If this is a brand new trailer, the brake shoes are probably not seated yet. It will take several miles of usage for the linings to wear into the brake drums. Use the bakes lightly for your first trips, and once they seat, you shouldn't experience any problems.

Gard

I seem to remember reading somewhere about a "brake seating procedure".  Something like using the trailer brakes to slow the trailer from 50 mph to 25 mph ten times in a row, allowing the brakes to cool???  Found this on the Dexter site;

"NOTE: After replacing your brake shoes and magnets you will experience a decrease in braking performance until the components have worn into the drum and finished the burnishing process. This process requires many stops to bring the new shoe's performance back to normal. This may take more than 100 stops to finish this break-in period with stops of 20 mph decreases in speed."

I didnt bother with my trailer, just drug it around town for a while then adjusted the brakes.

What kind of controller do you have?

If you are using a "timed" brake controller, like the Draw-Tite II you may have to also adjust the sync control.

Now why would anyone be using one of those POS "timed"  contollers?  Unless they actually wanted to run into something........

Originally written by genebob on 2008-09-23 10:44 PM Chad- please explain. I've been using this controller for seven years with a he** of a lot of miles on it. Never had any problems. I guess you could say that may be because I consider myself a safe driver. But .... then again maybe not ... Who knows.

Read here,

http://www.etrailer.com/faq_brakecontroller.aspx

Long story short, it has nothing to do with being a safe driver.......I know plenty of people who have hauled years without brakes and never had a "problem". The simple fact you (and others) use a timer controller puts you in my dangerous driver category.  Nothing personal, I just dont want you behind me.

The basic difference between junk timer controller and proportional is; in an emergency the timer still ramps up brake power in a "normal stop" time frame.......that is no good. The proportional controllers will respond with max brake power immediately when the emergency calls for it. How would you feel if your truck took 5-10 seconds to get full braking power? The wreck would be all over by the time the brakes came on full.

Do yourself/us a favor a get a Prodigy or equiv. controller,  you'll notice a difference.  Ive guided many people in the "good controller" search (both on the web and the real world), never a complaint from any of them, most thank me.  A Prodigy can generally be had on Ebay for around $100.

Originally written by genebob on 2008-09-24 3:29 PM

Looked on ebay- The p3 is $120.00. Called my favorite parts dealer-$259.00. Makes you wonder what the deal is.

The local guys are making a killing.  It gets even worse when they want to charge $80 to hook it up, takes 5 minutes with the plug and play connectors for most 'newish' trucks.

The P3 sends the same test pulse the Prodigy does. 

Is your top rear brake light a single?  Or is it in the 3 light ID bar?  I have a multi way (stop, tail, turn signals) ID bar that hooks into the turn signal/brake light......not the electric brake circuit.........no flashing with the P3/Prodigy.