New Trailer, Brakes Need Adjusting?

[Brantlyj]

Originally Posted by chuckster57

I haven’t had that happen yet. When we do an axle service we will lift the trailer so the tires are off the ground. First thing we do is pull the pin to verify all brakes are in fact working. I have had the switch Melt but during this service Is the ideal time to find it. Usually a short will cause this, but I have yet to melt a magnet.

Maybe it was the switch melting that I read. 🤷*♂️

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by uechikid

I think if I’m going to go to the trouble of pulling the trailer out and jack it up, I might just as well take the wheels off and and actually check the brakes.

That may be worthwhile as well, especially if you think something isn’t right. If you are going to remove the wheels and check the brakes you may as well repack the bearings. It’s a little work, but if you are concerned there is an issue, it may be worth it.

[MarkEHansen]

I agree that after grease contamination, the brake shoes/lining should be replaced - you can't simply clean these.

However, there was a comment that after grease contamination, you should replace the hub. I don't get this. I've been doing brake work for decades and if the hub is in good shape otherwise, grease can just be cleaned off - it's just cast steel.

If that wasn't just a typo, what is the reasoning behind replacing the hub in the case of grease contamination?

[rjrelander]

Might also be worth double checking the wire connections to the controller. We had ours installed at the dealer and the brakes never seemed to work quite right. Finally untaped the wiring harness connections only to find the ground wire hanging by a thread. Just enough current to make them work but not work very well. Stripped the wire and secured the connection and they have worked fine since.

[uechikid]

Originally Posted by Logan X

That may be worthwhile as well, especially if you think something isn’t right. If you are going to remove the wheels and check the brakes you may as well repack the bearings. It’s a little work, but if you are concerned there is an issue, it may be worth it.

When I read your comment I laughed. One more thing I don't want to have to do to a new trailer. But your point is well taken. It's like replacing a clutch disk and not replacing the pressure plate and pilot bushing.

[uechikid]

Originally Posted by rjrelander

Might also be worth double checking the wire connections to the controller. We had ours installed at the dealer and the brakes never seemed to work quite right. Finally untaped the wiring harness connections only to find the ground wire hanging by a thread. Just enough current to make them work but not work very well. Stripped the wire and secured the connection and they have worked fine since.

I have the plug and play adapter made by Tekonsha. But it would be time well spent to double check that connection.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by uechikid

When I read your comment I laughed. One more thing I don't want to have to do to a new trailer. But your point is well taken. It's like replacing a clutch disk and not replacing the pressure plate and pilot bushing.

When you consider that the axles are "assembled in China by the lowest bidder" shipped to the US, trucked cross country and stored at Lippert until ordered by one of the factories, it's not a "far stretch" to consider that there may/may not be adequate grease on the bearings, that the seals may/may not be installed correctly, that the brake assemblies may/may not be installed correctly. I'm not suggesting that a specific percentage will fail, but we all know there's an "acceptable failure rate" and an "acceptable warranty return rate"...

That gives rise to the question: Which axles are the bad ones???

And the question: Is it mine or am I lucky enough that it's yours that will not have enough grease, or that the brake shoes will literally "fall out of the hub" when you pull it off the spindle....….

For me, there's enough potential for problems that if I'm going to have the wheels on a new trailer off the ground, it's worth the effort to make sure my trailer isn't the "one in 50" (or whatever the acceptable failure rate might be)…

[uechikid]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

When you consider that the axles are "assembled in China by the lowest bidder" shipped to the US, trucked cross country and stored at Lippert until ordered by one of the factories, it's not a "far stretch" to consider that there may/may not be adequate grease on the bearings, that the seals may/may not be installed correctly, that the brake assemblies may/may not be installed correctly. I'm not suggesting that a specific percentage will fail, but we all know there's an "acceptable failure rate" and an "acceptable warranty return rate"...

That gives rise to the question: Which axles are the bad ones???

And the question: Is it mine or am I lucky enough that it's yours that will not have enough grease, or that the brake shoes will literally "fall out of the hub" when you pull it off the spindle....….

For me, there's enough potential for problems that if I'm going to have the wheels on a new trailer off the ground, it's worth the effort to make sure my trailer isn't the "one in 50" (or whatever the acceptable failure rate might be)…

Now that I think about it. When I bought a trailer to pull behind my bike, I checked the bearings and they only had a tad bit of grease on them. They weren't packed.
So those of you who are experienced trailer owners, do you check your bearings when you buy a new trailer?

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by uechikid

Now that I think about it. When I bought a trailer to pull behind my bike, I checked the bearings and they only had a tad bit of grease on them. They weren't packed.
So those of you who are experienced trailer owners, do you check your bearings when you buy a new trailer?

You should have been able to "gleen my answer" from my comments, but in case it wasn't clear, Yes, I pull all 4 wheels, check the brake assemblies, check the bearings and if they are "stamped CHINA", I replace with Timken bearings and races, repack the bearings, replace the grease seal and reassemble the hubs and adjust the brakes. Then I repack every other year if we tow less than 10K miles or every year if we tow over 10K miles that camping season. I typically repack bearings in the spring so I have fresh grease for the towing season. And, in case it might come up, I NEVER EVER use the EZ Lube system !!!!!

