[AT] Trailer brakes

[Don Bowen]

I know this has been discussed many times here but here goes again.  I 
had a somewhat harrowing experience yesterday.  The road into this place 
is a steep graveled quarter mile long.  The top end is very steep with a 
short shallow section before another steep piece.  My two wheel drive 
pickup cannot pull the trailer up the hill.  Yesterday as I started down 
the brakes on the trailer failed.  The trailer pushed me down the hill 
and about all I could do was pump the brakes, slide, panic as the 30' 
drop off got closer, let off on the brakes to head for the other bank, 
rinse and repeat.  I finally got it stopped on the shallow part and 
called a friend.  We chained his pickup to the back of the trailer and 
went down very slowly.  It defiantly made the heart beat much faster.  
It took a good application of Pizza and beer last night to set things in 
order again.

I thought the brakes were not working right.  As I applied the brakes 
they would start to come on then grab then let go then grab again.  I 
stopped and got the brakes working where they seemed to be ok on the 
pedal and manual.  That is until I went over the hill when they grabbed 
then never applied again.  Not even manual worked.  I thought it might 
be a ground so I hooked some jumper cables between the pickup and 
trailer but that had no affet.  I am thinking the controller may be bad 
but I am looking for suggestions on what it could be and how to test.  I 
am headed for california in a week but the trailer stays here.

-- 
Don Bowen           KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html