Electronic Trailer Brakes

[Dui]

Thinking I wore down my trailer brakes in BC by riding the brakes down a 18km grade which went from 11-15% with engine gear down. Bakes are still making the electric hum noise when engaged, but there is very little stopping power compared to before. The truck and trailer could be stopped using only the trailer brakes and brake controller in the past. Is it possible the electronic drum brakes are worn down? Is there tell-tale like squeeking on regular disc brakes? What is the typical life span of this type of brake? Any advice would be very helpful and greatly appreciated!

[Tom S.]

There are few things to check. The obvious one is the brake linings themselves for wear. You can also check the magnets. What I suspect however is you may have over heated the drums, causing them to develop hard spots. Brake shoes on drums that have been overheated will not work as well, since the hard spots on the drum surface will not be gripped as well as the softer normal surface. If you see shiny spots on the drum surfaces, that indicates they have gotten hot and hardened.

It could also be something as simple as readjusting the brakes. The newer units like yours hade self adjusters on them, but if you wore a lot of pad off in a short period of time, you may have to 'help' the self adjusters along by manually adjusting them.

Now for the semi good news. From what I've seen online, brake shoes and new drums aren't too expensive, and if you are a do-it-your-selfer it's not a hard job to do. Having said that though, if I was looking at replacing my shoes and drums, I would seriously look at upgrading to hydraulic operated disk brakes instead. A lot more expensive initially, but from what I've read, a huge difference in braking power. They should outlast the older system too.

[Art-n-Marge]

A little clarification on terminology. For a trailer, Electric brakes only means that the brake shoes are electrically actuated via wires, electrical current and magnets. Everything else about the brakes is the same as a hydraulic actuated drum braking system. The bad news with an electrical system, while it's cheaper, there are many things that can go wrong that makes it seem like the brake shoes are the issue like pinched wires (shorting out), bad connections, or bad magnets (worn down or broken). I think they are more of a pain than hydraulic, but since they were intended for trailers that mostly sit and can rely on the TV for more braking power, this is the choice by most the manufacturer. Only top-of-the-line trailers might offer an expensive hydraulic disc system out of the factory.

Like Tom mentions then there are two types of brakes for trailers, drum and disc. Drums are harder to keep adjusted and as they wear down like when driving down steep hills might require more braking effort to get them engaged. For drums, vehicles have self-adjusters that when driving in reverse and applying the brakes they would adjust automatically. Unfortunately, trailers may not necessarily have similar auto-adjusting brakes so that occasionally an owner must either do it themselves or have it done through maintenance.

The best option for a trailer would then be to convert from its electrical drum system to a disc system, just like it has benefited vehicles. Disc brakes are more reliable especially if a conversion to hydraulics is included. Are there electric disc systems for trailers? The biggest concern is to ensure the TV's brake controller can support a hydraulic braking system. DO NOT forget to check on this if converting to disc brakes.

But for now, check the brake adjustment or worn down brake shoes (they will squeal), then if that doesn't help look for a problem in the electrical wiring. While others have also run out and converted to discs, I don't use my rig enough to ever want to do so and I check the adjustments and wiring myself as part of the maintenance for my rig.

I hope you post what you find. We can all always learn from others' experiences.

[Dui]

Thank you for both of your replies. We think we have identified the problem with the help of your input and by reading the axle manual. According to the manual, brake adjustment should be done every 3 months or 3000miles. This month we have put in roughly 6000miles without adjusting the brakes. Does anybody have a link on how to manually adjust the brakes? The brakes are supposedly self-adjusting, but can driving this much in a short period place the self-adjusting system behind? Thanks again for your help.

[Tom S.]

If you have the self adjusting system, the amount of driving shouldn't effect your brakes since they are, after all, self adjusting. That's if they are working properly - there have been a report or two about issues where they didn't work correctly. What I was suggesting was if your down hill ride wore a lot off the brake linings, the self adjusters may not have 'caught up' yet.

Adjusting drum brakes is pretty easy, but you need to be able to raise each wheel off the ground. For instructions on raising your trailer, see my post here: http://www.montanaowners.com/forums/...ad.php?t=50197

Once raised, you have to remove the rubber plug on the bottom of the brake backing plate (in other words, the plate on the end of the axle). The plug is located on the backside of the plate and is easy to remove either with a small screw driver or strong fingernail. Once removed, there is a star wheel located inside that has to be turned. I have a brake tool designed specifically for this purpose, but you can make do with a screw driver in a pinch. The process is simple: turn the wheel/tire and if there is little or no drag, adjust the star wheel until you feel the brakes start to drag when turning the tire. I tighten the star wheel until I can't turn the tire, then reverse it until the tire will turn, but still drags. HOWEVER: I don't have self adjusting brakes, so I would suggest you just turn the star wheel until you feel a heavy drag on the tire when you turn it and stop at that. I say this because I know on cars, the self adjuster will prevent you from turning the star wheel in the opposite direction and has to be held out of the way with another tool. Then put the rubber plug back in and go to the next wheel. I'll see if I can some pictures.

