Need Trailer Brake Advise
 

Have a 2000 Dutchmen travel trailer, dual axle and trailer not stopping very well, have adjusted trailer brakes so it would appear to be needing them. Have not had a chance to pull wheels, etc to check but although camer is 8 years old it has only been pulled about 15 times so I don't think it really should need brakes. If it does where is the best place to get them and do they come in a complete setup.?

Try adjusting the brake controller? May have to fool around with it a little.

Always the question that arrises... How much drag should one adjust the brakes to? Too much drag premature wear, bearing heating, and loss of MPGs.... Too little drag and the dang things hardly work!

Most places taht sell RV's, travel trailers, or goosenecks, have access to or carry all your break accessories. Rust will set in on your actuator arm, hubs (stator) will rust etc...for peice of mind I would change them out and grease them bearings again. Buy the whole backing plate. Loosen the bolts, cut the wires and reinstall. Easy job. If your hub (stator portion) is rusted, either machine them or replace.

Do you have brakes on both axles? If so, check to make sure the brake current is actually getting to both of them. Your symptoms are that of a dual axle trailer with the brakes out on one axle.

Been there and done that. On mine, it was the crappy trailer factory wiring gone bad. I also adjusted my brakes thinking that was the problem, when I should have looked at the wiring first. [duhhh]

Had same problem with the wiring here. Got back from pulling my 5er over the mountain from North Carolina and noticed that there was a lot of brake dust on the wheels on one axle and none on the other axle. I got the wheel with no brake dust off the ground, spun it and had someone push the brake and it just kept spinning. I looked at the wiring and sure enough someone had wired it so that only one axle was working. I corrected the wiring and it made a huge difference when pulling the camper now. By the way, mine is also a Dutchmen and it was simple to fix because someone had attached both wires from the axle to the same wire on the trailer instead of one wire to each of the wires on the trailer.[duhhh]

You probably know this but just in case.... Most brake controllers have an adjustment for attitude. This way the controller knows if you are going up hill, down or are level. If the knob has been moved out of position then it's possible the controller thinks you are going up hill when in fact you are level and is not applying enough brake signal.

Besides checking current to each wheel, the magnet are propably shot. New lube, yes. If the magnets are shot, not much happens. They last 2-4 years, at best.

Here is where I have been getting my Dexter brake parts from. Much cheaper than the local trailer parts supplier.

They sell entire setups ready to bolt on, which is cheaper anyhow. Also make sure to turn your drums and have both the shoe and magnet surfaces turned.

I just did our 14,000 # trailer and I spent around $600 in parts, which included bearings and seals. It stops like a dream now.

First off, I'd suggest pulling the bearings and drums for a repack, anyway. Sitting can cause grease to seperate, and condensation can contaminate the bearings and grease.

That will give you a chance to check the condition of the magnets, and shoes and to clean everything up. Although I like to save money where I can, buy replacement seals when you reinstall. They just aren't worth the cost to reuse. Also, I'd suggest synthecic grease that meets NLGI GC-LB.

Even if it has low miles, if someone dragged the brakes down a long decent, or if the brakes were adjusted to the point where they dragged constantly, it could have ruined a set of brakes. Also, if a grease seal leaked, that could also have ruined a brake or two.

You can visually check magnets for wear, and check them with an Ohm meter (or an amp meter) to make sure they are working properly. Somtimes you see trailer brakes wired with the little snap on taps, which are terrible. Solder and heat shrink connections, or use the good 3M heat shrink crimp connectors.

If you have to replace brakes, you can purchase the complete setup- backing plate with shoes, magnet, arm, and all hardware already installed. Just bolt to the axle and make the electrical connections...

Although I'd still suggest tear down for cleaning and inspection, improper adjustment can also cause poor braking.

Basically turn the adjuster out until the tire is difficult to turn forward by hand, then back the adjuster off until the wheel turns freely, plus about 3/4 of a turn of the adjuster more (4 or 5 good bites with an adjusting tool). That will center the shoes and give proper adjustment. It is still normal to hear some drag when spinning the wheel, which will be the magnet skimming along the armature surface.

Both Al-Ko and Dexter offer very good manuals, downloadable as a PDF for free. It is worth the time to download both.

Right click on "Owner's manual" and hit "save as". http://www.al-kousa.com/index.htm

Click on the 600-8k capacity thing, and select "Complete service manual".http://www.dexteraxle.com/products___literature

The other thing that might cause weak braking would be the brake controller...

Good luck with it.

Good advice above. I do a lot of government inspections on trailers and I find it's common for at least one wheel to not be working, even on a new trailer. They are often wired poorly from the factory, and the scotchlok splices they usually use only take a year to corrode. Jack up all the wheels, activate the breakaway switch, and try to spin each wheel to see what locks up and go from there. It's also common for the actuator lever to rust and get sticky so the brakes may stick on or off. It's normal maintenance to disassemble the brakes to free up and lubricate all the pivot points and the pads where the shoes rest on the backing plates.

While your drums are off, you can apply power to the brakes by applying the breakaway switch, jumping the connector, or having a helper apply the brake controller on the truck, then test each magnet by holding your pliers (or such) up to it. If you find a dead one check it for power and ground, then continuity. Not a difficult task, just time consuming.