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Squeaky Trailer Brakes

hiadventurer

hiadventurer

Junior Ranger
Anyone else experience this. If so any solution to eliminate it? I have checked the pads and adjusted brakes and they are sound..R
 
This may not be the solution for your situation but my brakes were very loud after putting new shoes on. I reduced the gain on the brake controller and it eliminated the squeaking. (2014 Ram 1500' factory controller)

Randy
 
Yes, I also have squeaky trailer brakes.
Randy - do you have adequate braking w/ the reduced gain? I have previously reduced the squeaking at the cost of braking. I'm not 100% satisfied with this solution. If this is covered in another thread I'd appreciate a link.
Thanks,
--Ken
 
Hey Ken,

It's hard for me to say if there is "adequate" braking. The factory brake controller in my Ram has a trailer braking indicator "gauge" so I can say that looking at that I can see that the brakes are being applied. I would rather error on the side of having too little gain as I think too much gain might have caused us to burn through our original set of brake shoes. How long have you had the trailer? Our new brake shoes squeaked a lot at first even after I backed off the gain but it eventually went away.

Hope that helps some,

Randy
 
Last edited:
The axle that Camp Inn uses is rated for up to a 3500 pound trailer. The 560 is less than half of that, the 550 even less. Your trailer brake controller should be set to around 50% or a bit less, never more.

Test the setting by hitting the brake controller button while driving; if you feel a significant slowing, your controller is set too high. You should set it so in that condition you just barely feel a slowing of the rig. The purpose of the brakes is to slow the trailer to keep it behind you, not to stop the tow vehicle.
 
Randy said:
How long have you had the trailer?

Randy
Click to expand...

We received our trailer April of 2016. So, it doesn't have a ton of use on the brakes. Even if not tuned perfectly, they have been nice to have.

From page 40 of the Owner's Manual, rev 8/21/2012, Using Trailer Brakes:

To properly set the brakes:
1. Find a straight section of road, clear of other traffic.
2. Slow down to a safe speed, (less than 20 mph. Slower on ice)
3. Adjust the brakes to a low setting (2-3).
4. Apply the brakes hard.
5. If the brakes do not lock-up or skid, turn up the brakes.
6. When the brakes DO lock-up or skid, turn the brakes down.
7. The best brake setting is just below where they start to skid.
8. You will have to readjust the brakes as road conditions change.
​
To check the brake function:
1. Turn the brake strength up to the highest setting.
2. Drive about 20 mph. Put the car in neutral and coast.
3. Apply the trailer brakes using the manual override on the brake controller. You should feel the brakes slow you down.
4. If you don't feel the brakes pull, they may need cleaning. To clean the brakes, drive at 20 mph and pulse the trailer brakes ON for 20 seconds, OFF for 5 seconds until you start to feel them pull. (usually less than 1/4 mile)
5. Repeat steps 2&3. If they still aren't pulling, inspect the brakes.
​
My take-aways:
1. I haven't been applying the brakes hard enough in step 4. I've had my controller maxed and still not locked the tires.
2. One does want to feel some pull when the brakes engage. Otherwise, what is the point of having brakes?
3. I may need to pop of the hub caps and inspect/clean the brakes. After two years the bearings are due for packing anyway. Perhaps eliminating any contamination/dust in the drums will reduce squeaking.

Cheers,
--Ken
 
Short Short Tr, your take-away #1 doesn’t sound right. Have you ever adjusted the brakes - I mean the distance from the shoes to the drum?

AFAIK all the other adjustments at the controller come after hitting the adjusters. Unlike modern cars with drum brakes, the trailer brakes are not self-adjusting.
 
The Short Short Trailer said:
We received our trailer April of 2016. So, it doesn't have a ton of use on the brakes. Even if not tuned perfectly, they have been nice to have.

