We have a 2014 redwood 36gk. We have had a problem with trailer brakes not working for a long time. They just don't work. It seems our truck does all the work. We think they may be wired wrong. Luckily we are stationary most of the time or just take very short trips. Any suggestions will be helpful since we haven't found any schematic on wiring

The wiring comes from the junction on the king pin to one side of the axle then may go through the axles to the opposite side or over through the underbelly, not much to the wiring. It can/does get scuffed & sometimes shorted if going through the axles.
Also they used very poor quality grease seals in the hubs (drum brakes only) that if the EZ lube zerks were used could/would fill the drums with grease. If you haven't had the drums off in the past that would be the 1st place I'd start. If they are full of grease don't try to clean them up just replace the complete backing plate assembly, less mess, less work than cleaning/replacing all the parts.
If you have electric over hydraulic disc brakes then disregard the previous message.
But if you want brakes that actually can be felt stopping the rv then upgrade to the disc brakes, best upgrade for the $$ we did on ours.

I agree with Danny 100% if your budget will let you get disk brakes installed DONT spend any money repairing the drums brake system. There is a team of installer going to be at the redevue in Indiana they advertised $2800 installed! I know its $1900 in parts if you elect to do the install on your own. I can support every ones claims disk brake will stop these trailers from highway speeds as fast as a unloaded truck can. Drum brakes on my trailer with the gain set as high as possible from 65-70 mph it would be well over 300+ feet to stop in a panic situation , with disk I think under 200' is possible not that I want to try it.

https://performancetrailerbraking.com/

read this post also
http://www.redwoodrvowners-dev.com/index.php?option=com_kunena&view=topic&catid=50&id=2375&Itemid=159

I will say this... I am a believer that the discs are far superior than the old shoe style brakes, BUT . . .. .

The brakes that are now standard on the new Redwood are excellent ! ! I had a panic stop on my first trip out and could not believe I did not hit the stupid pedestrian who thought it was ok to walk out into the middle of the street into on coming traffic.. I had nowhere to go.... and stopped surprisingly fast! I thought for sure that we were gonna scrape that stupid girl off the front of my ford and call her next of kin..
They are I believe upgraded 3-3/8" x 15" padded brakes and they were awesome.. They are a good option for those who cannot afford the disc system...

I believe there is a simple test you can do to see if the brakes are activating. I have not done this test. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in. I has told if you take a compass up to the wheel and have someone apply the brakes watch the needle on the compass. It should point to the wheel when the brakes are applied. I would think if the brakes are being activated correctly, then the problem is going to be the brake shoes.

Many of the Trucks will not operate the Trailer Brakes unless moving, buy you can use the Manual control on the Brake controller to activate them.

Many of the Trucks will not operate the Trailer Brakes unless moving, buy you can use the Manual control on the Brake controller to activate them.

Hi mhs,

I have a question for you. Are you talking about trucks that already have a built in brake controller ?

Can't comment on RAM & GM, but my 2016 F-350 does not activate the trailer brake pump using the brake pedal while the truck is stopped.

When testing the brakes, to activate the pump before departure I have to use the manual slider on the brake controller.

Can't comment on RAM & GM, but my 2016 F-350 does not activate the trailer brake pump using the brake pedal while the truck is stopped.

When testing the brakes, to activate the pump before departure I have to use the manual slider on the brake controller.

Hi Andy,

Thank you for the answer. I do not know anything about the new trucks or there built in brake controller. I have always used my manual slider on the brake controller in my truck. I have never thought about it till now. Thank you again for the explanation.

Al

Ditto Andy's response, and that does include GMs

Patti. Seems like you have gotten lots of good advice. Assuming that you have electric brakes, the wiring is fairly simple, just 2 wires to each brake running from a junction box located in your pin box. If you or your partner are electrically inclined and have a multimeter you can check that there are no broken wires to each brake and the connections are good from the connector to your truck to the junction box. If you are not so inclined you can take it to a brake place (RV places are super busy) and have them diagnose the problem.

If they suggest an expensive fix then I would spend the 2800 to upgrade to disc brakes. I did that last year at the rally and I love the result. So much better than our drum brakes (and we had the new drum brakes).

Good luck

Patti , If you have disk brakes and a newer truck you may need a dexter Cam adapter to make the truck think it has drum brakes still attached . With out this the truck with factory brake controllers don't send power to the trailer brakes.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Hydrastar/HBA-CAM.html