Need recommendation for trailer work

Nuzzy · Mar 17, 2008

Since I'm heading to Michigan this coming Saturday, I went and picked up my jeep and trailer from my Dad's house yesterday to prepare for the trip and found a few problems... fwiw, the trailer has been now sitting in a field since last August.

When driving down the gravel path on the side of the house, my driver rear trailer tire was locking up and digging a rut while none of the other tires did. When I'd let off the brakes it would seem to roll fine. Then driving down the road whenever I'd get just a little on the brakes, I'd get a violent grabbing and releasing feeling enough to shake the truck. Got out to check and found no working lights and a nasty smell. I just unhooked the trailer plug at that point and drove home without any signal going to the trailer.

So my thoughts are:

1) Maybe that specific assembly has some rust from sitting for so long and just needs to break free.
2) Maybe some wierd electrical issue is causing problems
3) ???

Problem is, my weeks is packed full with getting ready to move and I have no time to deal with this. Does anyone have a recommendation of a shop I could just drop my truck and trailer off at for a day this week to figure out/go through/fix issues/fix lights so I can tow across country with confidence...?

KarlVP · Mar 17, 2008

FiFo and I don't have anything to do all week. I'm sure we could take a look at it for ya.

Toyotanut · Mar 20, 2008

call the place you got it from

03 CON · Mar 20, 2008

OK since I cant see delighted posts, just drop the heep by my place, you are not going to be using it anyway, and a nice guy like I am, I will take "good" care of it for you!:stirpot:

Nuzzy · Mar 20, 2008

KarlVP said:
FiFo and I don't have anything to do all week. I'm sure we could take a look at it for ya.

Thanks Karl. But I just don't have the time to tow it anywhere beyond someplace near my work.

Toyotanut said:
call the place you got it from

I would take it up there if I had the time :booo:

03 CON said:
OK since I cant see delighted posts, just drop the heep by my place, you are not going to be using it anyway, and a nice guy like I am, I will take "good" care of it for you!:stirpot:

I'm sure you would...

I got new lights for it since one of the old ones was trashed and I'm gonna tug it around the neighborhood with someone walking along side to see if anything is holding that one brake on or if it just needs the rust broke free.

KarlVP · Mar 21, 2008

Hopefully that's all it is.

Check the wheel bearings real quick too.

Brake controller set to high?

Nuzzy · Mar 21, 2008

KarlVP said:
Hopefully that's all it is.

Check the wheel bearings real quick too.

Brake controller set to high?

I'll check the controller just to make sure, but I don't think it's moved since the last time I towed. As a last resort, it does only seem to be the driver side rear tire so I can always just cut the elec brake line to that wheel and rely on the other 3. My exhaust brake helps my braking situation quite a bit as well.

What exactly am I looking for with the wheel bearings? I know they go bad. But I'm I just looking for signs of wear or heat damage?

KarlVP · Mar 21, 2008

Nuzzy said:
I'll check the controller just to make sure, but I don't think it's moved since the last time I towed. As a last resort, it does only seem to be the driver side rear tire so I can always just cut the elec brake line to that wheel and rely on the other 3. My exhaust brake helps my braking situation quite a bit as well.

What exactly am I looking for with the wheel bearings? I know they go bad. But I'm I just looking for signs of wear or heat damage?

Pry the caps off of the spindles with a screwdriver. Then look inside to see if there is grease. Takes about 10 minutes.

But from what you are describing, it's probably just a brake situation. If the bearings had failed, I think the wheel would be doing weird stuff regardless of brake controller power. Maybe just rust too. Put a load on it and see if it goes away.

03 CON · Mar 21, 2008

KarlVP said:
Pry the caps off of the spindles with a screwdriver. Then look inside to see if there is grease. Takes about 10 minutes.

But from what you are describing, it's probably just a brake situation. If the bearings had failed, I think the wheel would be doing weird stuff regardless of brake controller power. Maybe just rust too. Put a load on it and see if it goes away.

If it is the brakes stuck, put some wieght on the trailer and back it up, breaks em loose better for some reason....

And by good care, well I think you know what I mean...:fawkdancesmiley:

Nuzzy · Mar 27, 2008

Quick follow up:

I spent a good portion of friday night (night before move) trouble shooting the lights/brakes. I tried using the existing light wires and new lights which didn't work. Then I tried using some magnet mount lights with a 4 pin and a 7 to 4 pin converter which kinda worked (but wouldn't give me trailer brakes). So then I cut of the 4 pin and cut apart my 7 pin harness plug and through some trial and error found the l/r turn and brake light wires, so I spliced them together into the magnet mount lights. Last step was driving lights for the trailer... I figured there must be something wrong with that pin/connection in my harness or plug on the truck so I found a hot wire to the driving lights in my tailgate and tapped a wire directly into that and then spliced it into the brown wire of the 4 pin magnet lights. Then just to make it detachable, I spliced in the 4 pin connector male and female so that I could detach from the truck without undoing wire nuts.

For the brakes, I broke all the rust free and turned down the brake adjuster in cab which did the trick for the most part.

End result was that I had working magnet lights mounted on the bumper of the jeep (the wires between them weren't wide enough to be on the outside of my trailer) that had both driving and turn signals working, and the trailer brakes worked. :clappy:

Everything worked flawlessly for the drive. Now I can tear back into it and prolly just re do the entire wiring truck, harness, and trailer.

1 grumpy · Mar 27, 2008

wow what a mess but glad you got r done and are at home now.So you got snow still?

KarlVP · Mar 27, 2008

What a PITA.

Glad to hear you made it out there safe.

CrustyJeep · Mar 27, 2008

I am glad I bought the same kind of trailer you did Eric :redneck:

Nuzzy · Mar 27, 2008

Yep, showed up to about a foot of snow a few days back. Most had melted until we got another winter storm advisory today which dumped another 4-6 inches :haha:

And Crusty, look at it this way... It MIGHT just be the truck's wiring :redneck: