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Old 09-10-2009, 12:53 AM   #1
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We recently bought a ZT32QB. Everything looks good so far, but I'm a bit puzzled by the breaks. How hard are they supposed to pull?



When I took possession of the TT, breaks were almost non-existent. I could barely feel them working, even with full power from controller applied to them.



I took it back to the dealer and he said that I need to "break them in" because they have some sort of "protective finish or w/e" on them. So we basically went out running with full break power applied to them. They got very hot. Then, let them cool a while and refilled the bearing case with grease.



Now, I can feel the TT pull on the TV when breaking at lower speeds. So it is indeed better as the dealer said. But I still feel that it should be better than that.



I've owned a few smaller trailers with breaks. So I'm not new to trailer breaks. But this is my first trailer that I can't lock the wheels. I know that's not what you want in real life situations, but I feel that the TT should be able to break more on it's own.



If I pull the break away switch, I still can pull the TT (breaks are holding but wheels are still turning). Is that normal?



Dealer says with usage they will get better.



So... what is your take on this?

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Old 09-10-2009, 01:02 AM   #2
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I don't think I would accept that line. Have you ever bought a new car or truck and had to do that?


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Old 09-10-2009, 01:15 AM   #3
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"I took it back to the dealer and he said that I need to "break them in" because they have some sort of "protective finish or w/e" on them. So we basically went out running with full break power applied to them. They got very hot. Then, let them cool a while and refilled the bearing case with grease."



This is the first time I have heard of this and it does not seem like a good way to "break in" the brakes. I cannot lock the brakes up on our PP but I can stop the truck and trailer with just the trailer brakes. I have pulled the pin on the emergency brake cable and I cannot move our trailer with the pin out.



You may want to try a different CR dealer if you have one close or call CR and see if they can recommend a dealer in your area that would look at it under warranty.
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Old 09-10-2009, 01:35 AM   #4
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Okay... that doesn't sound "normal".



I remember the dealer saying that he gets one TT every now and then that does the same and that goes away with usage... But really??



BTW, I spent more than an hour and a half with the dealer to work on this trouble. He did a careful check on all wiring to make sure it wasn't an electrical problem. He also made some adjustments to each break assembly. So I did get service from my dealer.



I'll contact CR to have their take on that matter.



Thanks for the fast replies!

Edited by: MikeXM
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Old 09-10-2009, 02:15 AM   #5
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Sounds like your dealer checked out the brake system by your second post. Have you pulled it since he made those adjustments?
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Old 09-10-2009, 02:41 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by Hunter11
Sounds like your dealer checked out the brake system by your second post. Have you pulled it since he made those adjustments?


Yes, he did work on it. My first post should have included that part. The current status is like I described in first post.



The best I could describe it with words is: I feel it's like about 1/4 - 1/3 of what I expected. At highway speed, I can feel almost nothing if I apply full power. It just feels like a faster deceleration rate compared to simply removing the foot from the gas pedal. But not more. So it's not much.



At city speeds, I do feel the TT pulling. It's not a big pull, but it is there. So the breaks are working, somewhat.



This Zinger is the biggest load I ever pulled. So I'm not sure exactly what I should expect from the breaks. Right now, to be honest, it doesn't feel right or safe.



I left an email to CR. We'll see what they think.



(Do CR read the forums? - I'm new here!)Edited by: MikeXM
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Old 09-10-2009, 02:59 AM   #7
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If you are going say 30 mph down the road and apply just the trailer brakes will it stop both truck and trailer?
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Old 09-10-2009, 05:07 AM   #8
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If you are going say 30 mph down the road and apply just the trailer brakes will it stop both truck and trailer?


I'll try next time I hook it up. Maybe even tonight if I have time.
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Old 09-10-2009, 06:42 AM   #9
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Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. You did not say what you have for a break controller. Your better controllers will not lock the breaks up at high speeds and may not even at slow speeds under 20 mph. They will stop you.
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Old 09-10-2009, 06:55 AM   #10
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Have you pulled a brake drum/hub?

I have a 2010 Cruiser that had poor braking. The dealer said everything was OK. I pulled the brake drums and found two were contaminated with grease. Took it back to dealer. He said he cleaned things up and repacked the bearings. Still had poor braking. Pulled the drums again and found the dealer had not cleaned very well and he had not repacked the bearings. The local brake people tell me once there is grease on a brake shoe it is trash. Just finished replacing the two brake assemblies that had grease in them. One of the other brake drums showed chatter marks. Took it to a brake shop to be turned. They told me the drum was out of concentric by about 20 thousands. I repacked the bearings and replaced the grease seals. This weekend will get to try it again. I had to do all this myself as I felt the dealer was totally incompetent. I am out about $150 in parts and a couple days of my time. I am not very happy with Lippert quality control. Not sure how the grease got into the brakes. Poor assembly procedure? Out of concentric brake drum??<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />

If you want something done right you have to do it yourself. If you have work done under warranty good luck!



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Old 09-10-2009, 07:00 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cwit
Hi Mike and welcome to the forum. You did not say what you have for a break controller. Your better controllers will not lock the breaks up at high speeds and may not even at slow speeds under 20 mph. They will stop you.
I believe he said he pulled the break away switch and still had poor brakes. The brake controller is not in the picture when this is done. It appears to me he has some kind of brake problem.
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Old 09-11-2009, 03:03 AM   #12
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Wow, this is an active forum!



To the previous posters:



I couldn't test it last night. But we are going camping this weekend. So I'll know more soon.



I have two break controllers. A Tekonsha Prodigy and a Hensley's TruControl. The later seems to give better break power (higher max voltage?). In both cases, when I apply full power manually, wheels should lock, at least when at zero speed. Even the break away switch didn't lock them...



The dealer did open one drum and clean/sand the drum/pads. It didn't looked too bad either. But yes, it could be grease. Well, the dealer talked about a protective finish or varnish. Who knows?...



Thanks all for the replies. I'll post more after my weekend trip.



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Old 09-11-2009, 03:42 AM   #13
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I use a Prodigy and yes on a flat surface you should be able to apply the trailer brakes and keep the truck and trailer from moving at zero speed.
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Old 09-11-2009, 06:27 AM   #14
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Your right I goofed ,I forgot he pulled the brake pin.
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Old 09-14-2009, 12:24 AM   #15
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Looks like the dealer was right after all...



We went to our first camping trip this weekend. So I was able to test the breaks. They are WAY BETTER than they used to. It's a day and night difference. I had to readjust the controller as breaks were getting too aggressive.



I think I was too hyper from this first trip that I forgot to do basic tests like full breaks at stop to see if they hold or not, etc. What I know for sure is at city speeds, the breaks worked as expected. I could feel the pull from the TT. A big pull if controller was set too aggressive. Not sure of actual break power in high speed emergency stopping though. On next trip, I'll do more extensive testing.



So, in short, I think the breaks were really contaminated by some product and it seems to go away with usage.



Thanks all!

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