HI, :) I have a 4X4 "99" Dodge 3/4 truck. I just bought a BRAND New TRAILSWEST LQ 32 feet long Gooseneck LQ Horse trailer. I have pulled 3 other bumper pulls with this trailer. I bought this truck brand new in 1999, I only have 78,000. miles on it... it is has been taken care of. Have had the trailer for 2 months.... pulled it to 4 different locations with no brake issues..... this week I now having brake issues.....The brake controller has been on the truck since the 99 the original one. When I brake on any surface hill or flat the truck starts pulsing very badly and throws the horses around in back...In order for it not to pulse I have to slightly brake then get off brake and turn off brake controller....I am not going anywhere until I can fix this because it is so dangerous now... I just hooked up my flat bed to my truck and pulled it fine with no brake issues, so now i know it is fine on flat bed. Has anyone had this issue? Thank you for any and all input on this. :) Pam :)
Posted 2013-09-02 2:53 PM (#154486 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 2955 Location: North Carolina
My input is to isolate the problem to either the truck or trailer.
Hitch the trailer to the truck, Don't connect the electrical plug. try to stop the trailer from speed.
Be smart... only do this when road & traffic conditions allow testing.
If the rig bucks without trailer brakes ... it's the truck
If the rig stops smoothly, then it's the trailer brakes or the interaction between the trailer and truck brakes. Remember, you're placing a lot more weight on the truck with a GN than a bumper trailer.
Posted 2013-09-02 4:14 PM (#154487 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Member
Posts: 5
Location: Gig Harbor, Washington
Thank you for your input :) I love this forum :) I just isolated the trailer from the truck. We went down the road, placed the truck in neutral and used the manual slide on the brake controller to slow/stop. During this, I did not use the truck brakes, just the controller. We could feel a pulsing at the higher speed and when slowing down, the trailer started to "buck". My husband and I are starting to think the new brake drums may have become warped during the first few uses causing catching as the drums rotate. Since I know I can stop (sort of), Im going to take the whole set up to Les Schwab in the morning and have the drums inspected. I will probably replace the 12 year old controller also.What do you think? Is there anything else you can think of? :)Thank you so much Pam
Posted 2013-09-02 5:22 PM (#154492 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 3853 Location: Vermont
At a guess, you have a wiring problem on the trailer or simply a defective brake assembly. A bad ground could be part of it...If its a worn wire, it was probably pinched during assembly of the axle or it's in the wire where it comes out of the back of the brake assembly to connect to the trailer harness. You might find it when you inspect the wiring to find the connectors.Then again it could be grease in the brakes...
Posted 2013-09-03 1:51 AM (#154502 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Veteran
Posts: 203 Location: Lander WY
If I read your post correctly, this is a brand new trailer. If so take it back to the dealer, let them figure it out. Dont let them point fingers at your truck. If needed show them on another trailer on their lot your truck isnt the culprit.
Posted 2013-09-03 8:32 AM (#154511 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Elite Veteran
Posts: 720
What kind of brake controller do you have? Since the trailer worked well initially, any chance that they brakes became overheated during one of those trips? For what it is worth, there just might not be much/any warranty coverage as brakes are considered wear parts. A warped drum typically comes from getting too hot, which is seen as operator issue. A timed controller can easily cause this issue, especially on long grades.
Not pointing any fingers, just be aware the dealership may be stuck in the middle between you and the axle maker. Trails West will probably say not their issue in any case.
Posted 2013-09-03 8:34 AM (#154512 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Expert
Posts: 5870 Location: western PA
It may be a problem with the controller. Even though it posed no problem whilst pulling your flatbed trailer, I'm assuming those brakes are older and perhaps they haven't been recently adjusted. They will not react as quickly as a new set of brakes that are much more sensitive, especially since they aren't yet broken in. Any controller issue will be prevalent and show up more easily.
Having said that, an inspection of the brakes and drums should lay to rest any mechanical issues.
Posted 2013-09-03 11:47 AM (#154515 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 385 Location: high desert, CA.
I too have a trails west, and love the trailer...when I pulled it with the 97 ram, I had to replace the controller, as the new brakes had to have a more intelligent system. Now it works perfect with my 05 ram, and with our friends duramax.
Posted 2013-09-06 1:29 PM (#154582 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
Try to pull another similar size trailer with your truck, and your trailer on another truck. It will tell you a lot. I just went through this, and it ended up being my truck that had the problem. Which led to me getting a new truck. sigh....
