Sweeney
Administrator
This summer, I had a problem with my brakes, there was a similar post from some one else too. This is my "confession" of the event.
This past summer I went deeper into trailer brake repair than I ever wanted to. Frankly, enough that I have just about sworn off doing brake work on my own rig entirely. Bearings, I'll do every time - but brake replacement -- Well, I want to share what happened. Partly as a heads-up for other owners, but mostly because I owe CampInn and their staff a very public thank-you. Long post. Edited with AI assistance, but all my thoughts. Grab a coffee.
I have a 2021 560 Ultra. The brake situation I'm about to describe almost certainly applies to the entire line, since the brakes are the same across the board. The big difference in my case is that I have the parking brake option. Some of what I experienced was probably made worse by that because of the added complexity — but much of it will apply to everyone.
To understand what went sideways, it helps to know how electric trailer brakes work. The heart of the system is an electromagnet mounted on a small pivoting arm inside each brake drum. When your brake controller sends current, that electromagnet is attracted to the spinning drum. The drag rotates the arm slightly, which pushes the brake shoes outward against the drum. More voltage, more force. It's elegant in a 1950s sort of way. It's also been essentially unchanged since the 1950s, which is going to be a theme here. The industry really needs to start thinking more forward — there are other ways this could be done much better, both in braking effectiveness and simplified maintenance of the wheel and axle system.
It all started with a pothole. Just the kind you can't always avoid on Indiana roads. About 40 miles later at my next stop, I noticed the wheel on the opposite side was hot. The shoes were dragging, or a bearing had failed. I grabbed parts and did an ad-hoc repair right there in the campground — which sadly didn't help. The brakes overheated again on my drive home.
Here's the odd part: the brake that first acted up wasn't even on the side that hit the pothole. That detail matters because it sent me down a rabbit hole. Did the pothole cause this? I don't know — and neither did the tech who ultimately fixed it. It was just odd.
In theory, the fix is simple: replace the backing plate assembly. Four bolts, two wire connections. Pull the old plate, hang the new one, adjust the shoes, done. That's not how it went.
What "Simple" Actually Looked Like
Brakes should be 4 bolts, and 2 wires. The fact I had problems on both sides, tells me it wasn't me -- it was something more systemtic.
I went through two complete sets of backing plate assemblies and drums. Once overheated, the brakes were suspect and the drums scored. Drums and brakes are replaced in pairs, and I'm a stickler, so I was buying a complete set for both sides. Hundreds of dollars in parts. None of it fixed the problem — which also tells you that however the manufacturer designed these components is a bad design, not just a "bad part," which happens periodically.
Here's what I learned the hard way about why this job is harder than it should be.
The parking brake option. CampInn modifies the standard brake components to support the parking brake cable. The arms the cables attach to are different from the stock components — they need to be removed from the old assembly and reinstalled on the new one. If you don't know to do it (and in hindsight, I was told), you'll either install the new plate wrong or lose an inherent geometry improvement in the process.
I want to keep my parking brake. I do chock my wheels, but I love the ability to pull a lever at the campsite for additional stability — especially since some of the sites I stay at aren't level. Belt and suspenders makes me sleep better. That said, this experience has me questioning whether I keep this option going forward.
The magnet arm. On the assemblies I received, the arm that holds the electromagnet against the drum was approximately 5 to 10mm too long. It physically couldn't seat correctly without modification. Either the wheel would not go on, or when you turned the wheel, the arm would rub the drum — or worse, get stuck in the holes the wheel studs are pressed into. You have to cut it and chamfer the edges. Not difficult, but it suddenly becomes a repair that requires tools, and is no longer an emergency roadside operation. And you shouldn't have to do any of this. Chasing down the problem on a brand new set of parts cost me real time. That's a manufacturing tolerance issue the brake manufacturer has made — and is not taking ownership of.
The assemblies were gummy. This is the one that cost me the most. The brakes would apply but not retract as they are supposed to, causing the shoes to press just tightly enough against the drum to generate heat. As I drove, that stiction was enough to partially apply the brakes on its own. Partially applied brakes generate heat. Heat damages everything — drums, shoes, magnets. By the time I understood what was happening, I'd cooked a set of brakes I'd just installed.
I contacted the brake manufacturer — a few emails back and forth with their support team. I'll leave the name out, but anyone who's worked on trailer brakes knows exactly who makes the dominant components in this space. The conversation went nowhere. Rather than try to understand whether there was a batch quality problem, the response was essentially that I had done something wrong. That was the end of that.
How CampInn Fixed It
CampInn went out of their way to help, as always.
