JimMcH
Carbondale Il USA
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Joined: 04/21/2001
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Here's hoping someone out there can HELP!!! The PROBLEM is severe uncontrollable bucking of truck/fiver upon moderate to hard braking. Problem worst on choppy road surfaces,but present on all surfaces. Severity is reduced but not eliminated by manual application of trailer brakes before footpedal braking.
Rig is 2002 Chev duallie pulling Alpenlite 33' 5W;Prodigy controller. Truck rear lowered 2" with Bell Tech shackles; trailer still rides 3" too high at the pin when adequate bedrail/trailer clearance is maintained. Alpenlite factory says there are others out there with this problem.
JBIRD
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adVentureMan
Memphis, TN, USA
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Joined: 02/27/2001
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My braking problem is a little different. Braking slowly/gently through about 15mph I feel a surging, bucking or jerking. It only lasts while my speed is maybe 15-18mph, and is lessened if I'm stopping more aggressively, or if I'm going uphill (and maybe downhill too?). The brakes work fine, but also screech or squeal when I'm doing a lot of easy braking at slow speed, like driving through a campground.
I have a 2 year old Drawtite controller. This is the second RV which has used this controller and this truck. The first was an 18 ft TT. I had no symptoms with it.
I've had my FW into the shop a couple of times and fiddled with the "level" and "synch" of my controller has helped eliminate maybe 50% of the bucking.
Doug and Kathy
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ibsharkie
Silverdale, Wa
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Joined: 02/07/2002
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I can't answer the first question about the 5er, but with yours, the brake controller is to blame. I had similar problems until I replaced it with a Prodigy. Not advertising them, but the other types of controllers are famous for low speed jumping...if feels as if the thing is jumping around. Anyway, as I understand it, the Prodigy works on ineria. As the vehicle decelerates, it proportionally supplies juice to the brakes, lessening as the rate reduces. The other type(Activator, etc) power comes up to the max you have set over a period of a few seconds no matter what the original speed. Therefore, the lower speed gets the same amount of juice as higher speeds and you don't feel it as much, cuz it's actually slowing the vehicle down.
Anybody else wanna jump in and take over? I'm sure I botched it a bit.
BTW, I switched from Activator to Prodigy, and no slow speed hop or chatter or anything.
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Kenneth
Washington, the state
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Joined: 03/20/2001
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JimMcH,
Does your truck shudder when braking without the trailer? If so, it sounds like a stuck caliper or warped rotors.
DougRichards,
Junk that DrawTite/Reese controller. A Jordan 2020 or Tekonsha Prodigy will work the way they all should. I really like my Jordan; folks with Prodigies like theirs equally well. Some with trailers >10,000# have felt that the Prodigy didn't supply adequate braking power.
Ken
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JimMcH
Carbondale Il USA
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Ken: No,the truck does not shudder with no trailer attached although I have not tried a real panic stop. Hard braking with truck alone seem fine. Braking with trailer brakes only never produces the problem, but the stop is rather leisurely.
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JimMcH
Carbondale Il USA
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Ken: I meant to say hard braking with truck alone (no trailer attached) does not seem to be a problem. On reading my earlier post, I thought I was not clear. Sorry.
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adVentureMan
Memphis, TN, USA
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Joined: 02/27/2001
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But Jim is using a Prodigy already, unless I read his initial post incorrectly??
"Junk that DrawTite/Reese controller. "
Want to make a donation to replace it? (gg)
I may have to go that route, but I'm reluctant to do so unless the problem gets more severe or the braking action is inadequate. Right now the problem with the bucking/surging isn't too bad, and the controller does safely stop the FW.
If I stop more agressively the bucking is lessened. Weird. My FW doesn't go through those antics when the dealer's truck is towing it. I'm inclined to believe that sometimes, there are controller, FW/TT and truck conbinations that set up some sort of vibration or whatever. Either that or I've been cursed my the 'Road Gods'. (gg)
*This Message was edited on 04-Apr-02 07:51 AM by DougRichards*
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WinneChief
Maplewood, Minnesota
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Joined: 05/31/2001
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Your symptoms sound very familiar to a brake problem I had with my last travel trailer. I messed around trouble-shooting the entire brake system, bench tested magnets, replaced wheel bearings, replaced pigtail and performed all kinds of tests with the Tekonsha Voyager brake control. Still had problems. I finally pulled the wiring out of the axle tubes and discovered the insulation had worn off the wires in several places. When I would hit bumps, etc., the wires apparently would bounce and shift and make contact long enough to create a dead short, causing the brakes to release and recover with rather horrific results.
That said, I guess my point is there could be something in your trailer's (or your truck's)wiring that is shorting out and it could be someplace you wouldn't readily think to look. So, check your wiring closely and look for anything that might possibly be causing a short.
Jay
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mscamping
any place, USA
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Hi Jim , I think if you level your trailer with the truck/ortruck with the trailer it may solve your problem. There was a post like yours awhile back and he got the answer I'm giving you and it stopped the preblem. What happens the front tires on the trailer are not making full contact with the road and they are skidding and jumping trying to help stop the trailer because they don't have the full weight of the trailer on them. Does this make sense?
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JimMcH
Carbondale Il USA
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Thanks. This suggestion,which I also got earlier, makes good sense to me. But why wouldnt I have the problem when I apply only trailer brakes?? I get no abnormal bounce,just nice smooth (but inadequate) stopping.
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