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Old 03-15-2014, 04:01 PM   #1
Jabber2Jake
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What kind of Brakes?

I have a 2010 Keystone Cougar 292RKS, and it has about 12 thousand miles on it. Do the brakes need to be changed, or only adjusted at this milage? I don't even know what kind of brakes I have. Are they self adjusting? I know I have the Dexter E-Z lube axle. Anyone ever look at their brakes for this model and year? My manual that came with our trailer was generic, did not clearly define which type of brakes I had. I did take off a wheel, it had a drum, but I could not figure out how to remove the drum to look at the brake mechanism. The drum would not pull off like a drum on a car or truck.
Any replies will be much appreciated!
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Old 03-15-2014, 04:13 PM   #2
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Try typing in "type of brakes" in the search box of the forum's search feature. There are a few posts/threads there that discuss this topic. I think you may find it helpful.

I also typed in "Servicing RV trailer brakes" on Google and found some useful information there which will help you with your questions.
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Old 03-15-2014, 05:51 PM   #3
Jabber2Jake
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what?

your reply was "generic".
Anyone have a 292RKS cougar 2010 and done the brakes?
pictures and description please?
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Old 03-15-2014, 06:35 PM   #4
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Travel trailer brakes are "generic" in that they are essentially all the same and they haven't changed since the 60's. What works for your cougar is the same that works for my cougar and the same that works for the 1993 Holdiay Rambler. There is only a "generic answer" to trailer brakes as they all are "generic". The only difference is whether the drum brakes are 10" or 12".
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Old 03-15-2014, 06:38 PM   #5
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another "generic"

Pictures or description of brake process only, please.
Those who have knowledge of Cougar 2010, 292RKS brakes?
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Old 03-15-2014, 07:08 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jabber2Jake View Post
your reply was "generic".
You're most welcome.
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Old 03-15-2014, 07:40 PM   #7
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Unfortunately, you will have to remove the drum to know exactly what brakes you have. You might get lucky, if you can find numbers and manufacturer on the axle tube. I was able to locate the Dexter number on my axles, called up Dexter and the very nice lady was able to tell me exactly what my axles were shipped with, bearings, seals, brakes, etc. It will take a little effort to do this, but in reality, you are still going to need to remove the hub/drums to inspect the brakes. The drums will be retained to the axle with a nut with probably a cotter pin, then a keyed washer against the outer bearing, and the drum will come off with the large inner bearing held inside the drum with the inner seal. At 12,000 miles, it is likely you will need new brake shoes, and if you do, at least in my case, you may need new magnets and will need the drums turned. I was able to buy complete assemblies that have all new parts, backing plate with everything new, cut the brake wires, remove 5 nuts, and toss the old assembly and install the new one, and splice the wires. Mine were forward self adjusting brakes and I do have the EZ Lube axles, but decided getting grease on the shoes by using that feature is more work than pulling the drums every 6,000 miles, greasing the bearings and installing new seals. If you have never serviced brakes or bearings before, and don't want to tackle this, it would best be left to a shop or mobile service person. Brakes are an extremely important safety item and coming down a grade with bad brakes is not the time to discover this.
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Old 03-15-2014, 08:18 PM   #8
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Jabber2Jake, Howdy;

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jabber2Jake View Post
I have a 2010 Keystone Cougar 292RKS, and it has about 12 thousand miles on it. Do the brakes need to be changed, or only adjusted at this milage? I don't even know what kind of brakes I have. Are they self adjusting? I know I have the Dexter E-Z lube axle. Anyone ever look at their brakes for this model and year? My manual that came with our trailer was generic, did not clearly define which type of brakes I had. I did take off a wheel, it had a drum, but I could not figure out how to remove the drum to look at the brake mechanism. The drum would not pull off like a drum on a car or truck.
Any replies will be much appreciated!
Here ya go;
http://www.dexteraxle.com/i/u/614960...ric_Brakes.pdf

You can back-track through Dexter's site to explore other bits and pieces of handy information.

