Brakes not holding as well as they should

[1adam12]

I did not clean them as I was not sure if this was normal. I did this work yesterday and the more I thought about it the more I convinced myself that this could not be normal. I suppose now I will remove the wheels again tonight and do a thorough cleaning and inspection of the seals.

In my mind, this would also explain why (even after the brake adjustment) my truck brake controller when squeezed fully by hand and set on the maximum setting (10), when slowly rolling my camper will not stop my rig. I can feel them applying/holding but it does not bring me to a stop. I would imagine this would be the magnets working properly but, because there is a greasy film present, they cannot hold to the drum properly. Sound right???

 

[JanAndBill]

Follow up - So I was successful in adjusting the brakes on all 4 wheels. However, while inspecting the brake pads and assemblies, I noticed a greasy film on the electromagnet that operates the trailer brakes. There was also a light film on the inner part of the drum. It seems to me that the magnet and drum should be totally clean and dry for the braking system to operate properly. Can anyone comment on my concern?

So I'm assuming you had the drum off?? Fresh grease will be obvious and "film" is subjective. It could have been from a previous time and whoever did a bad job cleaning. Minor oily film can be cleaned up with brake cleaner. "Grease/oil soaked" can not. They should be replaced.

 

[1adam12]

I did have the drums off. This did not appear to be fresh grease; it appeared to have been there for a while. My next steps tonight will be to pull the wheels back off and clean thoroughly with brake cleaner hoping they are salvageable (I have a camping trip planned close by this weekend).

But just for clarification, my truck controller set on high should easily stop my rig when rolling at 5 or 10 mph...correct?

 

[danemayer]

It may take a few applications of the brakes to reseat the shoes to the drums. With new shoes, there's a more extended break-in.

 

[avvidclif]

I did have the drums off. This did not appear to be fresh grease; it appeared to have been there for a while. My next steps tonight will be to pull the wheels back off and clean thoroughly with brake cleaner hoping they are salvageable (I have a camping trip planned close by this weekend).

But just for clarification, my truck controller set on high should easily stop my rig when rolling at 5 or 10 mph...correct?

Mine will.

 

[1adam12]

Thanks so much for the input and sound advise.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

If your rig has the easy lube axles and someone recently pumped grease into them there is a chance that the brakes got contaminated with grease.

Peace
Dave

This happen to me and the mechanic used the zerk fitting and must have thought it was more is better because my camper would not stop at all.....I went to Camping world and was told it would be 1770.00 dollars to have all new shoes and magnets plus cleaning the grease out of each wheel...I chose to go with disc brakes at 2900.00 ......Brand new my camper would only slow not stop at a 10 setting....now at a setting of 5 I can feel the brakes stopping the camper. Before when I would do a pull test the camper would still move now with the disc brakes it does not move when doing the pull test....I will never own another camper with out disc brakes. We found a Big Horn that we really liked until I found out we could not get disc brakes on it so that was the deal breaker ......

 

[Rollin_Free]

Yes that is correct. Per previous reply when you replace the brake the pads you need to burnish them to the drum by driving slowly and apply trailer brakes manually 20 - 30 times. Setting the brake controller gain to max before starting this process will help you accomplish this task. After you complete the burnishing the trailer should stop the rig easily with about 1/2 the brake controller gain and you can now reduce the gain to the desired amount of stopping power you want to use. Mine stops the rig when set at 6 which is about half the max setting.

 

[1adam12]

I pulled all four wheels last night. All 4 magnets and the surface area on the hub where the magnet drags had a slight film. However, the brake pads were in good shape, no grease on pads, springs and workings were in good shape. Makes me think some of you were correct...maybe someone along the way got a little over zealous with the easy lube grease fittings and forced grease in that came through the back seals. All of the seals seem to be in really good shape. I have a camping trip planned for this weekend and am sure I will notice the difference after the cleaning. Thanks for all of the help and advise. Adam

 

[TravelTiger]

This happen to me and the mechanic used the zerk fitting and must have thought it was more is better because my camper would not stop at all.....I went to Camping world and was told it would be 1770.00 dollars to have all new shoes and magnets plus cleaning the grease out of each wheel...I chose to go with disc brakes at 2900.00 ......Brand new my camper would only slow not stop at a 10 setting....now at a setting of 5 I can feel the brakes stopping the camper. Before when I would do a pull test the camper would still move now with the disc brakes it does not move when doing the pull test....I will never own another camper with out disc brakes. We found a Big Horn that we really liked until I found out we could not get disc brakes on it so that was the deal breaker ......

Bob, why can't you get Disc Brakes? The dealership won't do it? You can contact Ron Russell at http://performancetrailerbraking.com

I hear they can come to you and install them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[1adam12]

Update – cleaned all 4 wheel assemblies and I now have a much better condition. ALSO, in my 2015 Ford F-250 6.7 I found a Trailer Brake Output setting…Low, Medium and High. It was on low. I switched it to High and now even better results.

 

[Rollin_Free]

Glad you found the trailer output setting. I wasn't aware of that option either. Where did you find it?

When you test the brakes you should be able to stop using only the trailer manual control without locking up the trailer tires. I usually coast around a large parking lot to initially set mine up and then refine it when I start down the road.

 

[Bob Vaughn]

I wonder if there is this setting on a 13 GMC 3500 and where is it located? My BC never stopped like it did with my 2000 2500 chevy....The larger camper that I traded in stopped on a dime. So I am thinking that what you found might have been my problem......

 

[Rollin_Free]

My Chevy 2500 has a - + below the manual control. I've never read or heard of a Hi, Med, Lo setting on the Chevy factory controller. Granted I'm not a Ford guy so I have to rely on others for that answer.

 

[JohnD]

I like to have my trailer brakes give me some drag . . . not lock up.

If the brakes lock up . . . they aren't helping much to stop.

I've found on my 2015 Chevy 2500HD that 5.5 on the trailer brake setting is just right.

If I'm at a dead stop or doing my pull test it will hold the whole rig even when giving the gas pedal a little push.

But when rolling down the road, the trailer brakes won't lock up but will give me enough brake to help stop.

 

[RoadJunkie]

Glad you found the trailer output setting. I wasn't aware of that option either. Where did you find it?

Sequence on my 2015 F350: Settings...Driver Assist...Trailer Brake...Trailer Brake Effort.