Posted 2013-09-06 2:23 PM (#154585 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Member
Posts: 5
Location: Gig Harbor, Washington
Well we took it to Les Schwab and found the problem. It turned out to be a short in the wiring of the trailer. (Brand New 2014 Serria Trails West 3horse LQ). The trailer is brand new and less than 500 miles on it. This trailer has electric brakes. The left front brake had been set up to where the wire for the magnet was making contact with the drum, therefore rubbing through and shorting out. Apparently if the wiring is not bent in the right direction, it is only a matter of time before a short occurs. Les Schwab tech came to the defense of Trails West. He stated that the axles are purchased whole and placed on the frame when the construction starts for the trailer. I disagree..... This is a quality control issue..... You would think Trails-West would check such things when leaving their Idaho factory. It does have their name on it, not to mention the weight and ability to really hurt someone in the long run. Long story short, it you have an older brake controller and the power light pulses when the brakes are applied, it is probably in the trailer brake system. Just to be super safe, we also installed a Prodigy II brake controller (strongly recommended by Les Schwab and a few RV forums). This type of brake controller has a read out telling you there is a short in the system of the trailer, how much power it is drawing and whether you are plugged in correctly.
Posted 2013-09-06 3:01 PM (#154586 - in reply to #154585) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Veteran
Posts: 203 Location: Lander WY
.....I disagree..... This is a quality control issue..... You would think Trails-West would check such things when leaving their Idaho factory........
>>> Your dealer should have gone through the trailer with you and verified the signals, lights,appliances etc, were working properly. Did they walk through the trailer with you??
Posted 2013-09-06 10:26 PM (#154594 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Member
Posts: 5
Location: Gig Harbor, Washington
I just wanted people to know what we found out incase anyone else goes through this......... this is a wonderful site and thank you all so much for all your help :) The dealer ship we went through had the worst customer service we had ever experienced. They were too busy and said we could read our manual that went with the trailer. My husband and I spent almost 2 hours going thorough the trailer on the lot before we brought it home.. we went though the trailer and checked the lights,brakes and made sure everything worked. it all worked. we took it home which was a 3 hour drive. We went to one rodeo with it, went on a river trip and put all our rafts in the back where the horses go... didn't have any issues it worked great. ............ went to Ocean which is 2 hours away, going to Ocean NO PROBLEMS... coming home is where we experienced issues... half hour on road brakes pulsing.... The issue is How the Wires were put in the hub of the wheel...I don't think any dealership takes of the wheels and inspects the brakes when it comes from the factory......... the Wires were on the Magnet and it was only time that it would wear the Wiring harness through. Our point is IF Trails West inspected there wheels when putting them on new trailers in Idaho while in production they would have caught this........... :)
Posted 2013-09-07 8:08 AM (#154601 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Elite Veteran
Posts: 800 Location: Tenn/Ala.
With all due respect, they would have had to completely disassemble the hub to inspect the magnet wiring. It is not visible otherwise. While quality control is a necessary function, completely disassembling someone elses work for verification just allows another time for it to be reassembled incorrectly. Just my opinion.
Posted 2013-09-07 9:53 AM (#154604 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Member
Posts: 5
Location: Gig Harbor, Washington
I understand completely what you are saying :) I am just letting people know what happened to us...... and from talking to others this is not an isolated issue :) Seems that there has been a few new trailers recently that are having brake issues like what we had and the people have spent a lot of money trying to figure it out or since it is under warranty trailer out of commission for over a month while the dealership is trying to figure it out and it was the same thing we had experienced. :) I talked to someone that there trailer was out of commission over a month because the dealership decided to rewire the whole trailer.... YIKES. and all it turned out to be was what we had...... So when buying a new trailer if someone is having issues like us they will know what is going on :)
Posted 2013-09-09 1:06 PM (#154633 - in reply to #154484) Subject: RE: Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 560 Location: Mena, AR
I agree that some trailer dealers could do a better job of delivery on a trailer. I've seen more than one brand new trailer at a show that was getting worked on for one reason or another. When picking up a new trailer, new or used, take a check-list with you and make sure everything is working. A/C, fridge, potty, lights, fan, battery, brakes, outside lights, etc.. Anything that turns on & off. I went to pick up a used trailer at a dealer one time and couldn't check the fridge because there was no propane. I wouldn't take it off the lot till they got a propane tank to check out the fridge and stove. The electric jack was broke, and they had to replace it while I waited. Really? You would have thought they'd check that before I drove 200 miles to get it.
Pulsing BRAKES LQ Gooseneck Horse trailer
