Dexter Trailer Brake Warning
 

About a year ago I replaced the brakes on my fifth wheel. My procedure has always been to replace the entire backing plate assembly. I ordered them online and received genuine "Dexter" parts in a factory marked box. I installed them and everything was fine for several thousand miles. After this the brakes developed a squeal. When I pulled the first drum, the lining fell on the ground. It had come unglued from the shoe. In all the years (55) I have been replacing brakes I have never seen a bonded brake lining that separated from the shoe. Besides cracking, this is the first negative experience I have had with "Dexter" products. I realize that most, if not all of their products are produced in China. I emailed "Dexter" re: the above and received no answer, so much for customer service. I replaced these shoes with a riveted type from a local truck and trailer brake shop. Obviously
I will never use their brake shoes again and I hope no one has experienced a similar problem.
John

This is a very serious accusation of a well known company.

Are you sure the parts you bought were genuine Dexter, and not counterfeit? There are Chinese rip-offs available, with faulty linings. It wouldn't take much to print up Dexter boxes.

What was the response of the online source of the parts?

You're right this is a well known company, but they still use Chinese parts. My 5th wheel has a Dexter leaf suspension and China is stamped on the equalizer between the springs. I don't know if their brake parts are made here or there. Re: the boxes, they are red and black with Dexter printed on them along with the part number. They were exactly the same as previous boxes that I received from Dexter. I did not contact the vendor because I did not want another set of inferior brake shoes. There is no doubt that Dexter was once a stellar company, after all they have been around for years. In my opinion their reputation has slipped and I will never use their brake shoes again.
John

Almost all our parts are made in China these days. Some are good and some are bad.

If you do a search for Dexter complaints, you seem to be pretty lonely. Dexter not responding to a complaint of catastrophic failure doesn't seem to be realistic. Counterfeit parts cold have a bogus web address on the box to steer complaints away from the legitimate manufacturer.

I don't think you got Dexter parts. I think you got counterfeit parts.

You are entitled to your opinion and respect that. I can only testify what happened to me and I may be lonely, but it nonetheless happened. We purchased our trailer new in '97 and every set of brake linings, including the originals, has cracked, which apparently is not uncommon. This is the only time I experienced faulty brake linings from Dexter. Further, I don't consider dexteraxle.com to be a bogus website.
John

I had two self adjusting Dexter backing plates with stickers claiming american made fail last year. None of the seals wouldn't stay in the hub bore either.

Luckily they warrantied the whole lot of brakes and seals.

No doubt in my mind quality is slipping.

Call Dexter Corporate, 574-298-7888 and ask for Denise. You did NOT get her name from me, a 'local dealer' gave it to you.

Chaika-Thanks for the info, but because of the time frame and that I can't find my receipt, i'm SOL. I will keep this info, just in case. Hopefully I will never need it.
Thanks again-John

X2 for Denise. She gets it done!

here's my anecdotal experience. My last trailer while being well worn when I bought it, it had Dexter axles. On one of the first camping trips with it, I stopped at a light in town, and when I tried to proceed forward, I noticed that the brakes on the trailer were jammed.. my only option was to gun it, and pull into the service station that was right there. One tire on one axle was completely locked up, and was dragging and squealing like crazy. I was able to back up and get it moving again, and I turned off the trailer brakes and proceeded with caution.

Once I got home, I pulled the drum off and to my surprise the lining dropped to the floor just as described by the OP. I found the same situation in at least one other wheel.

I found genuine Dexter pads and replaced everything and never had another issue.

just my experience, I'm not 100% positive the brakes shoes were dexter in the first place... but this post reminded me of my fun day.