Noisy Electric Brakes

Rwake901 · 04-13-2022, 07:19 AM

I have a 2019 Avalanche with approximately 8 or 9 thousand miles on it. If you jack up any wheel and spin the wheel it sounds like something is rubbing. The wheel bearing’s have been greased and are tight so I know it’s not that, also all brakes work fine. I am assuming that since it makes the same noise on every wheel that it’s the magnet touching the drum which activates the brakes. Anyone else have this noise from your electric brakes? Thanks

ChuckS · 04-13-2022, 07:54 AM

You will get a tad bit of rubbing sound from the brake shoes lightly touching the drum as it spins.. the magnets should be retracted enough that it isnt an issue.,.

But - when is the last time you removed the hubs and cleaned, inspected and greased the bearings and cleaned off the brakes and hardware?

If you are using those zerk fittings on the end of the hub to grease your bearings all you are doing is creating a bigger issue plus you have no idea of what the brakes and hardware and bearings and races look like

**flybouy** · 04-13-2022, 08:40 AM

What Cuck said^^^^ .

Quick example ....A few weeks ago I had new tires installed on my camper at an independent RV shop. First time I've ever paid someone to pull the hubs and replace grease seals, inspect and replace needed parts due to health issues. First thing he did was connect a batter to the 7 way plug. Jacked up front axle, flipped the switch on his battery to apply the brakes and ...nothing. The brake wire disconnected to the front axle.

The rear axle drums had more brake dust and the shoes were slightly more worn. It didn’t warrant replacing any parts. I had noticed a small difference in brakeing last season but there were no panic stops (fortunately) and we didn’t travel in the mountians. So naturally I'm thinking "well I'm planning replacing the truck tires and the trailer tires in the spring so maybe that's it".

In a few weeks we are going to Dollywood and up thru the Smokies and then the Alleghany mnts to visit relatives in WV. If I hadn't had the hubs pulled, brakes inspected and tested I'd have likely found out the brakes were only 1/2 working on the road. Brakes and hitch are the two most important componets on a trailer. Not inspecting and maintaining either is inviting a bad day at best and in a worst case a disaster.

jasin1 · 04-13-2022, 09:52 AM

J

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

What Cuck said^^^^ .

Quick example ....A few weeks ago I had new tires installed on my camper at an independent RV shop. First time I've ever paid someone to pull the hubs and replace grease seals, inspect and replace needed parts due to health issues. First thing he did was connect a batter to the 7 way plug. Jacked up front axle, flipped the switch on his battery to apply the brakes and ...nothing. The brake wire disconnected to the front axle.

The rear axle drums had more brake dust and the shoes were slightly more worn. It didn’t warrant replacing any parts. I had noticed a small difference in brakeing last season but there were no panic stops (fortunately) and we didn’t travel in the mountians. So naturally I'm thinking "well I'm planning replacing the truck tires and the trailer tires in the spring so maybe that's it".

In a few weeks we are going to Dollywood and up thru the Smokies and then the Alleghany mnts to visit relatives in WV. If I hadn't had the hubs pulled, brakes inspected and tested I'd have likely found out the brakes were only 1/2 working on the road. Brakes and hitch are the two most important componets on a trailer. Not inspecting and maintaining either is inviting a bad day at best and in a worst case a disaster.

What did they charge for brake service if I may ask

**flybouy** · 04-13-2022, 10:25 AM

It was a little over $400 total IIRC. Don't have the receipt with me right now. That was mounting the 4 tires, new double lip seals. All the bearings were good.

jasin1 · 04-13-2022, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flybouy

It was a little over $400 total IIRC. Don't have the receipt with me right now. That was mounting the 4 tires, new double lip seals. All the bearings were good.

Thanks I may have that done myself

Rwake901 · 04-14-2022, 10:15 AM

Took all four wheels and hubs off today. The brake adjuster on one wheel was off and in pieces rolling around in the hub. I must have caught it in time because it didn’t hurt the hub any. Ordered the whole assembly for that wheel with brakes. Cleaned the rest of the hubs and brakes with brake cleaner and repacked the wheel bearings. Waiting on parts for the one wheel that was bad then I’m good to go. 😁

**JRTJH** · 04-14-2022, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rwake901

Took all four wheels and hubs off today. The brake adjuster on one wheel was off and in pieces rolling around in the hub. I must have caught it in time because it didn’t hurt the hub any. Ordered the whole assembly for that wheel with brakes. Cleaned the rest of the hubs and brakes with brake cleaner and repacked the wheel bearings. Waiting on parts for the one wheel that was bad then I’m good to go. 😁

Your experience is not unique or "one only"... Many people have found similar issues when first doing repair/maintenance on their axles. While it may not rise to the level of a recall, none of us know a "darn thing" about what the inside of our axle hubs look like until we pull the hub and actually see the contents.