[Tom S.]

Here's an excellent Youtube video of the whole process!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Tf1Bc526zE

BTW: While you are under there, check the torque on your U-bolts. Many here have had to retorque theirs to the 60Lbs recommended by the manufacturer, and I'll bet your's will need it too.

[H. John Kohl]

Also while you are under there check your spring hangers. I just hear another MOC member found one broken and he did not know it. It was found during service.

[Dui]

Thanks Tom And John . That utube video was sweet. Will have to try it in the morning. Also called my dealer and he said that putting the vehicle in reverse and actuating the lever in the bake controller will also self adjust the brakes. I just tried this and got some traction/braking power but not as much as I used to. Have any of you folks heard of this before? Not in any manual I have read on self adjusting brakes. Comments?

[DQDick]

Not uncommon for self adjusting brakes to adjust when backing up. Many kinds do that, I'm not sure about ours.

[Illini Trekker]

I have newly installed self adjusting brakes on your trailer and the dealer told you wrong. My dexter brakes are forward adjusting not backward.

[Exnavydiver]

I installed my self adjusters after the rally two yeas ago. I was told by the Dexter rep/installer that they took about 100 presses of the break peddle to fully adjust. they adjust while the rig is rolling forward with a ratchet like system. If you have the have the self adjusters then they should have caught up with the wear and tear on the shoes by now. It sounds like you may have run them through their usable life. The only way I know of checking for sure is to pull the wheels and drums off and check the shoes. You can try to adjust them with the brake spoon but the star wheel has a spring coiled around it for the self adjuster system and is hard to adjust..

[Dui]

So if they are forward adjusting...they musty be worn out right? They are only two season old but this trip was 10000 km to BC. Will have to take the hub off to confirm.

[Art-n-Marge]

The brakes should only be worn out if you tend to ride them. While your 10000km trip is long brake wear should only be a concern if you rid the brakes a lot. Brakes only wear out when you use them. If you are driving long stretches of flats and hills where you don't have to brake much, the brakes should be doing just fine. Occasional hard braking should not be wearing our your brakes that fast unless you have been doing this for years and during the whole time of driving.

I'm hoping that your episodes of some downhill braking causes some significant wear that a brake adjustment would solve to "catch up" to the brake shoes wearing down. To mimimize brake wear I suggest you investigate how to use the transmission for braking and control for uphills.

For example, I rarely need to use my brakes on the downhill because I've learned to read a hill and the tachometer to downshift and help use the engine/trans to keep things slow (Tow/Haul also helps a lot if you have it). I can tell those who are familiar with this and those who are not. If I follow RV rigs or Big rigs and their brake lights are on the WHOLE TIME, then I know they haven't figured that technique out yet. And being behind them can stink as you smell their brakes burning as you follow - yuck.

Like you said, you can take the brakes apart to check the amount of brakes left, and if there's plenty, a good brake adjustment should do it. Hopefully, everything is working, there are no problems and it's just normal wear at the worst case.

[Dui]

Turns out my grease seal ring in my axles leaked with the heat while bracking down the hill. Made a he'll of a mess in the brake assembly. They need replacing. Wondering if I overdid the axle greasing before the trip. Pumped 12 pumps into each axle nipple. I measured the temp of the brakes when I pulled over...140 degree. C. Dealer is telling me not to pump grease into the nipple. Thoughts?

[8.1al]

That is exactly why I don't pump grease in there. If your bearings are properly hand packed and you pull the drums every year for brake inspection as Dexter recommends why would you need to add any grease to the bearings?. I personally feel 2 yrs. is fine but that's just me.

[dieselguy]

Like Charlie said ... and I know some are getting tired of me saying this ... but ... the EZ Lube feature on the axle hubs is but a marketing ploy. It doesn't work as advertised and it usually ends up with your problem ... cleaning up a greasy mess and having to replace the brake shoes. If one must use this feature ... 2 pumps a year should give you peace of mind and allow you to spend money on something other than new brake shoes. By the way ... you can buy the whole brake assembly backing plate and all for just a few dollars more than shoes only ... 5 bolts ... 2 wires.

[DQDick]

X2.