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Old 05-06-2021, 02:28 PM   #1
Molive
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Weak brakes

I have a 2021 Bullet 29’ Bunkhouse pulling with a 2500 Duramax. When I brake it just doesn’t feel like the trailer brakes are engaging like they should. My gain is all the way up to 10 and if I manually engage it I barely feel them pull. My old jayco would have locked the tires up if I was set so high. I’ve jacked up the tires and adjusted the star screw and all 4 tires were adjusted correctly. Any suggestions I’d appreciate. Thank you.
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Old 05-06-2021, 02:35 PM   #2
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They may need adjusted.
If you or anyone at the factory or the dealership pumped grease into the EZ Lube zerks on the spindles the drums may be full of grease due to cheap grease seals.
Is the fuse in the trailer slot in the under fuse panel of your Chevy, if so has it blown?
It's still under warranty let your dealer handle it!
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Old 05-06-2021, 02:47 PM   #3
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What kind of tow vehicle and what kind of brake controller do you have? It may be as simple as a setting that needs to be adjusted.
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Old 05-06-2021, 04:37 PM   #4
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Jrth and Texan it’s a duramax chevy with the stock break controller it came with. Warranty work in California and ont even return my call. I’ll check for grease and everything. Seems adjusted right.
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Old 05-06-2021, 05:42 PM   #5
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If you have a DC amp clamp meter, put it on the wire from the break away switch. Pull the pin, you should see 12-15 amps. Under-you have a broken wire somewhere, over- you have a wire shorting out. This is a quick diagnosis method that has worked for me for years.
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Old 05-06-2021, 06:00 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Molive View Post
Jrth and Texan it’s a duramax chevy with the stock break controller it came with. Warranty work in California and ont even return my call. I’ll check for grease and everything. Seems adjusted right.
What year truck? There have been a couple of software updates through the past 5 or 6 years. If yours is older, then possibly a "reflash" at the dealership to update the brake controller software? And, as Chuck suggested, a DC "amp clamp" to confirm the correct amperage draw. That will confirm the trailer wiring is "good/bad"...

And, as Danny suggested, if you or someone else has ever used the EZ Lube system to pump grease into the zerk fittings on the spindles, you would do well to visually inspect the brake shoes on all 4 wheels.
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Old 05-11-2021, 10:33 AM   #7
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Grease on drums

Quote:
Originally Posted by travelin texans View Post
They may need adjusted.
If you or anyone at the factory or the dealership pumped grease into the EZ Lube zerks on the spindles the drums may be full of grease due to cheap grease seals.
Is the fuse in the trailer slot in the under fuse panel of your Chevy, if so has it blown?
It's still under warranty let your dealer handle it!

Had problems with our 2020 cougar last year.

After 6,000 miles or so, it became hard to stop.

It would pull to one side but TV had to stop it.

Controller made no difference.

Took it to a dealer in KY & they found all 4 drums & brake shoes covered in axle Grease.

Cleaned that up, but the pull to one side turned out to be a raised spot on one drum, warranty fix.

Check all 4 for Grease!
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Old 05-06-2021, 04:05 PM   #8
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Maybe lift a wheel or two and pull the breakaway pin and see if you can turn the wheels. If so, it’s an issue with the trailer. If you can’t turn a wheel it is more likely the truck.
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Old 05-06-2021, 04:27 PM   #9
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Do you have a buddy that can hook up the trailer with his/her truck and give it a go? As you've pulled before with this truck it's possible - even likely - that it's the trailer wiring, but this could isolate the problem to trailer vs. truck.

Assuming you have the GM version of an integrated TBC....Do you get any error messages on your dash display?

With my issue, I was getting a trailer wiring fault message and it ended up being a short on one of the magnet wires...insulation was rubbing on the inside of the hub and worn through.
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Old 05-06-2021, 04:33 PM   #10
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That was my next step a buddys truck and no error message showing up.
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Old 05-06-2021, 04:35 PM   #11
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I will try this thank you
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Old 05-06-2021, 06:09 PM   #12
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Not sure if this applies to you but on my F250 Ford brake controller, not only did I need to set the gain, but also an "effort" setting that controls how aggressive the trailer brakes are applied. The default was low and I did not feel the brakes working effectively at that effort setting.

This is something else to check in the owners manual for your brake controller.
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Old 05-07-2021, 11:06 AM   #13
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The thing to remember is that when you manually apply the trailer brakes, you are using them to slow the trailer AND the truck.
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Old 05-11-2021, 10:43 AM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skids View Post
The thing to remember is that when you manually apply the trailer brakes, you are using them to slow the trailer AND the truck.
Since I have an older diesel truck, my TV brakes depend on a belt driven vacuum pump. Pump the brakes more than a few times and you have to wait for the vacuum to recover. I use the trailer brakes for slowing into curves and then I can press the pedal for more if needed.
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Old 05-11-2021, 12:02 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chuckster57 View Post
Since I have an older diesel truck, my TV brakes depend on a belt driven vacuum pump. Pump the brakes more than a few times and you have to wait for the vacuum to recover. I use the trailer brakes for slowing into curves and then I can press the pedal for more if needed.
Mine is a hydro boost system. Power steering operates the brake booster. For you non deisel types deisel engines have no intake vacuum to operate a vacuum power brake booster. I lost the belt idler pully one time and no brakes and no steering. Talk about fun! Fortunately it happened about 1/2 mile from the shop I use so SLOWLY drove it there and needed a pain pill for my arms when I got home.
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Old 05-11-2021, 01:09 PM   #16
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Motor homes with hydra boost have an electric pump that takes over if you lose belt/engine running. Just have to press the brake pedal enough to engage.
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Old 05-11-2021, 01:32 PM   #17
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Mine are the oppose, mine grab & playing with thebrke controller doesn't appear to make any difference. next step is to pull the drums.
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Old 05-11-2021, 03:45 PM   #18
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They probably have grease on the shoes.
eTrailer will have complete assemblies on the backing plate...new shoes and magnets. Get some heat melt butt splices and heat shrink. It's not a bad job. If you don't do it yourself ask around for just the labor charge if you supply parts.
I doubt the dealer will own up to using a grease gun on them.
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Old 07-14-2021, 05:30 AM   #19
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I had, and still have, this same problem. Replaced all four brake hubs, not a bit of grease on any of them. And the controller is set on 10 (max) and there is hardly any brakes applied on the 5th wheel.
I contacted several service techs and they all told me it's most likely a grounding problem in the electrics. The tech is coming to my house tomorrow to make the fix. Starting with the cord plug in the truck bed and working his way to the far end of the trailer.
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