Glad you found your potential "explosive problem" before it left you stranded in the middle on nowhere with hours (or days) before Good Sam's roadside assistance can get to you.....

Rwake901 · 04-14-2022, 02:12 PM

Hard to believe that a three year old 5th wheel with only 8-9 thousand miles towing would need brake work already. When your car will go 60-70 thousand miles or longer.

ChuckS · 04-14-2022, 03:01 PM

Some OEM brake assy units last a long time..others not so much.. could have been poor assy from the factory, weak spring .. all a guess

My current Dexter brakes, bearings and races are now on their 9th season with zero issues .. I have well over 90% brake shoe material left on all four brakes..

Total miles around 39K

**JRTJH** · 04-14-2022, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rwake901

Hard to believe that a three year old 5th wheel with only 8-9 thousand miles towing would need brake work already. When your car will go 60-70 thousand miles or longer.

Keystone has had a couple of recalls in the past 5 or so years for axle issues. One in 2019 was for axles on some of their "half ton lines". I'd guess they were 3500 pound axles with either 14" or 15" tires, but don't quote me on that, it's only a guess on the axle size.

Anyway, there's been problems with "new, OEM axles, bearings and failures from those being installed on new trailers without proper greasing and/or incorrect assembly.

Trailers, unlike cars and trucks, don't have the same level of "exactness" in assembly. Maybe it's because it's illegal to be in them when moving ???? Just speculation, but.....

pakuma · 05-01-2022, 06:00 PM

I have a 2013 29RKS. The first annual inspection I pulled 1 drum, repacked the bearings and used the Zerk fitting for the other 3. 2nd year did the same, but a different start axle. 3rd year I started to do the same but found that I had blown the grease seal by using the zerk fittings. I then pulled all 4 drums and found another blown seal as well as 2 bad bearings. Replaced all the bearings with Timken bearings. I now pull all 4 annually to repack and inspect. I am a retired Dealer Service Manager and an ASE General Mechanic. I would highly recommend against using the zerk fittings.

bsmith0404 · 05-01-2022, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

Keystone has had a couple of recalls in the past 5 or so years for axle issues. One in 2019 was for axles on some of their "half ton lines". I'd guess they were 3500 pound axles with either 14" or 15" tires, but don't quote me on that, it's only a guess on the axle size.

Anyway, there's been problems with "new, OEM axles, bearings and failures from those being installed on new trailers without proper greasing and/or incorrect assembly.

Trailers, unlike cars and trucks, don't have the same level of "exactness" in assembly. Maybe it's because it's illegal to be in them when moving ???? Just speculation, but.....

Grand Design changed the brand of axles they used a few years back because of problems. If I remember correctly they went from Lippert to Dexter. I believe Keystone uses all Dexter axles. Unfortunately they just install what they get preassembled from the axle manufacturer. Sounds like there’s problems with all of them. I always pull and pack the bearings on a trailer when I buy them, even new. Had a boat trailer years ago that the bearings came from the factory almost completely dry. Maybe that’s their way of selling more products. These trailers typically don’t get a lot of miles so even a poorly packed bearing may last several years.

bobbecky · 05-01-2022, 09:02 PM

In 2019, prior to leaving Arizona, I did my annual service to the brakes and wheel bearings. Everything looked good on the road side, but got to the curb side and pulled off the drum on the rear axle and the adjuster was totally gone, ground up inside the drum plus other parts were missing or partly gone. My decision was made for having the disc brake upgrade done. Our Montana group was having the spring rally at Coos Bay, OR and there was going to be a rep from Performance Trailer Braking there and we had the option of having the disc brakes installed during the rally. I got a cheap backing plate assembly from a local RV dealer and got the brakes working until having the discs installed. Best upgrade I ever had done to this rig. This is what was left of the backing plate assembly, and the disc brakes partly installed. I had absolutely no indication that there was a problem with the brakes prior to removing that drum.

**flybouy** · 05-02-2022, 06:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rwake901

Hard to believe that a three year old 5th wheel with only 8-9 thousand miles towing would need brake work already. When your car will go 60-70 thousand miles or longer.

Your comparing apples to oranges. How much does your car weigh vs your fifth wheel? Does your car have 4 wheel disc brakes? Most modern cars do. I don't know if your trailer has self adjusting brakes or not, not all do. IIRC most American cars with drum brakes went to self adjusters over 50 years ago.

Trailer brakes are like the rest of the components that go into the construction of most campers. They are low cost and of a quality that's "just enough to get it off the lot". Let's realize the facts that the "average" buyer given a choice between two otherwise identical trailers would buy the one that costs $1,000 less even if the salesman said "but the more expensive one has better brakes. "

Now add some pretty blue lights here and there and the masses will happily pay the upcharge!

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