Axles and brakes too small for X20E model

[nvelasco]

Has anybody had issues with trailer brakes and axles on Jaycoo hybrids? I just purchased a used 2014 Jayco jay Feather X20E hybrid. The axles are rated for 2200 lbs each. the trailer weighs 3991 plus water and cargo. Just put a brake control in my 2020 ram truck and the trailer brakes don't slow down the trailer. adjusted the brakes on the trailer and replaced a brake magnet on one of the wheels Still won't slow. called Dexter about axles and they said the axles are small and should be used on a snow mobile trailer, too small for the jayco trailers. I read other people had to complain to Jayco and they did nothing. Others changed the axles to 3500lbs each. Any thoughts?

[Jagiven]

I have not heard of anyone making an axle changes on a HTT.

In general 10-15% of the GVW weight is on the tongue, the rest is on the axles. So if your TT has a GVW of 5000 lbs, and you have a 12% (600 lbs) tongue weight, the remaining 4400 pounds is spread across the two axles (2200 lbs each). In theory with built in factor of safeties, it should all work. In reality, I think the weak link is the cheap tires, as they age, they loose load carrying capacity. I up sized my load carrying capacity by one load range.

[nvelasco]

I have new tires on the trailer. It's not te tires, its the fact that the axles are too small for all the weight of the trailer and the load.

[bankr63]

Actually, the axles are properly rated. You have 4400 lbs of axle capacity, which should give you a max. GTW of about 4850 lbs. People always say the axles are too light on trailers because they are so close to the GTW, but the GTW is set by the axle rating. If Jayco put heavier axles on the trailer, then the GTW would likely be higher (unless something else is the limiting factor).

Also, are you sure you can "replace" an axle? I thought that the 2014 was still torsion axles? My 2011 is torsion. These cannot be swapped out the way a conventional axle is.

What are you using for a brake controller. If you have an integrated controller on a truck, make sure that you have the gain set correctly. Some manufacturers have a gain setting accessed through a menu option. Yours may be set incorrectly. (oops disregard - just read that you added an aftermarket to your RAM).

I will say that my Titan has no problem locking up the brakes on my X19H with only 3.0 as the max gain setting on the TBC. No problem here at all.

If the brakes check out okay, the last thing I would ask is how exactly are you testing? I helped another poster on Titan forum realize that proportional brake controllers will only stop a trailer at speed. My ITBC drops to 0 output as you slow down to 0 mph. He was testing by applying controller from stop with the brake pedal, it won't apply any force. You need to have some speed up before applying the control and then use the override on the controller itself to stop.

[Isaacs]

Originally Posted by nvelasco

Has anybody had issues with trailer brakes and axles on Jaycoo hybrids? I just purchased a used 2014 Jayco jay Feather X20E hybrid. The axles are rated for 2200 lbs each. the trailer weighs 3991 plus water and cargo. Just put a brake control in my 2020 ram truck and the trailer brakes don't slow down the trailer. adjusted the brakes on the trailer and replaced a brake magnet on one of the wheels Still won't slow. called Dexter about axles and they said the axles are small and should be used on a snow mobile trailer, too small for the jayco trailers. I read other people had to complain to Jayco and they did nothing. Others changed the axles to 3500lbs each. Any thoughts?

I used to have a popup trailer(not a Jayco) that wouldn't lock up the wheels even if I hooked a full 12V from a separate battery to the brakes thus eliminating any controller problems. It would barely slow it down. I think the axle had been installed backwards; these trailers don't stop well in reverse. Not sure how to check this but there has to be a way.

[nvelasco]

We have tested the controller it’s brand new, we have a brand new 2020 ram truck. We have checked out the brakes on the trailer and adjusted them and replaced magnets. Again we talked to Dexter axles and their opinion is the axles are too small for what potentially could be a heavy loaded trailer. The trailer does slow down when the manual brake is pushed but it doesn’t “lock up” for better terms. I’ve had a lot of trailers, This is not my first rodeo. It costs around $1500 to replace the axles but now you have to get new tires and wheels to accommodate the new axles so that’s more $$. Nevermind, I will be cautious coming down a mountain loaded with a truck full and 2 dogs. Just poorly designed for these years. Isn’t it funny how the new jay feather hybrids have 3500lb axles now.....hmmmm!

[Grumpy]

Originally Posted by nvelasco

The axles are rated for 2200 lbs each. the trailer weighs 3991 plus water and cargo. J

As Bankr63 said they are properly sized for the GVWR.

The way to see if the brakes are enough is pull the break away pin and try to pull forward, best done with two people.

