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08-02-2020, 10:26 AM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Lanexa
Posts: 260
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General Trailer Brake Question / Observation
While checking on the brakes and repacking the bearings on my TH yesterday I noticed that the left (driver) side brake drums had considerable more brake dust than the right side. All of my seals looked fine but again there was more dust to clean off on the driver side. None of the pads looked bad and there were no other issues for which I was happy to see. My thought was that with the electrical control wires first going the left side and then traversing the axle to the right side, I was wondering if one side is braking harder than the other due to voltage drop or something else. Again no issues to report with towing but figured I would throw it out to the other techy guys as to what they have run across over the years. Thank folks!
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Kevin -n- Lisa
17 Fuzion 325 / 15 Chevy 3500 HC DRW
06 HD Ultra Classic
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08-02-2020, 01:23 PM
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#2
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Site Team
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,325
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Interesting observation. Can’t say I’ve ever noticed more dust on the “lead” side. When LCI has a run of failed seals I noticed they were almost exclusively on the curb side.
If this is the first time you’ve taken the drums off it could be simply a case of the person on that side at the plant set the brakes tighter.
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2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.
Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
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08-02-2020, 01:43 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Lanexa
Posts: 260
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Maybe so, this was my second time through the bearings (I aim for every year but missed 2019). Only reason I noted it was because I did the curb side first and it was a bit dusty, and then on the driver side when I put the hub down on the ground a considerable amount of dust puddled in the drum. And there was a bit more dust build up on the spindle as well. Neither side was dragging during spinning and I didnt measure the pads but they were all pretty close. Thanks!
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Kevin -n- Lisa
17 Fuzion 325 / 15 Chevy 3500 HC DRW
06 HD Ultra Classic
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08-02-2020, 04:14 PM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 3,010
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The main 12vdc power source for your trailer brakes is a single feed wire and then the four separate trailer magnets are branched off in “parallel” feed... if all connections are mechanically sound then each brake magnet will draw the same amperage when activated
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2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
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08-02-2020, 04:27 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Lanexa
Posts: 260
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Cool, thanks. I figured that they should be setup in parallel but I didn’t trace any of the wiring, just saw the wires come out from under the coroplast and cross the axle.
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Kevin -n- Lisa
17 Fuzion 325 / 15 Chevy 3500 HC DRW
06 HD Ultra Classic
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08-02-2020, 05:05 PM
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#6
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,674
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To me, simply thinking, the dust comes from either wear from the pads/drums or literal dust. If the pads look worn the same and the drums look the same I would just clean them up and go have fun.
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Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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08-03-2020, 07:14 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Tucson
Posts: 822
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I didn't see anything about brake adjustments...do your brakes have the "forward self adjusters"? If so, are they operating correctly? If they are manually adjusted, maybe one side is simply set tighter than the other. Seems like adjustment needs to be part of the equation...
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08-03-2020, 07:27 AM
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#8
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,742
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Do you have a habit of dropping off road surface on the right side? If you drop off to an unpaved shoulder there would be a lot of dust/dirt kicked up. Just a thought.
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Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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08-03-2020, 12:01 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: Lanexa
Posts: 260
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I didnt move/spread the adjusters manually to see if they were froze up. It does have the self adjuster that uses the cable to ratchet it out as needed. I try 99.999% of the time not to drop off the the road too! Honestly if it had not been 95 degrees out and 3000% humidity, I would have gone back to the other side to check.
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Kevin -n- Lisa
17 Fuzion 325 / 15 Chevy 3500 HC DRW
06 HD Ultra Classic
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