Sticky Brake

[enjpowell]

We recently completed a 5k mi round trip from Cali to Ohio. With only 60 mi to go, I was flagged down by another motorist motioning for me to pull over. Never a good feeling. Once I found a safe place to stop, not easy in SOCAL, I began the investigation. Didn't take long to realize that both brakes on the left side were hot. No viable damage, just smoke. I disconnected the umbilical cord for the trailer to disable the TBC and proceeded very gingerly to the house, stopping 3 times to ensure the brakes weren't still heating up. I've read several threads as to what may cause the problem but am at a loss as to where to start the troubleshooting. Can somebody please point me in the right direction? Much appreciated.

[jcurtis934]

I would elevate the offending side and see how much drag you find when spinning those two wheels. For just that side having an issue, it might not be the brake assemblies but rather wheel bearings on their way out. If you are certain that bearings have been recently done and correctly, then I would pull a wheel on the bad side and look over the assembly. For both brakes and left side but not the right side to also react the same way, you would have to have the electric wires going to the right side disconnected from the main wiring run and the brake controller from truck to be supplying positive voltage to pull in the street side magnets or the breakaway device pin pulled out and the right side magnets wiring no longer in circuit. You can test the magnet wiring to all four wheels by pulling out the breakaway pin and seeing if a compass held near each wheel will indicate each brake magnet is working.

[richfaa]

We had the same issue. Trucker waved us over as the rear right RV wheel was smoking by the time we got off the road the wheel was coming off the axle.The inner bearing had disintegrated destroying everything inside.

[enjpowell]

Thanks for the rapid reply. All 4 bearings were done at my local dealer about 9500 mi ago. If the bearings are bad, how would that cause the breaks to heat up? When I get it in the air, Im assuming the trailer umbilical cord has to be connected to the truck before I spin the tire. Correct?

[AZ Traveler]

You can spin the tire without the trailer connected to the truck.

[richfaa]

Originally Posted by enjpowell

Thanks for the rapid reply. All 4 bearings were done at my local dealer about 9500 mi ago. If the bearings are bad, how would that cause the breaks to heat up? When I get it in the air, Im assuming the trailer umbilical cord has to be connected to the truck before I spin the tire. Correct?

The bearing disintegrated throwing shrapnel everywhere all I can say is there was smoke from the wheel. The entire wheel was slowly coming off the axle.The brakes were destroyed.

[enjpowell]

I had no visible damage, the rims were hot and smoke was coming from the drums. Once I disconnected the umbilical cord,I towed it approx 60 mi without issue. Im going to pull the wheel and inspect the bearings to check for discoloration.

[richfaa]

Originally Posted by enjpowell

I had no visible damage, the rims were hot and smoke was coming from the drums. Once I disconnected the umbilical cord,I towed it approx 60 mi without issue. Im going to pull the wheel and inspect the bearings to check for discoloration.

Good idea.

[enjpowell]

So I pulled the brake and hub assembly apart to find that it wasn't a stuck brake at all. Matter of fact it was essentially the opposite. It appears as though the adjusting bolt had dislodged and was free floating inside the drum, causing an enormous amount of friction and heat, all the while melting other components and destroying the magnet. Ordered the brake and hub assembly direct from Dexter. Cost a few dollars more than etrailer, but got it the very next day versus 3-7 days. Removal and replacement took about 2 hrs, torquing all fasteners to spec. As a side note, checked the torque on the axel U-Bolts based on info I read in a historic thread. 3 of the 16 were loose and took at least 8 turns to get to the recommended 60ft lbs. Thanks for all the support.

[Bob & Debbie]

Have the same issue on one of our wheels on 2018 3561RL - adjuster and adjusting spring loose in the drum - electromagnet is toast - lots of blobs of melted metal . Having repaired tomorrow.

[rohrmann]

Originally Posted by enjpowell

Thanks for the rapid reply. All 4 bearings were done at my local dealer about 9500 mi ago. If the bearings are bad, how would that cause the breaks to heat up? When I get it in the air, Im assuming the trailer umbilical cord has to be connected to the truck before I spin the tire. Correct?

Are you sure the dealer actually disassembled everything and packed the bearings? Or, possibly did they just use the zerk fittings to add grease to the bearings? This is a perfect example why it is a very good idea to take things apart to inspect and repack bearings annually, so the brakes can be checked along with making sure all the hardware is in good shape.

[edbales]

I have had similar interesting experiences over the years with different rigs. Safety is such a big deal I simply spend 250 bucks and every 10 to 15,000 or so just replace the whole brake assemblies on all 4 wheels. I do the bearing every 5 to 10 anyway. Adds 2 hours to the bearing re-pack. Cheap insurance.



2010 .. 3605RL F-350 SRW
HI-Spec 17inch 16 Ply Sailuns

[samroll]

I lost my trailer brakes last year in western Wyoming and drove home (Houston, Tx area) without brakes. It sucked. I had repacked all the wheel bearings before the trip. After inspecting the brakes I decided the magnets were bad and started searching for magnets. I found I could buy the entire brake assembly for about the same price as just egtting magnets and brake shoes. So I ordered the assemblies off Amazon and installed them for our trip back up to Teton in May. I would really like to get disc brakes and am going to look into it more when we return from Teton in October. But, if you stay with the drum brakes it is easier, safer and more cost effective to replace the entire assemblies rather than parts.

[dvines]

Certainly a case to have TPMS on your trailer. In addition to monitoring tire pressure you can monitor temperature if any brakes or bearing are failing. I just had disc brakes installed; I have great expectations of spectacular performance and serviceability.