Brake Adjustment

[tracyclifton]

We put about 2200 miles on going to Yellowstone. I noticed on the way back that I wasn't getting enough braking from the trailer. The controller is working properly. I turned it all the way up and it is indicating about 6 volts under normal braking. But, the trailer brakes are not engaging enough. If I push the knob (Prodigy) to the left it will send 12 volts and the brakes work and the trailer stops fine. I have not had the brakes adjusted since purchase. I called the dealer to see if they could adjust them and they seemed a little confused and started talking about they might need to order parts. Anyway, I made the appointment for next week. My question is: Isn't it normal for the brakes to need adjusting under normal circumstances? On the 2012 6000lb axels there should just be a plug to remove on the back of the drum and turn the adjuster right? I assume that the shoes just need to be moved closer to the drum. I would do it myself but I don't have the jack power to lift it. What is everyone's thoughts and experience on the first brake adjustment?

[vangoes]

If you are getting good breaking when manually applying the brakes/controller I would think than increasing the gain to throw more voltage under normal breaking would solve your problem. And yes, the breaks do need adjusting periodically.

[tracyclifton]

I have the gain turned all the way up. When braking the Prodigy only puts out what it thinks it needs, so it doesn't go above about 6 volts because the truck is slowing the trailer. I think what is happening is the truck is stopping it well enough that the controller never puts out more than it normally would. So, the trailer brakes are working, but I think the shoes are too far from the drum so the controller is moving them but not enough. When you engage the controller manually you can get the max gain and the brakes work.

[Carl n Susan]

Your RV should have self-adjusting brakes. There is normally no need to adjust them yourself. I haven't had a Prodigy for some time, but I agree with the others, it is the one limiting the braking effect. 6 volts will only apply 6 volts worth of force regardless of the distance the shoes travel (assuming the adjustment isn't too far off).

[Tom S.]

Do you have the boost set on the Prodigy?

[Hooker]

Adjusting the brakes is an easy job. You need a jack, a light and a flat edged screw driver. Since I sold my Montana, I gave the purchaser my maintenance hints and don't recall which way you rotate the gear to adjust the brakes. Somebody will be along soon with the correct information. BUT, I would not take it to the dealer.

[tracyclifton]

I have the boost set to B3. I can adjust the brakes no problem, I just don't have any type of jacks that will lift the 5th off the ground to do so.

[dieselguy]

Your truck jack that came with the truck will easily lift the fiver up enough to spin the tire. Just be sure to place it under the axle directly under the springs.

On Edit ... I was thinking ... perhaps you have a broken wire, Each magnet pulls about 3 amps ... if you have a clamp on ammeter, place it around the blue wire up by your pin box ... it should show around 12 amps when the brakes are activated. Alternately put a compass by each wheel and have someone activate the brakes ... needle should swing. Another possibility is grease has seeped past the rear wheel seal and some of your shoes are all smeared with grease.

[jimmy2]

if i was you i would get a 8ton bottle jack for like harbor freight to lijt my monty

[tracyclifton]

Thanks for the input. But if any of those were the case, wouldn't it also affect how the brakes work when I use the manual lever? They work perfect at just a little higher voltage as I push the lever to the left. That is why I think they may just need adjusting. All this info is great and I will consider all recommendations.

[tracyclifton]

By the way, if there is anything wrong with the brakes or the trailer, shouldn't that be covered under the first year warranty? I know brake shoes probably aren't, but the rest should be shouldn't it? If grease did get on the brakes, isn't that a defective part and should be covered? I know this is a lot of speculation when it is probably a simple adjustment that is needed.

[dieselguy]

4 months into owning my brand new 2011 ... I discovered on my own that the curbside front brake had never worked from the factory as the wire was severed as it entered the backing plate ... same side rear had the star wheel sticking straight up in the air not even hooked to the brake shoe. After much apologizing, the dealer gave me the money I had spent on new brake assemblies and a $50 gift certificate at the dealership for my time. They had only checked the streetside brakes as they were running about 100 degrees hotter measured by my infared heat gun. The dealer was reimbursed by Keystone's warranty. Before I corrected the problem ... I had moderate braking with only 2 brakes working burying the Prodigy manual lever also. Let us know your outcome.
PS a 3-4 ton jack will easily lift one wheel ... you'll probably never have much over 3000# sitting one one wheel unless you're carrying your gold bars around with you.