From page 40 of the Owner's Manual, rev 8/21/2012, Using Trailer Brakes:

To properly set the brakes:
1. Find a straight section of road, clear of other traffic.
2. Slow down to a safe speed, (less than 20 mph. Slower on ice)
3. Adjust the brakes to a low setting (2-3).
4. Apply the brakes hard.
5. If the brakes do not lock-up or skid, turn up the brakes.
6. When the brakes DO lock-up or skid, turn the brakes down.
7. The best brake setting is just below where they start to skid.
8. You will have to readjust the brakes as road conditions change.
​
To check the brake function:
1. Turn the brake strength up to the highest setting.
2. Drive about 20 mph. Put the car in neutral and coast.
3. Apply the trailer brakes using the manual override on the brake controller. You should feel the brakes slow you down.
4. If you don't feel the brakes pull, they may need cleaning. To clean the brakes, drive at 20 mph and pulse the trailer brakes ON for 20 seconds, OFF for 5 seconds until you start to feel them pull. (usually less than 1/4 mile)
5. Repeat steps 2&3. If they still aren't pulling, inspect the brakes.
​
My take-aways:
1. I haven't been applying the brakes hard enough in step 4. I've had my controller maxed and still not locked the tires.
2. One does want to feel some pull when the brakes engage. Otherwise, what is the point of having brakes?
3. I may need to pop of the hub caps and inspect/clean the brakes. After two years the bearings are due for packing anyway. Perhaps eliminating any contamination/dust in the drums will reduce squeaking.

Cheers,
--Ken
Click to expand...

I have to say that when my camper was new I tried that procedure and the brakes never locked up or skidded even at the highest setting. That may be what led me to set my brake controller too high. That was just my experience with my Ram 1500 factory brake controller.

Randt
 
The brake size on your camper is not large enough to normally lock up a wheel. Being able to lock up the brakes is not something you would shoot for with your Camp-Inn.

When you have your brakes set to an ideal position you should not feel the camper braking behind you. You should also not feel the camper pushing you either. The brake pedal pressure and feel in the tow vehicle should be exactly the same when the camper is connected as it is when it is not connected if you have the brake controller set right. This is how you set your brake controller with your Camp-Inn trailer.

It is a common mistake I see people doing trailering, to set the brake controller so they always feel the trailer braking behind them as an assurance it is working (I am as guilty of it as anyone). That is too high a setting. This will wear out the brakes and most notably the tires on the braked axle prematurely. When an owner reports that they had an unusually short life span on the tires of the camper a quick look at the build sheet for it will always show it is a brake equipped camper. That means the owner was wearing out the tires with trailer braking, either by having the brake controller set to high all the time or by doing serious mountain driving and using the camper's brakes as a "drag chute" coming down the mountains.

If you don't have the brake controller set high enough you will know, the camper will push you at stop signs and you will have to push harder on the "whoa" pedal to stop.

Cary
 
Cary Winch said:
The brake size on your camper is not large enough to normally lock up a wheel. Being able to lock up the brakes is not something you would shoot for with your Camp-Inn.

When you have your brakes set to an ideal position you should not feel the camper braking behind you. You should also not feel the camper pushing you either. The brake pedal pressure and feel in the tow vehicle should be exactly the same when the camper is connected as it is when it is not connected if you have the brake controller set right. This is how you set your brake controller with your Camp-Inn trailer.

It is a common mistake I see people doing trailering, to set the brake controller so they always feel the trailer braking behind them as an assurance it is working (I am as guilty of it as anyone). That is too high a setting. This will wear out the brakes and most notably the tires on the braked axle prematurely. When an owner reports that they had an unusually short life span on the tires of the camper a quick look at the build sheet for it will always show it is a brake equipped camper. That means the owner was wearing out the tires with trailer braking, either by having the brake controller set to high all the time or by doing serious mountain driving and using the camper's brakes as a "drag chute" coming down the mountains.

If you don't have the brake controller set high enough you will know, the camper will push you at stop signs and you will have to push harder on the "whoa" pedal to stop.

Cary
Click to expand...

I wonder if the Owners Manual instructions should be modified?
 
SethB said:
Short Short Tr, your take-away #1 doesn’t sound right. Have you ever adjusted the brakes - I mean the distance from the shoes to the drum?

AFAIK all the other adjustments at the controller come after hitting the adjusters. Unlike modern cars with drum brakes, the trailer brakes are not self-adjusting.
Click to expand...


Hi Seth,

No, I have not. I have replaced the drum brakes on my truck but not delved into the trailer brakes. I will have to give them a look.

