Trailer brakes

[dodger22]

Travelling from Ontario to B. C. First day out wheel overheating to the extent that the plastic wheel lug-nut caps had distorted. Turned out to be a broken brake spring - the one that links both shoes together below the adjuster.



Trailer brakes did not seem to be stopping the rig the way I thought it should so I took it to a dealer in Calgary to look at. Turns out 3 more springs had broken and the shoes were cracked due to overheating.



Question: If the trailer brakes were not set to their optimum why would the springs break and shoes crack? The repair shop said that maybe the brakes were not adjusted properly. What is the proper procedure to adjust these brakes. The trailer has Dexter axles, 6 bolt hub and 12 x 2 shoes. Any comments would be appreciated.



Thanks, Richard

 

[samb]

At one time Dexter had a problem with brake springs braking. Could be that you have a set of axles with the bad springs.



Sam B.

 

[Big John]

Richard, from Dexter Axle Booklet that came with my trailer.





BRAKE ADJUSTMENT: Brakes should be adjusted (1) after the first 200 miles and drums have"seated", (2) at 300 mile intervals, (3) or as use and performance requires. The brakes should be adjusted in the following maner:



1. Jack up the trailer and secure on adequate capacity jack stands. Follow trailer manufacturers recommendations for lifting and supporting the unit. Check that the wheel and drum rotates freely.



2. Remove the adjusting hole cover from the adjusting slot on the bottom of the brake backing plate.



3. With a screwdriver of standard adjusting tool rotate the stasrwheel of the adjuster assembly to expand the brake shoes. (NOTE: With drop spindle axles a modified adjusting tool with about an 80 degree angle should be used. Sears Craftsman #4736 or K-D #295 are recommended. ) Adjust the brake shoes out until the pressure of the linings against the drum makes the wheel very difficult to turn.



4. Then rotate the starwheel in the opposite direction until the wheel turns freely with a slight lining drag.



5. Replace the adjusting hole cover and lower the wheel to the ground.



6. Repeat the above procedure on all brakes.



Hope this helps. I do mine once a year unless I have been on a long haul in the mountains. Then I check before and after that hard use. I put @ 3 to 4000 miles a year on my trailer.

 

[dodger22]

Thanks guys for your response. Maybe I did have bad springs. I'm sure glad I got them fixed before I came through Kamloops and Merritt! The Rockies were no problem at all. The trailer brakes will actually brake the whole rig now, like they're supposed to!



Thanks again,



Richard

 

[Paul Somers]

Was at a Dexter siminar a couple of weeks ago. He stated they had a bad batch of springs that were used 1996 and 1997. That is the axel manufacture dates not RV manufacture date. It is the spring that goes across the adjuster.

 

[MuddFlapp]

I just got off the phone w/Dexter this afternoon. Had the same problem only before I could get stopped I ate up a $100 tire.



They told me the same thing about the bad batch of springs and sent me all the replacement parts that I needed to put it right, all but the tire that is. When I asked them about that they got real quiet.



Oh well, I'm just happy I didn't lose a load of horses over a cliff.



Gene Earl