Burning smell in cabin while towing

[Grumpaw]

Like @Grumpaw said drive the truck without the trailer and see if your getting a pulsation through the brake peddle when you come to a stop which could indicate a warped rotor. If you did over heat them you'll probably just have to replace your pads and rotors sooner than normal.

To take this one step further....if the truck stops/acts/feels normal by itself, then it's possible the trailer brakes were overheating which causes a burning smell. As trailer brakes are drum, its impossible to see their condition without removing the drum. Drum itself can be recut but if shoes are burned/glazed then replacement is called for.
Without knowing the history of the truck/trailer, very hard to give correct advise. Was trailer a new or used rig ? What condition if used ? When/if brakes were ever done, bearings repacked, ect ect ect ??? I have seen bearings that were going dry overheat and literally melt and burn the spindle. All these items must be looked after/kept up maintaince wise.

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[Cabose-1]

I have my tbc set a little over 4 for a 6500 lb travel trailer.
Grumpaw said it best. Find a parking lot or an area where you can do about 25, then manually push the tbc. It should stop you. Not slam you to a stop, and not take 100yards either. But smoothly and quickly. It's a feel. To much gain and you can feel the tug of the trailer. Not enough gain and you feel the push of the trailer.
I have overheated my brakes. Nothing wrong with them, but my rotors are warped, and it is not dangerous just annoying. My ranger shakes to a stop as pads do not evenly apply pressure to the rotors . Left like this my brakes will wear out quickly and not play well with alignment and front end components. Just makes everything wear out quicker than should.
Play with the gain if you can before you tow again with trailer attached. If in a hilly area you may need to increase it. Increase or lower by small increments, do not jump from 4 to 6. I guess you could, and you will see the difference.
Ultimately, trailer and truck should stop at the same rate. It will take some miles under your belt to get used to the feel.
Just take it slow an easy, keep the rubber side down.
Good luck

 

[queenOfHerLariat]

Hello, thank you so much everyone for your replies. It's dark now here in Pennslyvania but I will check the Trailer's brake drums in the morning. The trailer is a rental. I'm testing out towing to see if it's "for me" before buying a trailer. I can't say if the guy kept up with maintenance. It's just some random dude who rents out his trailer. I kept the gain at 4.5 and the trailer is 3500lbs. Based on another members experience, it seems like that is too high. I am going to test it out in the morning and likely keep it on a lower setting.

I tested my Ranger while unhitched and the brakes seem to work fine. I noticed a little bit of sputtering while coming to a stop between 10 and 0 mph but honestly it's so faint I can't attribute it to the rotors, it felt more like transmission downshifting to me. It could be rotors though. If I did damage, it seems like a small amount, fortunately.

To another member's question, I am using the tow mode while driving. I haven't experimented with downshifting. Sorry for another question, but must I be in S mode for that?

Also, has anyone here towed with cruise control on? Is it advisable? I get repetitive motion strains more quickly than others and prefer to use cruise control on long trips, but obviously don't want to damage the vehicle. I saw I can disable the adaptive version of cruise control if need be while towing.

I'm very grateful for all of your comments and thoughtfulness...

 

[Grumpaw]

You can downshift in any of the 3 modes....drive, tow mode, or sport.
Towing with cruise control is up to the individual. Personally I don't use it at all while towing as even with the avoidance system, with a heavy trailer behind I don't trust the system to avoid a collision in an emergency setup.
But, that's just my preference.

 

[Cabose-1]

I drive with cruise on. 65 with a tt 70 utility or car. I don't hit the brakes to cancel cruise, i hit the cancel button on the steering wheel. Or tap the tbc. When you manually apply brakes on the trailer the cruise turns off. I only use it on long stretches of road.

 

[Grumpaw]

Haley, do not let your first experience towing/camping get you down. Over the years my wife and I have seen many single women enter the rv lifestyle. Like everything else, it just takes practice to become proficient.
And, if in doubt, when going to a campground, just ask a fellow camper for assistance....we have helped many "newbies" with similar problems. Campers are some of the friendliest people, but you have to ask, as most of us will not just offer help as many new campers take offence to someone just walking up and offering to "help".
Just look for campers who appear to be experienced....you'll know them by the way their rigs are set up, watch them pull in and set up.
Also, google up "women rv campers web sites".....many sites, run by women rv'ers will come up and will be able to give you many GOOD tips on rv'ing and help you with problems.

 

[dtech]

If you smell burning after going downhill suggest you pull off somewhere safe , get out and feel the trailer wheels to see if any feel excessive hot or one feels hotter, could be a sticking brake or simply an imbalance in the brake adjustment for any numbers of reasons, on a used trailer you don't know what service may have been performed on the wheels/brakes but if one of the wheels is noticeably warmer you may have identified where the problem lies.

