I should add that I came back from TSA to the East Coast this summer with the brakes disconnected on my Cobra because they jammed full on during a hard stop. I didn't notice much difference pulling it without the brakes with my full-size Chevy van. I've done the same thing in the past for the same reason. It's better than trashing a set of brake shoes, burning out the bearings, and cracking a drum/hub (trust me....).

I think it says something about the engineering approach when it's less trouble to disable a feature even though it's useful. All the assurances that AL-KO brakes work great if they're maintained and adjusted properly aren't much comfort if something goes wrong so frequently that you're tempted to do without.

Indeed, I've thought about just leaving the brakes disconnected permanently.. But I like the parking brake feature. And the braking force does help slow things down in panic stops (even if I do have to climb out and verify the brakes have released afterward).

I'm sure there's a lot more I could learn about maintaining the AL-KO system. But I'm a mechanical engineer with a lot of time doing brake jobs on my vehicles of all sizes and makes. And I worked at Wagner for many years, one of the leading brake parts suppliers in the U.S., where I was very familiar with our products and interacted frequently with our engineers. And I have the manual for my trailer, which I have consulted frequently, and have also searched blogs and discussion groups here and in Europe for insights.

The AL-KO brake system works great when it's new. But I've found it to be fussy and somewhat difficult to maintain as it ages. I'd love to learn what I'm doing wrong but every time I raise a question here that isn't covered in the manual, I get a handful of different answers. And then I discover that a lot of you have had the same problems I have. We shouldn't need a separate forum just to discuss problems with AL-KO brake systems.

Chip Bearden