advance and grab a bit sooner during routine or casual braking applications...becoming somewhat warmer, BUT...both brakes should apply fully during 'hard braking' events.
	r･pod 171 gone but not forgotten!

pedwards2932 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 337	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 11:09am
	This is a 2018 r189. Driver side was over 200 and the other side was 82 so it may be the other side wasn't working. I am going to keep a close eye on it when we head home....even with the controller dialed back to 2.5 I can feel the trailer brakes when I stop. I'll try setting it at zero and see what it does. Thanks.

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 1:03pm
	82 is close to the ambient temp. I don't think that brake us working at all. If your's is like mine, the brake magnet wires run down the left side and then make connection over to the right, so there are more connectors between the controller and the brakes on the right side. As podwerkz suggests, you might want to take a quick look at the crappy insulation displacement connectors and see if any are open/wires hanging. If it was me I think I'd rather have no trailer brakes than just one side working if I encountered wet or slippery conditions. Things can get pretty squirrelly.....
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

pedwards2932 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 337	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 1:39pm
	Sounds like good advice.....I'm guessing the Hayes Sway control will still work since it isn't part of the brake controller

offgrid Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 23 Jul 2018 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5290	Posted: 06 Jun 2021 at 2:34pm
	The Hayes device works by selectively activating one or the other trailer brakes. If one of the brake magnets isn't connected electrically then the Hayes device won't be able to activate it. I'm not sure what the system would do if it only has one brake to activate but it's likely to behave unpredictably. I think I'd deactivate it as well.
	1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold

seafans Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Nov 2017 Online Status: Offline Posts: 155	Posted: 07 Jun 2021 at 9:30pm
	I'm on my second Rpod and both had grease in the brakes and magnets when new. Might only need to be disassembled and cleaned-adjusted.

pedwards2932 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 21 Sep 2020 Online Status: Offline Posts: 337	Posted: 14 Jun 2021 at 7:45pm
	On our return trip with the brakes turned off and 200 miles temp on driver side 104 and other side was 92. I turned the controller to 2 and measured at next stop and driver side was 180 and other was about 90. So I think the passenger side brake is just not working.