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david b jone · 12-09-2007, 09:18 PM

I recently bought my 1st Airstream, a 31 ft Sov. International. Brakes were fine on the test drive, but on the drive home ,the driver side would lock up when brake pedal was touched. I've seen discussions on controllers. I don't have one on my F250. Would this cause one side of brakes to lock up? David

dwightdi · 12-10-2007, 03:22 AM

You were not specific as to what year trailer you have. Your tow vehicle must have some brake controller or you would have no brakes. One side locking up usually means the controller is set much too high a sensitivity and the brakes are also bad. Start with the brakes. If you know what you are doing, take the wheels and drums off that side first and restore them to original condition. The easy way is to buy new loaded backing plates with all new guts. The harder way (by more knowledgeable people) is to replace the components that are defective and have the drums ground. If you are not an experienced brake mechanic (likely) take it to a trusted RV dealer and have it fixed. Then you need to get the instruction book for the TV controller and perform the tests they specify or let the dealer do it for you. The idea is: brakes are very important things and you life is worth a lot, do not trust it to chance. If you do not know, go to a pro.

david b jone · 12-10-2007, 05:49 PM

oh yea!, my trailer is a 1971 and my truck is an 03 and the trucks owner manual has no info on a brake controller. Is this an add on?

Tarheel · 12-10-2007, 07:58 PM

I would check to see if both sides were connected and getting a good electrical flow. Many times the wire breaks feeding a side and that will cause the brakes to lock up. Also electric brakes are not self adjusting, so after you check to make certain that both sides have the brakes equally adjusted. I don't think you will find that the problem is in your controller

dwightdi · 12-10-2007, 08:26 PM

The '71 trailers had electrical drum brakes. The 03 trucks did not come with controllers. It is an add on. It should be a little box mounted below your dash. It should have a name on it. It should also have an adjustment wheel on the side. Get the name and google to get the instructions. The controller is likely adjusted to be too sensitive. The brakes most likely do not apply on the one side because they are rusted or the wires are broken. Do a visual yourself but get a lot of information and training before tackling the brakes yourself.