 

[Fazzie01]

I have my tbc set a little over 4 for a 6500 lb travel trailer.
Grumpaw said it best. Find a parking lot or an area where you can do about 25, then manually push the tbc. It should stop you. Not slam you to a stop, and not take 100yards either. But smoothly and quickly. It's a feel. To much gain and you can feel the tug of the trailer. Not enough gain and you feel the push of the trailer.
I have overheated my brakes. Nothing wrong with them, but my rotors are warped, and it is not dangerous just annoying. My ranger shakes to a stop as pads do not evenly apply pressure to the rotors . Left like this my brakes will wear out quickly and not play well with alignment and front end components. Just makes everything wear out quicker than should.
Play with the gain if you can before you tow again with trailer attached. If in a hilly area you may need to increase it. Increase or lower by small increments, do not jump from 4 to 6. I guess you could, and you will see the difference.
Ultimately, trailer and truck should stop at the same rate. It will take some miles under your belt to get used to the feel.
Just take it slow an easy, keep the rubber side down.
Good luck

Umm, where is your ASS button?? Mine is the top button where you locking diff is.

 

[airline tech]

Umm, where is your ASS button?? Mine is the top button where you locking diff is.

He has a 22 - Factory ASS Delete, like mine. I LOVE it.
That switch was the issue (Chip Shortage) as all other related parts for ASS are still installed - Cabin Heater Pump etc - They are just deactivated and software changed to reflect the switch has been deactivated along with the IPC menu screen for it.

 

[Cabose-1]

Umm, where is your ASS button?? Mine is the top button where you locking diff is.

Out of all the deletes to have, mine is a 22 xlt fx2, I have the ass delete. Not me, the truck!
So for the delete, they deducted 50 bucks. That's how I was able to afford the truck!

 

[ControlNode]

I'll add a bit of advice for renting camper trailers and such as I've done that several times since getting my Ranger. I discuss the brakes and requirement for the brake on the trailer before pickup with the owner, and then when I get there I test with an "around the block" drive. If the brakes don't work I would cancel the rental and cite inop brakes resulting in trailer being over weight for trucks allowances. 1,650lb is the towing limit of the Ranger if the trailer lacks functional brakes. I've had one owner that towed his with a different midsize truck and it didn't know the camper even had brakes since he didn't have a brake controller on his own truck. When renting you are trusting that the owner keeps the equipment in proper working condition, but it never hurts to confirm.

So far I've never had to cancel a trailer for lack of brakes, but I had to cancel a small trailer rental before I bought my truck for another reason. I was renting a camper that was said to be 1,650-1,800 lb. and a tongue weight under 200 lb., the limit of the hitch on my car is 200 lb. tongue weight, 2,000 lb. trailer, but when we went to lower the hitch on my car the suspension just kept dropping. I had him stop and remove it. I explained the weights are wrong and appear to be way higher than listed. I was a little over 200 lb. then and I stood on the hitch's ball and the car didn't go down near that much. Since then I bought a Weigh Safe hitch so that I have a good estimation of the weight on the hitch to prevent ever renting a poorly loaded trailer.

 

[Montana Ranger]

Take it easy on your brakes when towing. Before going down any significant grades, I have already shifted from tow to sport mode and have manually down-shifted to 3rd (or sometimes 2nd if very steep and slower) and let the engine do the braking, only lightly using the brakes to moderate the speed as needed.

 

[Dereku]

Just quick taps of the brakes down hill to adjust speed. Never ride them, they can burn out in glaze in one steep grade. Only used for emergencies. Start 10 below, by the time you are at the bottom you might be 10 over and thats ok. Watch how semis drive in the mountains, you basically want to mimic that.

 

[SigOris]

@seasprite thank you for your expertise. What does it mean from here? Do I need new rotors or just to take it easy? God I feel like an idiot. I just bought this truck.

You’re not an Eye Dee Ten Tee. One of those would not have seemed out alive.

Do you have a Tail Gate Damper? That may help. Just as @AzScorpion . These things slice and dice and perform all sorts of miracles

 

[SigOris]

Haley, do not let your first experience towing/camping get you down. Over the years my wife and I have seen many single women enter the rv lifestyle. Like everything else, it just takes practice to become proficient.
And, if in doubt, when going to a campground, just ask a fellow camper for assistance....we have helped many "newbies" with similar problems. Campers are some of the friendliest people, but you have to ask, as most of us will not just offer help as many new campers take offence to someone just walking up and offering to "help".
Just look for campers who appear to be experienced....you'll know them by the way their rigs are set up, watch them pull in and set up.
Also, google up "women rv campers web sites".....many sites, run by women rv'ers will come up and will be able to give you many GOOD tips on rv'ing and help you with problems.

I concur with this response completely. My wife forced me into RVing this past summer. You’ll recognize the pro’s and we haven’t met any yet that haven’t been helpful and a pleasure to talk with. It’s also a great way to get feedback from people who actually may have a TT you’re interested in.

looking at your occupation, I bought a Starlink Mini and it works great

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