Using your trailer brakes to slow down

[Bullant4x4]

Listen to a convo today about using your trailer brakes to slow you down than putting your foot on the car brakes.

Say you're coming down a hill into a town and need to go from 100 to 60. If your brake controller allows you to, apply the trailer brakes softly to slow you down and this will stop the trailer drifting around. Don't use the car brakes, just the trailer brakes. Also told it's cheaper to replace trailer brakes than car so.......

Just wondering if anyone else here use that technic?

[gronk]

No....

Can be helpful manually over riding them down slippery dirt hills, but on road, if you need to do this, the brake controller is setup wrong.

[tk421]

If you've got an electronic brake controller, and it is set correctly,  why would you use 2 brakes to slow down 3+ tonnes rather than 6 brakes? Especially if you have a proportional brake controller

Off road descents is a different story but on a bitumen road it doesn't make sense to me.

[slydar]

another 'water cooler' expert perhaps...? I'm told they can burn out pretty quick, the boys are always telling stories of being able to smell 'brake-downs' on the waterfall way from miles away when people have used their brakes too much and burned out their trailer brake solenoids - theyre only meant for brief application periods as are the hydraulic over electric (or electric over hydraulic) units so while it can be done and does have the acclaimed benefit its not something I would do in my inexperienced state

I'm reminded of the 1950s Lucille ball and desi arnaz movie - the long trailer -: "Trailer brakes FIRST...!!!"

[Symon]

Don't know about others but with my brakes you need to adjust them as they wear.  So if you use them more than the vehicle brakes you'll be doing a lot of adjusting.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

If you've got an electronic brake controller, and it is set correctly,  why would you use 2 brakes to slow down 3+ tonnes rather than 6 brakes? Especially if you have a proportional brake controller

Off road descents is a different story but on a bitumen road it doesn't make sense to me.

Ditto, from me too tk421.
When the tow vehicle Front brakes do approx. 70% of the Braking on a modern vehicle, you would have to plan your stops well ahead of time to rely on the trailer brakes.

[Paddler Ed]

another 'water cooler' expert perhaps...? I'm told they can burn out pretty quick, the boys are always telling stories of being able to smell 'brake-downs' on the waterfall way from miles away when people have used their brakes too much and burned out their trailer brake solenoids - theyre only meant for brief application periods as are the hydraulic over electric (or electric over hydraulic) units so while it can be done and does have the acclaimed benefit its not something I would do in my inexperienced state

And people wonder why I warn them about the descent from the visitor centre to Thora... I cooked the brakes on my old Mazda van once on that hill (I now tend to go via Ulong, but that's not really trailer friendly)

[weeds]

If you've got an electronic brake controller, and it is set correctly,  why would you use 2 brakes to slow down 3+ tonnes rather than 6 brakes? Especially if you have a proportional brake controller

Off road descents is a different story but on a bitumen road it doesn't make sense to me.

That pretty much sums it up........

I find once you see the 80/60 sign ahead drop back a gear and let the engine slow you up.......in an auto it super easy

[GBC]

Listen to a convo today about using your trailer brakes to slow you down than putting your foot on the car brakes.

Say you're coming down a hill into a town and need to go from 100 to 60. If your brake controller allows you to, apply the trailer brakes softly to slow you down and this will stop the trailer drifting around. Don't use the car brakes, just the trailer brakes. Also told it's cheaper to replace trailer brakes than car so.......

Just wondering if anyone else here use that technic?

They didn't happen to be prime mover owner operators did they? The age old trick is to crank the bias onto the 'client's' trailer to use their brakes instead of yours. Not so easy to do these days though. Put simply, if your van/trailer drifts around under brakes you are doing it wrong.

[Joff]

Yeah..... no

Hahahahaha dickheads 

[Bullant4x4]

Cheers, didn't sound right but everyone does things their way. Thinking about it it would hold back the tow vehicle and stopping the van sliding around under the vehicle braking, if speed was effecting it?. I've got the Redarc tow pro so it's set and forget. First camper so lots to learn.

[Joff]

Cheers, didn't sound right but everyone does things their way. Thinking about it it would hold back the tow vehicle and stopping the van sliding around under the vehicle braking, if speed was effecting it?. I've got the Redarc tow pro so it's set and forget. First camper so lots to learn.

No break controller is really set and forget, not even the Redarc. You will find that in different conditions you will adjust it once you get to know it.

