Having trouble with my trailer brakes not fully releasing, I have to stop and put the truck in neutral or reverse to get them to fully release. What I mean by fully release is that in drive at idle the truck and trailer will roll, after applying the brakes it does not, a little gas and it will go but I can feel the drag. here's what I done so far
1. Replaced all shoes, magnets seals and wiring . I used 10 ga. strained.
2. Turned all 4 drums 12 x 2 inch.

These are 7k axles,

Any Ideas as to what it could be ?

 

It sounds like your brake controller may be bleeding a slight bit of voltage to the brakes. It may not be enough to engage them, but it may be enough to hold the magnet to the drum once it's against it. I would try unplugging the controller when the brakes hang up to see if they release.

 

4x4: That crossed my mind and I should have tried it. I will try that. Thanks.

 

You also need to make sure that the pivots for the brake apply levers are clean and slightly lubricated. When I have the shoes off, I also like to buff off the pads that the shoes move against, and coat them with a very thin layer of antiseize.

 

Well I tried disconnecting the plug with the brakes dragging and it made no difference. I still had to back up a inch to get them to fully release.
I'll have to try the grease on on pivot points.
Could the adjustment of the shoes on the brakes have anything to do with it ie: too tight or loose.
When jacked up my wheels turn freely. It takes 2-3 good moves with the brake spoon to tighten them to the no spin freely spot. Thanks for your inputs guys.

 

are you sure the shoes are not reversed ..not sure if trailer brake shoes have a large and small shoe and there are lefts and rights too!

 

Rebal: The shoes are 2 sizes, I have the larger on the back side and the smaller in the front. I think, heck now I forgot. Does anybody know for sure witch goes where. There was no difference between left and right on these shoes. Thanks for the help.

 

Make sure the pivot arm is not binding, and the surface the shoes slide on is clean, and the return spring is good. The shorter shoe goes on the side with the pivot arm.

 

I'd be careful about dobbing grease anywhere in there. 1==you don't want it to ever get on the shoes, and 2==and brake dust is just going to collect there and make matters worse in the long run.

 

Thanks for the input guys I'm going to pull one wheel off and take a look. This has been a real pain in the braking process.

 

One thing I've seen cause that is not having the brake shoes adjusted far enough out. This allows the arm the magnet is on to travel past the cam surface, and hang up.

To get them set properly, turn the star wheel out while rotating the tire and wheel in the forward direction by hand, until it is tight enough the wheel won't turn. This centers the shoes in the drum.

Then back the star wheel off until the drag goes away, plus 3/4 or 1 turn of the star (say 5 good bites with the adjuster).

I've seen people try to adjust them until the drag sound goes away, but what they are hearing is the magnet scuffing along the armature part of the drum.

Also, if the brakes have been replaced or disturbed, and you don't tighten the star down first, you end up with the adjustment way too loose.