[DocBrown]

We have a 2013 X20E. The axles are rated properly. The GVWR of the X20E is 4750#. 4400# carried by the axles, the rest is carried by the tongue.

I have never been able to get the brakes to lock up when adjusting the controller. However at 25 mph they do a good job of slowing the entire rig down by pulling the manual lever. I have never felt unsafe and have had enough panic stops to be comfortable with the stopping ability of the trailer.

I'm confused, in your OP you said it doesn't slow down. Then you say it does. How did you check out the brakes? Have you verified the magnets are engaging and getting power? You can have someone slowly drive the truck and engage the brakes while you listen for the magnets. They make a distinct sound. What kind of brake controller is it, proportional or time delay?

[nvelasco]

Thanks for the info on your experience. We will keep that in mind when slowing down. Everything has been check and properly working. What I meant to say in the first post is it’s slows a bit. You can hear them engage but by no means does it push the truck like some of the other campers we have had. We will just be cautious when towing.

[DocBrown]

I'd still like to understand what type of brake controller you have. We have a Prodigy P2. It tells me how much voltage is being applied.

You should defiantly be feeling a healthy amount of drag. If not there is something wrong with the brakes or the voltage going to them. You might have a bad ground or something else that's not allowing full voltage to the magnets.

[Sundancer330]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

I'd still like to understand what type of brake controller you have. We have a Prodigy P2. It tells me how much voltage is being applied.

You should defiantly be feeling a healthy amount of drag. If not there is something wrong with the brakes or the voltage going to them. You might have a bad ground or something else that's not allowing full voltage to the magnets.

Another thing people seem to miss during setup with a P2 or P3 controller is the Boost setting. If Boost is not set correct even at max voltage braking will not do much, and if too much Boost is used braking is very jerky as it will grab real fast.

[nvelasco]

We have a Draw Tite brake controller that was installed by a trailer company. It's been tested to the highest amount of drag. The brakes and magnets have been checked and in working order, Also the brakes were adjusted as well.

[DocBrown]

How was the drag tested and by who? We're trying to help out here, but sorry but I can't help feel that we're missing information. I wasn't asking about the magnets, I'm asking about the voltage to them. Has someone verified that voltage applied, at the magnet, is appropriate?

[nvelasco]

My father has been doing all the checking on the brakes etc. he knows what he’s doing, had many trailer and has been twining for years. He also is the one who has been checking the voltage going to the brakes. He’s the one who told me to go on to the forum and see what people say about the issues.

[nvelasco]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. We have done everything everyone has said to do. We were just wondering if we were missing something or if anyone else had these problems.

[Murff]

You might check the wiring to the brakes on the trailer.

A number of years ago, we had a new Terry Taurus trailer. After a few years, descending a long grade, the TV brakes got hot and almost failed to stop the rig. We had to wait two hours for the front brakes to cool on the TV.

We didn't realize that the problem wasn't the long grade with the trailer until my son, at a much later date, spotted a wire that was wrapped around the the then black propane pipe, had chafed to the point the insulation was rubbed off of the wire. Pretty sure that power was grounding into the pipe and the trailer brakes weren't working.

As much as I hate agreeing with Grumpy, I suggest pulling the break away pin, and drag the trailer a little to see if ALL wheels lock up and none continue to turn.

Murff

[nvelasco]

Ok we will check that out. Thanks for the heads up.

[Bob The Camper]

We have an x20e as well. Tow it with a '12 xterra with WD hitch, and Tekonsha controller. I can lock up thre trailer wheels. Like mentioned, check your gain, ground, connections, pads and drums.

[Knock]

Hello. I had a similar problem with a customers late model Ram 3500 . pulling a 5th wheel. In the center of the dash cluster is a menu screen. The controls are on the wheel. One of the drivers was messing with the settings. under settings in list trailer brakes. It has 3 settings. Light , med, heavy, load. He had set it to light. They messed with that truck for 2 days. Changed the controller twice, before they asked me to look at it. I found it in the owners manual.

[TnHiker]

Originally Posted by Isaacs

I used to have a popup trailer(not a Jayco) that wouldn't lock up the wheels even if I hooked a full 12V from a separate battery to the brakes thus eliminating any controller problems. It would barely slow it down. I think the axle had been installed backwards; these trailers don't stop well in reverse. Not sure how to check this but there has to be a way.

This post sparked a thought. The brake assemblies are left / right sensitive. If someone has installed the brakes assemblies with the left brake assembly on the right side and vice versa the brakes won't work hardly at all. You can tell by looking at the way the lever is actuating. Most of the brake assemblies have a sticker on the inside on the back plate that identifies right / left. Good luck.