We bought a new 3585RL in January and have had problemswith the electric brakes that came on the unit. They seem to work well at lowerspeeds but are not good at highway speeds. We had a situation in Arizona wherea light changed ahead of us, I had about a city block and a half to stop from55-60 MPH, and wasn’t able to. I ended up in the intersection; luckily therewas no one ahead of us. Has anyone had similar experiences?
Brake Issues with new 3585RL
- Thread starter Jack4Sun
- Start date
Hi Jack4Sun and welcome to the forum. This is a great place to get and share information about our rigs.
There are a number of things that could contribute to your lack of braking.
You may have bad seals that have allowed grease to contaminate the shoes.
You may need a brake adjustment. They recommend adjusting after, I think, 300 miles.
Another thing that some have done is to replace the wiring to a heavier gauge going back to the wheels. It starts out as #12 at the truck and then somewhere down the line the wire gets reduced to #18. That results in a loss of voltage by the time it reaches the magnets.
I have the same model 3585rl and decided I didn't what to deal with those issues so I installed disc brakes.
When you find out what was the problem, come back and let us know the outcome.
Peace
Dave
There are a number of things that could contribute to your lack of braking.
You may have bad seals that have allowed grease to contaminate the shoes.
You may need a brake adjustment. They recommend adjusting after, I think, 300 miles.
Another thing that some have done is to replace the wiring to a heavier gauge going back to the wheels. It starts out as #12 at the truck and then somewhere down the line the wire gets reduced to #18. That results in a loss of voltage by the time it reaches the magnets.
I have the same model 3585rl and decided I didn't what to deal with those issues so I installed disc brakes.
When you find out what was the problem, come back and let us know the outcome.
Peace
Dave
We have had the unit back to the dealer and he checked all the voltages and all were good. I called and spoke with Dexter and told them our problem and they decided to replace the backing plates completely. Our unit has "never adjust brakes" however on our first trip I had the adjustment checked and 3 of 4 were so far out of adjustment that they said the shoes were propably not reaching the drums. I think that's why Dexter replaced the backing plates. They told me that when the old ones were returned they were checked out and they found no problems. We dont know what to think. It feels like the brakes are just not strong enough to stop the 3585?? Seems strange on a new rig?
I am not an expert on brakes, but I would recheck the dealers findings. They would need to have your truck with the trailer to know what voltage was sent to the magnets.
I would take my multi-meter and check the brake voltage at the truck plug. With the brakes applied that is. Then with the trailer plugged in I would apply the brakes the same way only this time check the voltage at each backing plate.
And the best way to check the voltage would be to run a wire from the brakes to the cab of the truck and test while in service. Not always a practical thing to do though.
And have you actually pulled the drums and looked at the brake shoes?
Not everyone has the tools or ability to do that, but if you are able I would suggest taking a look. As well as checking the adjustment again.
What type of brake controller do you have? Brand and model?
Just grasping for straws here.
Peace
Dave
I would take my multi-meter and check the brake voltage at the truck plug. With the brakes applied that is. Then with the trailer plugged in I would apply the brakes the same way only this time check the voltage at each backing plate.
And the best way to check the voltage would be to run a wire from the brakes to the cab of the truck and test while in service. Not always a practical thing to do though.
And have you actually pulled the drums and looked at the brake shoes?
Not everyone has the tools or ability to do that, but if you are able I would suggest taking a look. As well as checking the adjustment again.
What type of brake controller do you have? Brand and model?
Just grasping for straws here.
Peace
Dave
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