hankaye
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Old 03-15-2014, 08:26 PM   #9
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The type of trailer you have does not matter. All RV style trailers use electric brakes. They will either be 10" or 12" diameter but servicing them will be the same. The easiest way to find out how to work on them is to go to youtube and search electric brakes. There are several step by step videos on how to adjust or replace them.
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Old 03-16-2014, 03:42 AM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hankaye View Post
Jabber2Jake, Howdy;



Here ya go;
http://www.dexteraxle.com/i/u/614960...ric_Brakes.pdf

You can back-track through Dexter's site to explore other bits and pieces of handy information.

hankaye
This is interesting: "Dexter electric brakes that have a self adjusting feature require no manual adjustment". Other Dexter literature say you're still supposed to check and adjust (yearly, I guess) even the self adjusting ones.
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Old 03-16-2014, 06:22 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WaltBennett View Post
This is interesting: "Dexter electric brakes that have a self adjusting feature require no manual adjustment". Other Dexter literature say you're still supposed to check and adjust (yearly, I guess) even the self adjusting ones.
I'm afraid you're looking for that "unicorn" Walt.... Dexter does have self adjusting brakes available, but not as standard equipment on all their axles. I think the only Keystone products that have self adjusting brakes are the Montana lineup. Even the Montana High Country and Mountaineer seem to have regular brakes.

I haven't found any mention of self adjusting brakes on any other Keystone line, but there may well be some.

Here's the Dexter quote: "Self Adjusting Feature: (Not available on all sizes) Dexter brakes may be equipped with a forward self-adjust feature."

Standard build is "non-self adjusting brakes"..... I suppose at brake replacement time, they're probably interchangeable if you buy the entire brake/drum assembly, but I'm not even sure of that......
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Old 03-16-2014, 07:39 AM   #12
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WaltBennett, Howdy;

Quote:
Originally Posted by WaltBennett View Post
This is interesting: "Dexter electric brakes that have a self adjusting feature require no manual adjustment". Other Dexter literature say you're still supposed to check and adjust (yearly, I guess) even the self adjusting ones.
Coming form the age of 'pre disc brakes', It was always a smart thing to do
once a year sometimes twice, or if you 'felt' it appropriate, to have them
manually adjusted. The 'auto adjust' feature was nice to have, simply
find a shopping mall or school parking lot hold the wheel straight and back-up
at about 10 mph then mash the brake peddle ... adjusted. The brakes that Dexter
uses have a forward and reverse adjusting feature explained on page 6 of the link I
provided earlier. See page 1 of this thread.
I'm old school and prefer a hands on approach so I do a manual check-up before
each road trip, as infrequent as they may be...

hankaye
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Old 03-16-2014, 08:52 AM   #13
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Completely agree that everyone should always check their brakes before every trip, especially the emergency disconnect. The Dexter brakes on our '10 Montana are Dexter's Nev-R-Adjust brakes (made since 1996), the forward adjusting ones. The manual that comes with the trailer is for a whole line of trailer brakes Dexter makes, including these, and I believe the adjustment cycle in it is for the other types.

Just finished jacking one wheel after the other on one side (got to wait for our Irish snow storm to be over before doing the other) in order to pump grease into the EZ-Lube hubs while rotating the wheels. Each of them made slight brake dragging noises wile turning, just like I used to try getting when adjusting auto brakes back when they were drum - and yes, I'm old enough to have done that a fair amount.

Looking up some posts on etrailer.com and other blogs, three replies to 'do I need to adjust Nev-R-Adjust brakes' are in agreement that once they've been set up when new, you should never have to adjust them again. Also to note, these brakes adjust while going FORWARD as well as reverse. Now, this isn't Dexter saying it, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to try getting the word from them.

Some of their sales speak from another web site: "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."

And finally, from Dexter, a utube video where they claim these never need manual adjustment:
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Old 11-16-2016, 07:01 PM   #14
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Re: What kind of Brakes?

You have to know how wide your shoes are also.Keystone screwed
passport 2890RL GT owner with 10x 1 3/4 brake assemblies. Dealers, manufacturers, and shops were useless and never returned my calls, now i know why. After days of searching i finally found one in France (yes the country), and one in Paris, Texas, no joke. Unicorns abound in the TT industry.
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