Thank You,
--Ken
 
Cary Winch said:
The brake size on your camper is not large enough to normally lock up a wheel. Being able to lock up the brakes is not something you would shoot for with your Camp-Inn.
Click to expand...

If I understand your point and the owner's manual correctly, locking the wheels is something you would do only during steps 5 and 6 of setting the brakes. Skidding is never ideal braking. Once/if you skid, you should back off the controller setting.

Cary Winch said:
When you have your brakes set to an ideal position you should not feel the camper braking behind you.
Click to expand...

To echo rotus8's point, you're saying the trailer should not be there to slow the tow vehicle. If I understand correctly, the brakes of the trailer should only address the inertia of the trailer and the net feel is that there is no additional load on the vehicle.

Thanks for weighing in. I do love my Short Short Trailer and want it to last a long long time. I appreciate everyone's input.

Cheers,
--Ken
 
All great info..thanks. I have a proportional brake controller and was experiencing the squeaky brakes at low speeds, like pulling through a campground. proportional brake controller senses how the tow vehicle is slowing or stopping and applies the trailer's brakes with the same intensity. So if you slam on the brakes in your tow vehicle, the controller will activate your trailer's brakes just as forcefully. With a proportional controller, you can adjust the initial braking power and aggressiveness based on your trailer's weight and your braking preferences. The gain on the controller when set to high will and did squeak, after backing it off it stopped.
 
Ken,

Steps 5 and 6 are for on gravel surfaces. Which is also a great way to adjust your brake controller by using this process on a gravel surface. On pavement however it is not applicable.

Yes, exactly! I will second what Rotus8 says on the brakes. Seems to be a regular thing for me to agree with his input ;). That is a very good description of the proper application of trailer brakes.

Also, I will second what Seth said also. Generally if you find over time you have to make adjustments to your brake controller setting that is usually an indication that the brakes on the camper need to be adjusted. We find most owners typically carry a pretty consistent load weight in their campers once they figure out their gear. After getting the brake controller perfectly dialed in and the brakes broke in (first couple thousand miles) the brake controller usually does not need to be messed with again unless doing something unusual like bringing home a really big cool rock (or just a big box of small cool rocks) from a trip. If you find you have to start dialing in a bit more brake many miles down the road that usually means the brakes on the camper need to be adjusted. See the owner's manual for adjustment procedure. The brake manufacturer says it should be done every 4000 miles. With a camper this light we find it tends to be between 4K and 8K miles.

Ron,

That is super good info on the gain adjustment in relation to brakes squeaking. Squeaking brakes is a common question we get asked and also fits into my narrative that most owners have their brake controller set too high. Thank you for that input. In general this is a good informative thread.

Cary
 
Cary Winch said:
The brake size on your camper is not large enough to normally lock up a wheel. Being able to lock up the brakes is not something you would shoot for with your Camp-Inn.

When you have your brakes set to an ideal position you should not feel the camper braking behind you. You should also not feel the camper pushing you either. The brake pedal pressure and feel in the tow vehicle should be exactly the same when the camper is connected as it is when it is not connected if you have the brake controller set right. This is how you set your brake controller with your Camp-Inn trailer.

It is a common mistake I see people doing trailering, to set the brake controller so they always feel the trailer braking behind them as an assurance it is working (I am as guilty of it as anyone). That is too high a setting. This will wear out the brakes and most notably the tires on the braked axle prematurely. When an owner reports that they had an unusually short life span on the tires of the camper a quick look at the build sheet for it will always show it is a brake equipped camper. That means the owner was wearing out the tires with trailer braking, either by having the brake controller set to high all the time or by doing serious mountain driving and using the camper's brakes as a "drag chute" coming down the mountains.

If you don't have the brake controller set high enough you will know, the camper will push you at stop signs and you will have to push harder on the "whoa" pedal to stop.

Cary
Click to expand...
Hi Carey, If I want to opt for electric brakes, would I have to purchase a complete axle and hubs/brakes? or can it be retrofitted with just the hubs/brakes? if so what is the brand name or part number or better yet what is needed that you would recommend converting a non-electric brake 2012 560 model? But I'm sure they would be different for SUV vs non SUV height? I'm sure I could get it done locally at a trailer and frame shop but Roughly what would be the cost to be done at your factory (roughly), Thank you
 
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