Their tech rebuilt my brakes by hand — taking each assembly apart, cleaning, and filing parts until they moved freely. We never had an absolute smoking gun for what happened or why the original brakes lasted 10,000 miles without a problem and then suddenly grenaded. Nor why the new parts failed as well. Either way, CampInn fixed the problem by doing what the OEM should have done in the first place.
After the mechanical work, since there was still no smoking gun, we didn't know if it was an electrical or mechanical problem. Was the brake controller contributing — sending a slight voltage that kept the brake dragging? Or was there still something not quite loose enough? So for the first 300 miles or so, I drove with the controller electrically disconnected. Everything was fine. I plugged the controller back in and confirmed the mechanical fix had resolved the issue. After reconnecting, everything has been working fine.
I do now stop every rest stop or two, and any time I get out of the vehicle, I do a quick temperature check — back of the hand near the wheel, a quick tap to make sure it's cool.
I want to be absolutely clear: CampInn did not cause any of this. It's antiquated technology built by a company with a problem they are not willing to address. It all goes back to an industry that needs to be better regulated — or self-regulated. Unfortunately, if regulation comes, the prices of already expensive parts will only get worse, making this thing we love even more expensive.
CampInn went further than any reasonable person would expect to make it right. As we all know, they are extremely dedicated to quality manufacturing. The RV world would be so much better if everyone operated that way.
I've been doing my own trailer work for years. Not long ago I would have told you brakes were an advanced DIY job — doable if you're mechanically inclined and willing to do your homework. I wouldn't say that anymore. As a trained technician, my frustration level hit flying-tool territory. Not because the job is technically beyond a capable person — mostly because the parts ecosystem has gotten unreliable enough that unless you do this every day, it's too easy to miss something. Wheel bearings on my own rig? Sure. Brake adjustment? Yes — every 3,000 miles. But full replacement, knowing what I know now? I might do it. But I would not recommend it unless you do this work every day.
RV and camper components are getting more cheaply made. Support from the manufacturers is getting worse. That's not a CampInn problem — it's an industry problem. And it's getting harder to work around.
The electric trailer brake system itself is, frankly, ancient. The basic design hasn't changed meaningfully in decades. There are better options out there, and I'm going to spend some time this winter looking seriously at what a replacement might look like for Serenity. When I have a real answer I'll post an update. For now, I'm waiting for the seasonal slowdown to give me a few hours to dig into it properly.
I hope this saves you a set of drums — and the hour it took to find that wrench I threw.
This past summer I went deeper into trailer brake repair than I ever wanted to. Frankly, enough that I have just about sworn off doing brake work on my own rig entirely. Bearings, I'll do every time - but brake replacement -- Well, I want to share what happened. Partly as a heads-up for other owners, but mostly because I owe CampInn and their staff a very public thank-you. Long post. Edited with AI assistance, but all my thoughts. Grab a coffee.
I have a 2021 560 Ultra. The brake situation I'm about to describe almost certainly applies to the entire line, since the brakes are the same across the board. The big difference in my case is that I have the parking brake option. Some of what I experienced was probably made worse by that because of the added complexity — but much of it will apply to everyone.
To understand what went sideways, it helps to know how electric trailer brakes work. The heart of the system is an electromagnet mounted on a small pivoting arm inside each brake drum. When your brake controller sends current, that electromagnet is attracted to the spinning drum. The drag rotates the arm slightly, which pushes the brake shoes outward against the drum. More voltage, more force. It's elegant in a 1950s sort of way. It's also been essentially unchanged since the 1950s, which is going to be a theme here. The industry really needs to start thinking more forward — there are other ways this could be done much better, both in braking effectiveness and simplified maintenance of the wheel and axle system.
It all started with a pothole. Just the kind you can't always avoid on Indiana roads. About 40 miles later at my next stop, I noticed the wheel on the opposite side was hot. The shoes were dragging, or a bearing had failed. I grabbed parts and did an ad-hoc repair right there in the campground — which sadly didn't help. The brakes overheated again on my drive home.
Here's the odd part: the brake that first acted up wasn't even on the side that hit the pothole. That detail matters because it sent me down a rabbit hole. Did the pothole cause this? I don't know — and neither did the tech who ultimately fixed it. It was just odd.
In theory, the fix is simple: replace the backing plate assembly. Four bolts, two wire connections. Pull the old plate, hang the new one, adjust the shoes, done. That's not how it went.
What "Simple" Actually Looked Like
Brakes should be 4 bolts, and 2 wires. The fact I had problems on both sides, tells me it wasn't me -- it was something more systemtic.