[tracyclifton]

Thanks Dieselguy that is good information. Is it safe to just put a jack under the axel for each wheel and jack it up just enough to get the tire off the ground to adjust each brake? I thought that jacking it up by the axel could damage the suspension. I was under the impression that I needed to jack it up by the frame by placing a jack in front and behind the tires on one side and getting both wheels up off the ground at the same time. If it is safe to just place my truck jack under the axel behind the tire and jack up one tire at time and adjust the brake I will do that this weekend and make a test pull.

[pineranch]

I had OEM defects on 2 of my brakes.
I see alot of speculation on the thread. Just like the Doc's mantra, "do no harm". You may be adjusting something that has other issues that many have suggested to you. You have a new unit!! Let your dealer have a look. If its blown grease seals, you will need new brakes and that my friend is a warranty issue. Also, you should have self adjusting brakes and if you have a mechanical or elecrical issue you are going to make a bad situation worse by manually adjusting them. JMHO
Mike

[dieselguy]

I'm a mechanic by trade and the following is solely my take on jacking up your fiver. Some documents stipulate jacking your fiver up only by the frame ... that advice is in place to keep "Joe Average" from placing a jack right in the middle of the axle and jacking away which will damage any axle supporting the kind of weight our fivers carry. I see no issue with jacking up your wheels by placing the jack directly under the springs ... that location on the axle is where the suspension supports the weight of your fiver in the first place. Some of us have fabbed a short piece of angle iron to be used on the end of the jack to distribute the load a bit, but it's just an option. You only need to raise the tire up say 1/2" to be able to spin the wheel. You'll only be raising a bit more than 2500# here. When you try and jack the fiver up by the frame you end up raising it better than 6 inches just to get the tire off the ground plus you'll be lifting at least 2X as much weight ... you'll hear popping and groaning all the while you're jacking away using this method. I firmly believe this puts more strain on the entire unit ... frame, sidewalls, interior walls, as well as trim and cabinetry. Pineranch has a point as to it may turn into a warranty issue and the dealer should take care of you, but the new self adjusting brakes are not 100% self adjusting especially if you do very little backing. I'd at least jack her up and see if you have any drag at all while spinning the tires. My dealer experiences have been pretty sad in 18 years of RVing ... perhaps yours has competent mechanics. Like I mentioned earlier ... after the dealer failed to fix my brakes, I took several photos then put on new backing plate assemblies ... took the old parts to the dealer along with the photos ... got reimbursed. That was but 4 months into the 1 year warranty period. They knew they had messed up. Sorry for being long in the tooth here ....

[tracyclifton]

Dieselguy, sounds like good advice. I think I will adjust them this weekend and see how they act. I have enough room in the storage area to do a good test without leaving the gate. As far as self adjusting brakes go, how much backing is involved? I hardly ever use a back in site at campgrounds and I only back up about 50 or 60 feet to park it in storage. Should I hook it up and try a lot of backing and braking before I do anything else? How much backing does it take to keep them adjusted?

[8.1al]

The Dexter self adjusting brakes require no backing, they adjust going forward as Dexter realizes that most trailers do little backing.

[tracyclifton]

"The Dexter self adjusting brakes require no backing, they adjust going forward as Dexter realizes that most trailers do little backing".

That solves that.

[dieselguy]

8.1al ... technically you're right, but this exerpt from Dexter Axle's website is why I just round up and say it adjusts while backing.
"Dexter accomplished this self-adjusting feature by adding a 9 piece “Adjuster Kit” to the standard brake assembly backing plate. This allows the brake assembly to constantly adjust the lining position as the brake drum turns during trailer operation. In speaking to Dexter’s Engineering team, the adjustment feature works as the trailer moves in both forward and reverse directions but the increments of adjustment are much higher in reverse. "

Being a "wrench spinner" I always question when some advertisement says "never" or "self adjusting" ... A once a year check wouldn't hurt as there's no guarantee the star wheel stays free. Before some start running around saying "the sky is falling" I didn't say the never adjust isn't a good system ... I put forth to check it manually once a season.

[helmick]

quote:Originally posted by dieselguy
"Dexter accomplished this self-adjusting feature by adding a 9 piece “Adjuster Kit” to the standard brake assembly backing plate. This allows the brake assembly to constantly adjust the lining position as the brake drum turns during trailer operation. In speaking to Dexter’s Engineering team, the adjustment feature works as the trailer moves in both forward and reverse directions but the increments of adjustment are much higher in reverse. "

That's good, because I tow forward a lot more than in reverse.