Trailer brakes lock up in reverse

gophergrad

2017 CS-S
2019 Ram 1500 w/ factory tow package

Finally started learning to back the trailer up. Or at least trying to.... If I back more than a couple of feet, the trailer brakes lock up. I assume that's not normal. Do I talk to my RV dealer or my truck dealer?

Thanks

Sharon_is_SAM

Sounds like you need to adjust your TaB brakes - see your TaB dealer if you can’t do it yourself.  

Dalehelman

On a 2017 the brakes should be electric. Sounds like you’re brake wire maybe crossed with your backup lights. I had a Jeep GC that the factory crossed the tail lights with the brake lights. When the head lights came on so did the brakes. A little surprising the first time.
Try unplugging the light cord and see what happens.

gophergrad

@Dalehelman I work in software. Hardware is a mystery :-) Can you break that down like Barney for me?

And yes the trailer brakes are electric. The Ram has a built in controller.

tabiphile

You may troubleshoot this by unplugging the 7 pin and checking if the brakes still lock up. If they do, there is a wiring problem on either the trailer or the TV. Your best bet (if that is the case) is to have a shop make the fix since it's very unlikely that you have the correct pin extractor to remove and move an incorrectly positioned pin in the connector. Odds that the T@B is wired wrong are very low. Odds that it is on the TV side are higher.

Tabulating

It could be that you have a sensor on your truck that applies the brakes to keep you from backing into stuff.

We have to deactivate our our system when backing the trailer. If we don't it beeps for it bit and then it jams on the brakes.

gophergrad

@Tabulating that's a really good thing to check! The truck definitely makes a huge beeping ruckus when I'm trying to back the trailer! 

JPRoland

I was pulling out of a space the other day and I thought I was stuck. It took a while to drag the T@B out of the gravel site. I thought it must be due to all of the recent rain. It pulled really hard for a mile to the gas station and when I stopped the brakes were smoking and smelled like burnt brakes. I quickly phoned the dealership and the service manager talked me through it. I have to say that I have learned about my T@B mostly through this forum. My dealer didn't tell me much at the time of the sale. There has always been this mystery wire that I connect to the tow vehicle along with the chains and electric. The dealer told me it was a, "Safety Wire." I thought if all broke loose this little safety wire was going to keep us tethered and was somehow going to save the trailer. I had no idea it attached to a little breakaway box so that if disconnected, the brakes are applied to slow the trailer. All that happened was that the wire had been pulled out from it's box under the trailer tongue which tells it to engage the brakes. I just reconnected the wire by pushing it into the connector until it clicked and all is good. Ya learn somethin' new each trip.

tabiphile

JPRoland said:

It pulled really hard for a mile to the gas station and when I stopped the brakes were smoking and smelled like burnt brakes. 

Your brakes might be fine or they might be glazed and damaged. A mile of super high heat also could have puddled the bearing grease and wrecked the drums. It would probably be prudent to pull the wheels and do an inspection. The good news is your TV is up to the job.

manyman297

Our dealer walkthrough was horrible. If we hadn’t already owned a previous trailer we’d be in the dark on all of this stuff. They never mentioned the safety cable let alone how to hitch the T@B. I’m new to Atwood style hitches so the first time unhitching it just wouldn’t come unhitched. Finally watched a video where they talk about relieving tension by slightly moving the TV forward after a reverse event. Worked amazingly well.

gophergrad

Turns out @Tabulating wins a beverage :-)

It was the truck, not the trailer.

My wife's fancy truck is smarter than I am. If you ignore the beeping "you are backing too close to something" long enough, the truck slams on the brakes for you!

CalamityJanie

JPRoland said:

There has always been this mystery wire that I connect to the tow vehicle along with the chains and electric. The dealer told me it was a, "Safety Wire." I thought if all broke loose this little safety wire was going to keep us tethered and was somehow going to save the trailer. I had no idea it attached to a little breakaway box so that if disconnected, the brakes are applied to slow the trailer. All that happened was that the wire had been pulled out from it's box under the trailer tongue which tells it to engage the brakes. I just reconnected the wire by pushing it into the connector until it clicked and all is good. Ya learn somethin' new each trip.

This post was so helpful to me! In parking my 320 in the driveway for the winter, suddenly we were unable to push the trailer around AT ALL. Luckily, it was sitting in a good spot in the driveway (although not perfect), so we left it there. A couple of days ago I noticed that the "safety wire" was slack, and it turned out it had disconnected from the breakaway box.  I hope I have the strength to push it back in! Thank you so much for sharing your experience!

pthomas745

@CalamityJanie one item not mentioned in this thread is how the "emergency brake" is powered by the battery. The emergency brake uses a "lot" of battery power to hold the brakes like this.  One thread indicates it uses 6 amps.  If your battery switch was on, that means this 6 amp draw could have easily drained your battery/batteries.  So, have a good look at your battery state of charge.  The "pin" only goes back one way, and it can be difficult to get it to go back in.  (Not to mention it is hard to get a good grip!)  I have used a pair of pliers to help "push" it back in, or a folded over towel or gloves to help push. 

Check your battery!

Gomers2

@gophergrad, I learned the hard way that you can't open your driver's door to have a look back at the trailer wheels when backing... At least on my truck the brakes will slam on!

Cherokee

This diagram should enable you to test your system correctly. I had Chinese lead miss-wired too