Steve and Karen
Ranger
On our last trip we had some annoying low-speed brake squealing. Backing off on the brake controller helped a little. But it was already set fairly low. I waited till we got home to do a modest shoe adjustment. I did, but to no avail.
I pulled the hub apart (first time) and was thrust into a new world of discovery and learning. Everything looked fine, to my untrained eye, so I carefully put it back together after cleaning out a bit of rust and dust on the drum. No change.
Out of curiosity I jacked up each side of the trailer separately, manually spun each tire, and manually activated the TV brake controller: one side worked; the other didn't. A voltage test at the wires of the non-functioning brake revealed that it was getting power. So... I had a bad brake. But what to do? I had never seen, much less tried to fix one of these.
E-trailer to the rescue: https://www.etrailer.com/faq-testing-trailer-brake-magnets-for-proper-function.aspx
I removed the brake assembly and tested it with a spare 12V battery. The magnet was drawing 18 amps when connected to the stand-alone battery, when it should only have been drawing 3.0 to 3.2A. I ordered a new Dexter 7" full brake assembly as the magnet part alone would have been nearly half that cost of a full replacement. I'll be putting it all back together under the supervision of my auto mechanic in the next couple days.
A couple things I learned in the process that may be new to some, and old hat to others:
1) Don't mix greases when re-packing as they may be incompatible. Fully remove all the grease so you can carefully inspect the bearings and races to determine if they are suitable for reuse. (In my case, they were.)
2) Don't mix new bearings with old races as they haven't seated and worn in together.
3) Always use a new seal and cotter pin/tang washer for reassembly. They are cheap.
4) Not all bearing kits for 1 1/16" axles come with all the correct parts. The spare emergency SKF kit I had been carrying all this time had the correct bearings and races, but the wrong grease seal. Correct part numbers are listed on the C-I parts page.
5) Magnet electrical failure is one of the more common brake issues, and is easily diagnosed with a multimeter. So they are a good place to start looking if you have a brake issue and have the hub all apart.
6) Road-testing the trailer's brakes using the manual lever on the brake controller (putting the TV into neutral at speed) will tell you if there is some, or adequate, trailer braking, but it won't tell you if there is an independent and isolated failure on just one side. Jacking each side like I did and giving them each a spin will tell you if you are dealing with a bilateral issue, or not. This will narrow down list of potential causes very quickly.
It remains to be seen if doing this one side will fix my brake squeal. I somehow doubt it, and that I will be pulling the other side apart as well.
I pulled the hub apart (first time) and was thrust into a new world of discovery and learning. Everything looked fine, to my untrained eye, so I carefully put it back together after cleaning out a bit of rust and dust on the drum. No change.
Out of curiosity I jacked up each side of the trailer separately, manually spun each tire, and manually activated the TV brake controller: one side worked; the other didn't. A voltage test at the wires of the non-functioning brake revealed that it was getting power. So... I had a bad brake. But what to do? I had never seen, much less tried to fix one of these.
E-trailer to the rescue: https://www.etrailer.com/faq-testing-trailer-brake-magnets-for-proper-function.aspx
I removed the brake assembly and tested it with a spare 12V battery. The magnet was drawing 18 amps when connected to the stand-alone battery, when it should only have been drawing 3.0 to 3.2A. I ordered a new Dexter 7" full brake assembly as the magnet part alone would have been nearly half that cost of a full replacement. I'll be putting it all back together under the supervision of my auto mechanic in the next couple days.
A couple things I learned in the process that may be new to some, and old hat to others:
1) Don't mix greases when re-packing as they may be incompatible. Fully remove all the grease so you can carefully inspect the bearings and races to determine if they are suitable for reuse. (In my case, they were.)
2) Don't mix new bearings with old races as they haven't seated and worn in together.
3) Always use a new seal and cotter pin/tang washer for reassembly. They are cheap.
4) Not all bearing kits for 1 1/16" axles come with all the correct parts. The spare emergency SKF kit I had been carrying all this time had the correct bearings and races, but the wrong grease seal. Correct part numbers are listed on the C-I parts page.
5) Magnet electrical failure is one of the more common brake issues, and is easily diagnosed with a multimeter. So they are a good place to start looking if you have a brake issue and have the hub all apart.
6) Road-testing the trailer's brakes using the manual lever on the brake controller (putting the TV into neutral at speed) will tell you if there is some, or adequate, trailer braking, but it won't tell you if there is an independent and isolated failure on just one side. Jacking each side like I did and giving them each a spin will tell you if you are dealing with a bilateral issue, or not. This will narrow down list of potential causes very quickly.
It remains to be seen if doing this one side will fix my brake squeal. I somehow doubt it, and that I will be pulling the other side apart as well.