[uechikid]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

You should have been able to "gleen my answer" from my comments, but in case it wasn't clear, Yes, I pull all 4 wheels, check the brake assemblies, check the bearings and if they are "stamped CHINA", I replace with Timken bearings and races, repack the bearings, replace the grease seal and reassemble the hubs and adjust the brakes. Then I repack every other year if we tow less than 10K miles or every year if we tow over 10K miles that camping season. I typically repack bearings in the spring so I have fresh grease for the towing season. And, in case it might come up, I NEVER EVER use the EZ Lube system !!!!!

Thanks John.
Sometimes I just need to have someone tell me, “hey dummy, this is what I do, if you don’t, you may be sorry”.

[Nitram987]

I haven't read the entire thread, but to the original question, YES! check and adjust the brakes. Absolutely.

I had a new 2019 Bullet Crossfire 1900Rd delivered and I unknowingly had steel-on-steel before 1 year was up on one hub. I almost lost it on a 10% grade in the Tetons, Wyoming.

Why did this happen you ask? The repair shop looking it all over said that the original dealer had not set up the stock Dexter brakes prior to delivery.

Shame on me. I now check and set up my brakes myself now. It was a very close call going down that hill only to discover that I had marginal braking power (even with the Prodigy P3 doing its best to help me. It's an excellent brake controller but you need to have brakes left for it to function). Imagine being forced into a 1 second decision between ditching to the big rig emergency breakaway chute versus trying to maintain spacing between 2 big rigs.

[uechikid]

I got the trailer out yesterday. I needed to set the WD hitch up. Another thing the dealer didn't do.
While I was out I checked to see if the new settings on the P3 would make any difference. They did but only a little. When I got home I checked the brake adjustment on the side of the trailer that is not accessible when it's on the side yard. You guessed it, neither of those brakes were even touching the drum. So I adjusted them. While I was there I pulled the drums and did an inspection. everything looked good. Repacked the bearings and put her away. Today I did the other side. Same story. I didn't have a chance to take it out but I'm hopeful the adjustment solves the problem.

[Andymil]

Originally Posted by LHaven

I had precisely the same behavior with my new Cougar and the controller in my new F250. I swore the problem was in the controller (especially since the controller in my old truck set up correctly as far as I can recall), but the dealer checked it out over and over. I even went to the trouble of constructing a bypass harness for the trailer connector so that I could test with the manual switch on an inexpensive but known good third-party controller that I had from an older truck, and it gave me the same results.

So I brought the rig in to some local trailer experts (not my RV dealer), and they found grease had pushed past the seals on all four wheels (I had just had that fresh lube work done elsewhere, never going back there) – so they cleaned it, resealed and relubed, and told me that once the cleaning solvent evaporated, the brakes should work fine… but they never have.

Right now, my plan is to bring the rig back to the same experts before the start of this year's camping season, and have them do a complete check up on the brake system along with the annual wheel lube. If the problem isn't there, I have no idea what I'm going to do about it.

I found grease in two of the brakes on our 2015 Sprinter.

I replaced the complete brake assemblies (with automatic adjusters that the original brakes didn’t have) on all four wheels. Also replaced the bearings with Timkens and installed new seals. Brake cleaner got the drums clean enough. Brakes work fine now.

If there’s grease on the brake shoes, you will never get the adjustment right.

PS: It appeared that the bearings were never lubed after the trailer left the factory. As far as I could tell, the grease/seal problem came from the factory. The previous owner never had a clue.

[Andymil]

Originally Posted by uechikid

I got the trailer out yesterday. I needed to set the WD hitch up. Another thing the dealer didn't do.
While I was out I checked to see if the new settings on the P3 would make any difference. They did but only a little. When I got home I checked the brake adjustment on the side of the trailer that is not accessible when it's on the side yard. You guessed it, neither of those brakes were even touching the drum. So I adjusted them. While I was there I pulled the drums and did an inspection. everything looked good. Repacked the bearings and put her away. Today I did the other side. Same story. I didn't have a chance to take it out but I'm hopeful the adjustment solves the problem.

Sorry, I didn’t read your last post when I posted my reply.

[skids]

Kind of on-subject: Is there any way to remove the inner grease seal to inspect the inner bearings so that the seal can be reused?

[MarkEHansen]

We tried this. I suppose if you remove the hub and use a drift punch to carefully take it out, you can reuse it, but honestly, the seals are very inexpensive (a few dollars each) so I plan to just always replace mine.

[Brantlyj]

Originally Posted by skids

Kind of on-subject: Is there any way to remove the inner grease seal to inspect the inner bearings so that the seal can be reused?

No you cant

[MarkEHansen]

Originally Posted by Brantlyj

No you cant

Of course you can - it just may not be worth it. I've done it. Sometimes they come out fine - sometimes they don't. If you're careful...

[flybouy]

trying to remove the seal from a hub with grease and a bearing in there to me is futile and not worth the effort. Too much risk in distorting the seal. Can it be done? Perhaps. I am not one to take that risk for the few dollars an new seal would cost. If I was on the road and had to replace the inner bearing and didn't have a seal I might consider it but then I would replace it at the first opportunity.

Bottom line, the juice ain't worth the squeeze. YMMV

[Logan X]

Every time I have removed the inner seal it was destroyed.