[Steffo1]

No break controller is really set and forget, not even the Redarc. You will find that in different conditions you will adjust it once you get to know it.

Yep!

[Bird]

Listen to a convo today about using your trailer brakes to slow you down than putting your foot on the car brakes.

Say you're coming down a hill into a town and need to go from 100 to 60. If your brake controller allows you to, apply the trailer brakes softly to slow you down and this will stop the trailer drifting around. Don't use the car brakes, just the trailer brakes. Also told it's cheaper to replace trailer brakes than car so.......

Just wondering if anyone else here use that technic?

I think I just got dumber reading that..  .... so much stupid.

[edz]

Who rides brakes anyway, just lift of the go pedal and go down gears and use the engine braking, The trailer shouldnt be wanting  to drift anywhere anyway  when decelerating ..

[Joff]

Who rides brakes anyway, just lift of the go pedal and go down gears and use the engine braking, The trailer shouldnt be wanting  to drift anywhere anyway  when decelerating ..

Thats fine when you're in a big manual diesel 6 like mine but that dont work that well with the new stuff. I know, for instance, that my auto ranger has no hope of pulling up my 1500kg camper with engine braking on any sort of decline. Has trouble pulling itself up.

[GBC]

Thats fine when you're in a big manual diesel 6 like mine but that dont work that well with the new stuff. I know, for instance, that my auto ranger has no hope of pulling up my 1500kg camper with engine braking on any sort of decline. Has trouble pulling itself up.

My auto ranger makes all the relevant sounds like it should be slowing down - just doesn't pull up like a manual. Good brakes but and hdc going slow is pretty awesome.

[tk421]

Cheers, didn't sound right but everyone does things their way. Thinking about it it would hold back the tow vehicle and stopping the van sliding around under the vehicle braking, if speed was effecting it?. I've got the Redarc tow pro so it's set and forget. First camper so lots to learn.

It is a valid technique if your trailer starts swaying whilst driving. You can apply the trailer brakes manually to bring it back under control and stop the swaying.



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[Joff]

My auto ranger makes all the relevant sounds like it should be slowing down - just doesn't pull up like a manual. Good brakes but and hdc going slow is pretty awesome.

After writing that this morning I thought I'd try a bit of down shifting on the way in to work. Just to validate to myself that I wasn't being too harsh.

Almost nothing! Going slightly down hill at say 70, flick the shifter across and punch it down 2 cogs. There is an initial slight bump of retardation but then it is almost like the ecu feeds the motor fuel so it isn't dragged on to hard. I have to admit that I drive this thing to and from work and have never even turned the little knob to 4wd so I have no clue what it's like when 4wdriving but between the motor, box and electrikery it doesn't have any real semblance of engine braking. 

[tk421]

After writing that this morning I thought I'd try a bit of down shifting on the way in to work. Just to validate to myself that I wasn't being too harsh.

Almost nothing! Going slightly down hill at say 70, flick the shifter across and punch it down 2 cogs. There is an initial slight bump of retardation but then it is almost like the ecu feeds the motor fuel so it isn't dragged on to hard. I have to admit that I drive this thing to and from work and have never even turned the little knob to 4wd so I have no clue what it's like when 4wdriving but between the motor, box and electrikery it doesn't have any real semblance of engine braking.

That's a worry. I drive my 120 Prado like a manual down hill. And it's got a nifty feature in the box when going downhill too. Dab the brakes and it will automatically drop a gear and hold it there.


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[Joff]

It is a valid technique if your trailer starts swaying whilst driving. You can apply the trailer brakes manually to bring it back under control and stop the swaying.

Agreed. And I always recommend that those new to towing practice doing that a bit just because it gets you used to where your control button or slider is without having to look for it. Nothing worse that fumbling for that little thing and trying to make it work while the trailer is getting up a sway.

[GBC]

That's a worry. I drive my 120 Prado like a manual down hill. And it's got a nifty feature in the box when going downhill too. Dab the brakes and it will automatically drop a gear and hold it there.


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They aren't terrible at speed, but they aren't a manual either. Like Joff said, the engine will almost blip to match revs to the gear it's in. They won't kick back under brakes and hold a gear like a prado (and my last Colorado), you need to use the sportshift to retard forward motion downhill in the ute, but towing it's pretty much a waste of time running back through the gears at speed. The six speeds and closer ranges might mask it a bit too?
Low range and off road is another story - the gearbox will behave like a manual and do the business.