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GB2000
GenIII
9/09/2007
18:44:04
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 Subject: For those of you who pull trailers?
IP: Logged
Message:
I've never pulled one outside of the farm I work on before...and tomorrow I gotta pull a trailer loaded with a tractor and an atv with our dump truck to spray the car dealership my boss owns.
Not a huge deal...I'm used to pulling them at work...lil nervous bout having to maker wider turns, but I'll get over that.
Problem is...this is a pretty large trailer. 23 feet...we used to use it to haul our bulldozer around.
Bigger problem however...when I was practicing pulling it, the brake controller was working fine. Then I loaded the tractor onto it and now it no longer will engage the trailer brakes when I hit the brake pedal. The brakes WILL engage if I manually hit the brake switch on the controller. Any of you know what I should check to figure out what's causing the problem. Is there a switch somewhere on the brake pedal?
I've already unplugged the connector and plugged it back in multiple times with no luck. The connector and the plug are both brand new (and all the wires are in tight) because our old one was so oxidized, the controller didn't work at all (and believe me, it was FUN trying stop that bitch with the bulldozer on it and no trailer brakes whatsoever).
Anyway...any suggestions would be appreciated...the truck isn't a Dakota...sorry. 3500 Chevy dually.
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GB2000
GenIII
9/10/2007
10:51:00
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
Gee...thanks for the help guys...guess I should have posted this in the member's only forums. Looks like I'm gonna be stopping that bitch by manually tripping the brakes.
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shadetree
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/10/2007
11:15:52
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
Those things are usually activated by the brake light switch. Check to see if the brake lights on the truck itself are working because if not then its could be something simple like a bad fuse or something. Check both the stop light fuse and the fuse for the controller. The one for te controller is a big fuse in the engine compartment. Also check for a bad ground. Not that this will do much good now but it will help if you have to tow it again.
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.boB
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/10/2007
11:39:57
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
All depends on the controller you're using. But since it works manually, and not automatically, I'd say you need a new controller.
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Super bee
GenI
9/10/2007
14:21:12
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
is there an adjustment wheel or anything on the side of it? maybe its turned all the way down?
on my 3500 i have one that will display braking percentage
and the manual switch on the controller usualy will turn the brakes on all the way to almost if not locked
so i would advise against using it too much
1990 sport RC SB, 1995 318drivetrain, 3.92 gears (came with truck) Powertrax "traction system", 95 dash/steering wheel, hearthrob exhaust, headers, cutout after y-pipe, necessary electric fan add-a-leafs, 30x9.5 mud tires, cranked T-bars, AR 39 15x8 rims, grill guard, roll bars
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Blakdak
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/10/2007
16:25:32
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
Might be a long shot, but is it an inertia controlled unit? The change in acceleration is what activates the unit. They need to be leveled to work correctly.
And mine has the same "gain" dial on the side like Super Bee described.
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Kowalski
GenIII
9/10/2007
19:00:31
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
Yup; don't know if they all are, but every one I ever saw needed to be adjusted to the trailer and load. Sometimes also another adjustment in addition to the gain. It's possible it's just adjusted lightly; so that you feel it slowing the unloaded trailer - but not braking hard enough for you to feel it with the load.
Why do you think you would have been better off in the members forum ? More people look here, and non members can't post there. We're not all online 24/7.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way
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STS
Dodge Dakota
JOIN HERE
9/10/2007
20:39:30
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
I take it your pulling a D3 Dozer? Or a very small tractor? I would pull that type of wight with a class3. Try a class 5 or 6.
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GB2000
GenIII
9/11/2007
01:22:44
| RE: For those of you who pull trailers?
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Message:
Sorry guys...was in a crappy mood earlier. I had just finished reading posts where a bunch of anonymous douchbags were jumping on Shatto simply because he mentioned Amsoil in a thread spamming Royal Purple. At the time it seemed like more people on the open forums like to post only to start sh!t with people rather than offer contstructive opinions on threads needing replies.
Anywho...the brake controller has an adjustment wheel. It's definitely NOT working when I hit the brakes. The way it's setup is (when it's working), when you hit the brakes, it'll flash the numbers 1-10 showing what the controller is set at. Since it quit working, nothing flashes on the controller when I hit the brakes and the truck just skids as the trailer pushes it.
If I spin the dial up/down and hit the brake switch on the controller, it shows that the dial had adjusted the brake strength. It just doesn't work when I actually press the pedal. It WAS working fine before I loaded the trailer up though...I'm guessing there's a short somewhere or maybe the controller decided to go out? If we had our other truck out at the farm, I'd plug the trailer into that one and see if the problem still exists...at least then I can rule out a problem in the trailer's wiring.
Here's the exact controller we're using in that truck: http://www.etrailer.com/pc-BC~5500.htm
STS, we used to use it to pull a Case 550G...looks like bout the same size as a Cat D3 dozer. The truck I was using isn't a diesel though and didn't pull that dozer worth a hoot. When we sold the dozer, we delivered it with a Dodge 3500 dually diesel...and that puppy could BARELY pull it...we had to drive into the Apalachians in Kentucky...we overheated multiple times on the hills and at some points were cruising up them at a whopping 10mph (better than cruising in reverse down the hills I guess...lol).
Today I was pulling a small JD tractor and a four-wheeler...both with sprayers attached. I made it there and back okay braking the trailer manually...was a lil freaky for my first time pulling a trailer, but I lived. Oh and it uses a pintle hook hitch...the Chevy has it built onto the rear bumper, doesn't have the pintle hook attachment that slides into a standard hitch.
shadetree, I'll look into the stuff you suggested tomorrow...I'm sure we'll need to use that truck to pull that trailer again in the future, so it'll definitely be useful to have working brakes.
Thanks for the suggestions guys.
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