Brake voltage

[hodge]

I have a Reflection 303RLS. I'm having trouble with the truck stopping the trailer. What voltage should I be seeing at the trailer. Currently I show to have 12v @ max gain on the truck. Thanks.

[Country Campers]

Knowing what truck you have will help us to determine where you might want to set your gain. In my chevy I have it set at 6. I believe that there is only about 5 or 7 amps that actually get to the trailer brakes , somebody will check me on that. The trailer brakes may also be out of adjustment.

Brian

[Jkwilson]

You are limited to vehicle battery voltage, so if you are measuring without the truck running, 12V is reasonable.

What’s most important is current. You should be drawing 3-4A per brake or 12-16A total for a tandem axle trailer. Measuring the current isn’t simple, but it’s important to understanding what is going on. Most inexpensive meters won’t measure more than 10A. Inadequate wiring, loose connections, broken wires or bad magnets can all mess with current draw, and lack of current means lack of braking.

A key issue if this is a new trailer is that brakes require some breaking in. This should have happened during delivery, but who knows.

If the rig isn’t new, the brakes may need to be adjusted. This is annual maintenance unless you have self-adjusting brakes, and even then those brakes aren’t the most trustworthy product so an annual check is still in order.

The other place to look is grease on the shoes. Lippert had a lot of problems a few years back with improperly assembled hubs. The seals failed allowing grease inside the drum and the shoes got grease on them. This requires new shoes.

[Cate&Rob]

Jkwilson
Hi John,
You just summed up everything I was in the process of describing .
Rob

[howson]

I have a Reflection 303RLS. I'm having trouble with the truck stopping the trailer. What voltage should I be seeing at the trailer. Currently I show to have 12v @ max gain on the truck. Thanks.

Hi Hodge,
Only input I have is please check out the Welcome Letter to New Members at https://gdrvowners.com/forum/main-fo...to-new-members

Hopefully it has info that will help you make the most of your time here on the forum.

Howard

[Jlawles2]

hodge when you first hook up the unit and lift the legs just off the blocks, do you check the brakes by by manually activating the controller while trying to pull forward? This checks both the brakes and the hitch.

You may find a gravel lot and do this to see if you have any axles that are not working. Ideally you need to break the connection at each hub and check the resistance of the magnet to see if there is a broke wire if you find its not locking up and dragging the tires.

[Jkwilson]

Jkwilson
Hi John,
You just summed up everything I was in the process of describing .
Rob

Great minds....