I went through two complete sets of backing plate assemblies and drums. Once overheated, the brakes were suspect and the drums scored. Drums and brakes are replaced in pairs, and I'm a stickler, so I was buying a complete set for both sides. Hundreds of dollars in parts. None of it fixed the problem — which also tells you that however the manufacturer designed these components is a bad design, not just a "bad part," which happens periodically.
Here's what I learned the hard way about why this job is harder than it should be.
The parking brake option. CampInn modifies the standard brake components to support the parking brake cable. The arms the cables attach to are different from the stock components — they need to be removed from the old assembly and reinstalled on the new one. If you don't know to do it (and in hindsight, I was told), you'll either install the new plate wrong or lose an inherent geometry improvement in the process.
I want to keep my parking brake. I do chock my wheels, but I love the ability to pull a lever at the campsite for additional stability — especially since some of the sites I stay at aren't level. Belt and suspenders makes me sleep better. That said, this experience has me questioning whether I keep this option going forward.
The magnet arm. On the assemblies I received, the arm that holds the electromagnet against the drum was approximately 5 to 10mm too long. It physically couldn't seat correctly without modification. Either the wheel would not go on, or when you turned the wheel, the arm would rub the drum — or worse, get stuck in the holes the wheel studs are pressed into. You have to cut it and chamfer the edges. Not difficult, but it suddenly becomes a repair that requires tools, and is no longer an emergency roadside operation. And you shouldn't have to do any of this. Chasing down the problem on a brand new set of parts cost me real time. That's a manufacturing tolerance issue the brake manufacturer has made — and is not taking ownership of.
The assemblies were gummy. This is the one that cost me the most. The brakes would apply but not retract as they are supposed to, causing the shoes to press just tightly enough against the drum to generate heat. As I drove, that stiction was enough to partially apply the brakes on its own. Partially applied brakes generate heat. Heat damages everything — drums, shoes, magnets. By the time I understood what was happening, I'd cooked a set of brakes I'd just installed.
I contacted the brake manufacturer — a few emails back and forth with their support team. I'll leave the name out, but anyone who's worked on trailer brakes knows exactly who makes the dominant components in this space. The conversation went nowhere. Rather than try to understand whether there was a batch quality problem, the response was essentially that I had done something wrong. That was the end of that.
How CampInn Fixed It
CampInn went out of their way to help, as always.
Their tech rebuilt my brakes by hand — taking each assembly apart, cleaning, and filing parts until they moved freely. We never had an absolute smoking gun for what happened or why the original brakes lasted 10,000 miles without a problem and then suddenly grenaded. Nor why the new parts failed as well. Either way, CampInn fixed the problem by doing what the OEM should have done in the first place.
After the mechanical work, since there was still no smoking gun, we didn't know if it was an electrical or mechanical problem. Was the brake controller contributing — sending a slight voltage that kept the brake dragging? Or was there still something not quite loose enough? So for the first 300 miles or so, I drove with the controller electrically disconnected. Everything was fine. I plugged the controller back in and confirmed the mechanical fix had resolved the issue. After reconnecting, everything has been working fine.
I do now stop every rest stop or two, and any time I get out of the vehicle, I do a quick temperature check — back of the hand near the wheel, a quick tap to make sure it's cool.
I want to be absolutely clear: CampInn did not cause any of this. It's antiquated technology built by a company with a problem they are not willing to address. It all goes back to an industry that needs to be better regulated — or self-regulated. Unfortunately, if regulation comes, the prices of already expensive parts will only get worse, making this thing we love even more expensive.
CampInn went further than any reasonable person would expect to make it right. As we all know, they are extremely dedicated to quality manufacturing. The RV world would be so much better if everyone operated that way.
I've been doing my own trailer work for years. Not long ago I would have told you brakes were an advanced DIY job — doable if you're mechanically inclined and willing to do your homework. I wouldn't say that anymore. As a trained technician, my frustration level hit flying-tool territory. Not because the job is technically beyond a capable person — mostly because the parts ecosystem has gotten unreliable enough that unless you do this every day, it's too easy to miss something. Wheel bearings on my own rig? Sure. Brake adjustment? Yes — every 3,000 miles. But full replacement, knowing what I know now? I might do it. But I would not recommend it unless you do this work every day.
RV and camper components are getting more cheaply made. Support from the manufacturers is getting worse. That's not a CampInn problem — it's an industry problem. And it's getting harder to work around.
The electric trailer brake system itself is, frankly, ancient. The basic design hasn't changed meaningfully in decades. There are better options out there, and I'm going to spend some time this winter looking seriously at what a replacement might look like for Serenity. When I have a real answer I'll post an update. For now, I'm waiting for the seasonal slowdown to give me a few hours to dig into it properly.
I hope this saves you a set of drums — and the hour it took to find that wrench I threw.
