Electric Trailer Brakes Rebuilding: A Story About How They Work and What Happens When They Don't

This story begins when I offered my friend Aerostar distance for, my cams , him. He lives at the top of a very steep hill on gravel. We drove the van from the trailer, strapped tightly down, move, my cams , the weight distribution hitch, and I walked down the hill. It was all good until I hit the brakes. Actually, no. Only the fronts were locking in the Suburban. I pushed the big red button on my homemade trailer brake controller, making them nothing but the full 13.7 volts. Well almost nothing. I was still down more quickly than I wanted!, my cams , The trailer brakes must be locked when the solid red button is pressed so at least everything slide right - instead of the trailer trying to pass Suburban. Talk about the cart, my cams , before the horse! The way the load was pushed around in the suburbs, I was really glad, my cams , I had not tried to drag my little Jeep Cherokee. Once that work was done I backed the trailer into the shop to take my first look at the brakes of the trailer. I own this trailer has nearly twenty-five years and I've never seen in on drums. I think it was time. My inspection of the first drum made me a bit about how electric brakes of the trailer. There is an electromagnet that pulls against the inside of the drum. The friction of the magnet against, my cams , the drum moves a shoe which in turn moves the other shoe with a cam action. Pretty simple. But I saw nothing wrong. The shoes looked great, the drum was fine except for some scoring in which the magnet rubbed. I power to the magnet and the pull seemed OK. However, the friction of the magnet against the drum of course not enough, my cams , for the shoes to work. I could not figure out how a magnet could go bad, but that's what it seemed. Time for some internet research. Eventually I found a site that said magnet failure was often electric trailer brake, my cams , . So I went, my cams , shopping for trailer brake magnets. Most, my cams , places wanted more for me than all the magnet support meeting could buy. To get at a local parts, my cams , store should I pay more than I could buy two for backing assemblies. And new magnets are included in the backing plate assemblies. Just when I was about to give new compositions, I stumbled on Auto, my cams , Safety House. They could use some work on their website, but they have great prices. I found a couple of new drums on e-bay and I was the only bid so I have both the price of one. Then waiting for Danny - my UPS driver - them to me. Naturally, the drums and magnets arrived, my cams , on different days, so he visited with my dog Smash twice. Closer inspection of the brakes of the trailer,, my cams , I noticed that I still do not understand how they worked. Something just does not look good on how the cam worked. It seemed certain that, my cams , they would be stronger in the opposite direction. And this trailer has always been difficult to back up when the brakes work well. A quick glance, my cams , at the website of Dexter Brakes confirmed my suspicions. The rear axle on my trailer was installed backwards, my, my cams , cams , . I decided the bearings do not really care if they are spinning backwards, so I opted to just swap the brake assemblies left to right. After installing it off the magnets and the routing of the not so little green wires a little easier. I found some lubricant made for them through the grommets easier. Dexter magnets are identified by wire color. The right one for my 3500 lbs axles, the green wire. Nice they are not changed in 25 years. The, my cams , magnets are held in the spring clips that are really hard to get off. I used a small screwdriver and a pry bar and bent them something to, my cams , them. The new magnets came with new clips yet. I loaded the new shaft bearings with grease and installing the new brake drums. They are not Dexter brand, but it fits perfectly. The wiring has been relatively, my cams , easy to connect again,, my cams , because there is no polarity of the magnets. Just connect one wire to the brake controller and a power cord to the ground. Dexter recommends running a separate ground wire but I grounded to the trailer frame as it had done previously. Now my trailer with brakes again. For pictures that go with this article show http://mikestrawbridge.com/electric-trailer-, my cams , brake-rebuild.shtml Mike Strawbridge is the owner of Straw Solutions Performance Improvement Consulting. He enjoys helping others achieve their full performance potential and knows a thing or two about keeping them safe while doing. http://www.mikestrawbridge.com