Trailer brakes work better sometimes than others?

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This is on a Dexter axle. I don't know if they're out of adjustment or if it's just the difference between cold brakes and warm brakes. Trailer weights 2000 pounds with a load of 2000 pounds. I keep the controller on 5.5 and boost at 1 if you turn the boost off you have to crank power up to 9 or 10 to get the same braking effect.
 
Probably need adjusted-I usually pull the drum to look at everything, then adjust the shoes to get a tiny scraping noise as the drum is rotated. On mine, there's a huge difference between cold & hot brakes, I try to warm them up with the manual lever before I take the trailer out on the road.
 
From your other thread about this, and reading the instructions for the brake controller:
* Boost is not recommended when the trailer is lighter than the truck.
* Establish the power setting by test driving at 25 mph and pulling the manual lever. Set the power to just below what makes the trailer brakes lock up. Then leave it there.
 
That's the part that doesn't sound right to me. For such a light trailer I shouldn't have to run at such a high setting.
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I don't know if they're out of adjustment or if it's just the difference between cold brakes and warm brakes
When a problem is suspected you have to start with basics.
 
Make SURE your wire connections and contacts are all PERFECT.

If there is any corrosion anywhere that affects resistance of the circuit, you'll never have consistent brakes.
 
+1 on checking the wiring. I run a 2001 Trailswest 5 horse gooseneck.... well my wife does. I just get to fix it. Double check all wiring, grounds and connectors. A loose/corroded ground will cause a mess of problems that can be a pain to track down. We had ours rewired but still ran into inconstant brake performance. I cleaned up some connections in the junction box and cleaned the grounds at the junctions boxes between the wheels. It really helped but then I ran into more problems. I ripped each drum off and found 3 out of 4 brakes had the shoes delaminate completely. They looked to be original brakes, lots of friction material left its just that they let go. The friction material is bonded on to the backing. 4 new 7,000lb 12x2" Dexter backing plates were installed. Once they were adjusted and run in they seem to work great now.

Check the wiring and check the brake mechanicals!
 
Originally Posted By: motor_oil_madman
I could set it at the max setting with no boost and they wouldn't lock up.

Using the manual lever? In that case, there's a problem.
 
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