Argosy Basic Brake Question

[uniquemicro]

Hi All,
I have a 75 Argosy 22' with dual axels. My question is this is:
I know I have no break away switch but when my trailer is disconnected from my truck (electrically) do the brakes automatically kick in? I would think that this would be a good design where the brakes require truck hookup in order to release.
Is this how is works?

[Silverhobby]

Sorry, but this is not how it works. The break-away device is a safety mechanism to apply the brakes to the trailer if it were to break loose from the tow vehicle while it is being towed. It is activated with the battery power from the trailer (battery must be in place). This would effectively stop the trailer from careening out of control, if it were to seperate from the tow vehicle.

[87MH]

Originally Posted by uniquemicro

Hi All,
I have a 75 Argosy 22' with dual axels. My question is this is:
I know I have no break away switch but when my trailer is disconnected from my truck (electrically) do the brakes automatically kick in???

No, the brakes have magnets in the backing plates. When the magnets are energized from a signal from your brake controller (mounted in the cab of your tow vehicle) an electrical current is sent to the magnets, energizing them. The magnets, in turn, "grab" onto a mechanical mechanism and, along with rotation of the wheels, cause the trailer brake shoes to expand into the brake hub, which stops the trailer.

Originally Posted by uniquemicro

I would think that this would be a good design where the brakes require truck hookup in order to release.
Is this how is works?

Since the magnets are really electro-magnetic, and draw a fairly large amperage, leaving the magnets "activated" for more than just a couple of minutes could cause the internal windings of the electro-magnets to burn out, thus leaving the entire brake assembly useless - not a good thing.

A couple of years back Dexter was offering a brake assembly that had an attached mechanical parking brake. It worked much like an automobile parking brake in that there was a mechanical lever which was hand activated, locking the brakes in the "set" position.

If interested, you could do a thorough search through the Dexter website and investigate if this option is still offered.

[Mikethefixit]

Airstream Has put hand brakes on trailers that can be set to park or controlled manually ,but I think the ones I saw at the factory were for export only.