Breakaway Switch

[Russ]

Has anyone had any issues with the breakaway switch lanyard being too short with air ride hitch causing it to catch and activate the emergency brakes?

[5th_Time]

Yes, just happened for second time this weekend.



I have the Reese Elite and Trail-Air hitch. Whenever I have to jackknife it to back into a site, it pulls the breakaway and applies the brakes. Weird thing is, with my disk brakes, I can hear the buzz ofthe hydraulic pump, but I can still move the trailer. The brakes aren't locked up.



I think the Redwoods come with a 48" lanyard... so I'm buying the 72" before my next outing.

[Tall-Pines]

When I picked up our trailer the dealer checked out the disc brakes both
on the lot and on a short "round the block" drive. Initially they did
not work!

Technician found a loose wire in the front right electrical/brake
equipment compartment. He reconnected the wire and taped up all the
"marrettes".

I have the brake gain on my F350 set to 8 right now and it should hold the truck/trailer.

Only experience I have is the 2 hour drive home ... I'm sure others on
the forum will chime in with the correct response regarding brakes. I
manually tested appyling only the trailer brakes during the trip and
they certainly dragged both the trailer and truck down!

The dealer hung the brake lanyard on the hitch and I noticed when I got
home it had fallen off and was simply lying loose in the truck bed.

[Russ]

Thank you for the information. I had mine activate while making a very shallow right turn. However, it did not lock the brakes up enough to stop the trailer, just enough to damage the brakes because I did not realize it had been activated. When I went to unhook the trailer I found the problem. The lanyard is far too short for the system.

[Campers]

Where do you put the lanyard? I just hook mine on the hitch uncouple arm. Stays there and has not set my brakes off yet.

[Russ]

That is where it was. However, due to the size if the air hitch the lanyard got hung up on a bolt putting enough tension on it to pull the pin out. The lanyard needs to be about 10 inches longer.

[Campers]

I have the air hitch as well. I will look close at ours to see about the bolt issue. I wonder if we put a clip aft of the hitch, say on the riser from the rails, this would keep the lanyard away from the head and still be there for us

[Campers]

I just looked at my hitch, it is a Husky 26 k non slider. There is a hole on they yoke, just aft of the head where you can mount a catch to snap the lanyard to. Well aft of the king pin and out of the way. Turning will not be an issue

[5th_Time]

I had the lanyard looped over the arm on the Reese Elite. When I finally got my trailer backed in to my site, I was on an angle to the Trail-Air and could not get enough slack to take it off the release arm. Finally, I had to pull out the plunger (whichactivated the disk pump) for a minute just to get unhooked. So I found a 72" lanyard at Camping World:http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...6-length/57846that I think will fix this.



My disk brakes seem just "OK" on my GMC while rolling to a stop using the integrated brake controller set on 9.5 out of 10. My dealer replaced the Carlyle HBA-CAM that comes from Redwood, but no big improvement.



If I am at a stop and put the trailer disk brakes on manually,the braking is very weak and the disks might not hold the truck/trailer. Actuating only trailer brakeswill certainly not drag the tires or stop the rig at a slow speed like my drum brakes used to. What is normal?? Any suggestions? Edited by: 5th_Time

[Russ]

When my system activated it did not lock the brakes up. You would think you would be dragging the trailer leaving skid marks. This wasn't the case. They just engaged enough to burn up the shoes and and hubs. The trailer continued to pull as normal. Hs anyone else had their system activate and not lock the brakes up? Has anyone else had any issues with the brakes when the unit came from the factory?

[lillyputz]

Originally Posted by Russ

When my system activated it did not lock the brakes up. You would think you would be dragging the trailer leaving skid marks. This wasn't the case. They just engaged enough to burn up the shoes and and hubs. The trailer continued to pull as normal. Hs anyone else had their system activate and not lock the brakes up? Has anyone else had any issues with the brakes when the unit came from the factory?

My understanding is the brake away switch, is suppose to lock up the brakes for safety of others on the road. if not what good is it?you would have to get in touch with lippert.



Lillyputz

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by 5th_Time

I had the lanyard looped over the arm on the Reese Elite. When I finally got my trailer backed in to my site, I was on an angle to the Trail-Air and could not get enough slack to take it off the release arm. Finally, I had to pull out the plunger (whichactivated the disk pump) for a minute just to get unhooked. So I found a 72" lanyard at Camping World:http://www.campingworld.com/shopping...6-length/57846that I think will fix this.



My disk brakes seem just "OK" on my GMC while rolling to a stop using the integrated brake controller set on 9.5 out of 10. My dealer replaced the Carlyle HBA-CAM that comes from Redwood, but no big improvement.



If I am at a stop and put the trailer disk brakes on manually,the braking is very weak and the disks might not hold the truck/trailer. Actuating only trailer brakeswill certainly not drag the tires or stop the rig at a slow speed like my drum brakes used to. What is normal?? Any suggestions?

The disk brakeson my 36RLare excellant. I can activate the trailer brakes seperately and bring my truck and trailer to a stop with the trailer brakes alone. I am using a Prodigy P3 brake controller since the 2011 Dodge integrated controller is not compatible with hydraulic disk brakes



Disk brakes, if operating correctly,will aid in stopping your trailer and truck in half the distance of drum brakes. I would expect if the safety lanyard is pulled while you are stopped, that the brakes are essentially locked up, although, I have never actually tried that test.



I think you should be contacting Redwood about what to expect in the normal operation of the disk brake option. What was installed on my 36RL were Kodiak disk brakes. A Carlisle actuator and pump controller were used to drive the brakes. There was a recall on that unit earlier this year. That is another story which I have previously posted on this forum.

[Campers]

Ok. You loose the rig. For some reason it leaves the truck. The cable pulls the plunger. I hope the rig stops. Some have said the rig pulls just fine and wrecked the pads and drums. No. When that plunger is pulled , the brakes come on and the trailer stops. If this does not happen, why is the switch there? Check it often, if the brakes don't lock up! Get it looked at.

[hoosierguy]

Originally Posted by Campers

Ok. You loose the rig. For some reason it leaves the truck. The cable pulls the plunger. I hope the rig stops. Some have said the rig pulls just fine and wrecked the pads and drums. No. When that plunger is pulled , the brakes come on and the trailer stops. If this does not happen, why is the switch there? Check it often, if the brakes don't lock up! Get it looked at.

You are absolutely correct. That safety lanyard is there for the exact reason you state. If the trailer should come disconnected from the tow truck, you want that 14000 to 16000 lbs rig to come to a halt as quick as possible . Twenty some years ago, I had a cousin killed by a run away goose neck trailer that came unhitched from the truck and went across the interstate in the darkness of night and ran head on into his car.

[lillyputz]

Originally Posted by hoosierguy

The disk brakeson my 36RLare excellant. I can activate the trailer brakes seperately and bring my truck and trailer to a stop with the trailer brakes alone. I am using a Prodigy P3 brake controller since the 2011 Dodge integrated controller is not compatible with hydraulic disk brakes



Disk brakes, if operating correctly,will aid in stopping your trailer and truck in half the distance of drum brakes. I would expect if the safety lanyard is pulled while you are stopped, that the brakes are essentially locked up, although, I have never actually tried that test.



I think you should be contacting Redwood about what to expect in the normal operation of the disk brake option. What was installed on my 36RL were Kodiak disk brakes. A Carlisle actuator and pump controller were used to drive the brakes. There was a recall on that unit earlier this year. That is another story which I have previously posted on this forum.

What settings do you have you P3 set to?



Thanks Lillyputz

[Russ]

Thanks for the information. Ours is a 36RL which we just picked up from the dealer lst weekend. I will find out what system it hs on it. Again, thanks

[UNDRPSI]

[UNDRPSI]

We just picked ours up yesterday. And I havent pullled it far but the little that I had I also felt the same thing. Soft Disk Brake feel.. Going to talk to the service guys tomorrow about it and see what they thing about it. Right now there is now way that the disk brakes will lock up if I pulled the pin. But they are working you can feel that, but not to the extent that they would lock the brake up in and emergency.

[Russ]

I do not have disc brakes on my unit. In fact, I do not remember it being an option. I looked on the site last night and could not find disc brakes as an option. I have been told twice that new brakes will not lock up until they are seasoned. Makes the emergency system a little week until then.

[Dave&Ginny]

I have disk brakes on my RL and I pull it with a 2012 F350, they work great! I'm not sure what type of TV you have but on the Ford there are settings though the dash display for disk trailer brakes.

The disk brakes don't feel as harsh as the standard brakes so they do feel different. The Disk brakes do work though. I had to lock mine up going 65 mph and stopped in a very short distance to avoid an accident. I was very impressed with how they worked and if I hadn't had them I'd be in a world of hurt today.

Unlike regular trailer brakes, at slow speeds you don't hardly feel them at all.