Electric trailer brakes

[Kurt & Eve]

Hello,
We have a 72 - 27 ft Overlander travel trailer. On the way home from taking our trailer out of storage, the right rear brake locked up. When I removed the drum, the adjusting screw assembly and spring fell on the ground and they were heavily scored. The drum pads also had some damage at the lower edges. What I need is information for replacement of the drum pads and brake parts to get us under way for the summer season.

Thank you in advance for any infonmation you can provide.

Kurt & Eve

[bjond]

You can probably buy a new Dexter backing plate with all the brake hardware already mounted at your local NAPA auto parts dealer. Unbolt yout old backing plate and take it to the store. My NAPA guys were able to figure out the dexter replacement parts. The last ones I bought were ~$55 per wheel. Dexter also has a on-line ordering service if you can figure out which parts you need.

I think Kelsey-Hayes brakes were on older Airstreams but they were bought out or or out of business now.

http://www.dexteraxle.com/products___literature
http://i.b5z.net/i/u/1080235/f/Brake...in._Brakes.pdf

NOTE: Don't just fix one wheel, you are supposed to replace the brakes on each side of the axle to ensure good braking action.

[overlander64]

Greetings Kurt & Eve!

I agree with Herb Spies, the fully loaded backing plates are the way to go. When my Overlander experienced a similar problem just as I returned home from the 1999 WBCCI International Rally in Dayton, I had a set of four of the fully loaded backing plates installed on my coach. The Brand X dealer who handled the install (I was more than 600 miles from Ace Fogdall RV who does all of my routinely scheduled repair work) also suggested that the drums be trued and the bake shoes matched to the drums -- these machine shop procedures resulted in the smoothest acting electric drum-type trailer brakes I have ever experienced.

If Airstream was still using the 3,000 pound aggressive trailer brakes when your Overlander was built, you will definitely want to perform the same repair at both ends of the axle -- in fact, you may find that it is necessary to service all four wheels. Unless things have changed since 1999, 6,000 pound aggressive was the only rating available in the fully loaded backing plates -- I suspect that mixing 3,000 pound aggressive rated brake sets with 6,000 pound aggressive rated brake sets on the same coach could prove problematic.

Good luck with your repairs!

Kevin

[john hd]

kurt and eve

here is a midwest supplier of backing plates etc.

they have reasonable prices!


http://www.pioneerwheel.com/

john

[axleman]

Originally Posted by Kurt & Eve

Hello,
We have a 72 - 27 ft Overlander travel trailer. On the way home from taking our trailer out of storage, the right rear brake locked up. When I removed the drum, the adjusting screw assembly and spring fell on the ground and they were heavily scored. The drum pads also had some damage at the lower edges. What I need is information for replacement of the drum pads and brake parts to get us under way for the summer season.

Thank you in advance for any infonmation you can provide.

Kurt & Eve

Kurt & Eve,



You should definitely replace the pair, not just the bad brake. In today’s throw away society, you will likely spend more trying to replace parts then purchasing new loaded backing plates (not to mention the piece of mind factor). If you need drums turned, be sure to check the manufacturers maximum re-bore dimensions. Turning too much off of a drum can be dangerous also.



I hope this helps ,

Henry

[Kurt & Eve]

Thanks Henry

[Kurt & Eve]

Thanks Kevin

[Kurt & Eve]

Thanks Herb

[Anon]

Originally Posted by Herb Spies

I think Kelsey-Hayes brakes were on older Airstreams but they were bought out or or out of business now.

Kelsey-Hayes was bought by a German interest.
The new company's name is Hayes Lemmerz. I know they still make brake controllers under the Hayes Lemmerz name. They also make brakes and drums for commercial applications.
http://aftermarket.hayes-lemmerz.com/

[Loren]

Kurt & Eve,

I had a brake disintegrate on a trailer we owned some years ago. We fixed the brake but re-used the drum. This was a HUGE mistake.

In our case, the drum had gotten hot, and apparently had weakened. A couple of years after the brake re-build, that wheel came off the trailer at about 50 mph in traffic. By some miracle, no one was hurt and nothing was damaged. All of the eight lug studs were sheared off.

I would strongly recommend replacing the drum on the side that had the problem. The peace of mind is worth it to me.

Loren