Landscape Trailer Elec Brakes question

[wawajake]

I have 4 OR 5 YR old 16 ft dual axle landscape trailer with at most 4000 miles on it. I noticed first trip into city today to get gravel, after winter parked, the right side wheel would lock up and smoke the tires when brakes gently applied ( trailer empty) even when the in cab trailer brake unit set at 1.5 ( mine has scale of 0 to 6 ) I usually travel empty with it set at 1.5 and when loaded with gravel or tractor I set to 2.5 or 3 . Driving back with 2 yds of gravel today loaded and set at 2.5 right wheel did not lock up ( at 3 it would) So I thought maybe just rust on that right and drum wearing off maybe. But tonight for kicks I put wheel ramps under both back wheels so brake wheels were elevated and with my hands was able to spin the wheels with no brakes on and with brakes on and set to 1 the wheels still turned with just a bit of resistance , and set at 1.5 the right side would stop and left side could still turn a bit easy....then set at 2.5 the right side of course was tightly locked and the left side was too. What suggestions do you have. Can I easily adjust the right side to be looser ( or maybe I should make left side looser) I am fairly mechanically inclined.

 

[3Ts]

They should be drum brakes and have a star wheel at the bottom of the hub that can be accessed without removing the hub. There should be a small oval rubber plug. I forget which way you need to turn the star wheel to tighten or loosen the adjustment. You'll need a screwdriver with a flat blade or a "brake adjustment" tool which looks like a bent screwdriver.

 

[oliver1555]

If they were fine last fall, and now are not working correctly, I would want to open it up and see what is going on.

 

[AWSubie]

U may have a shorted magnet wire. Take off the wheel that was smoking (locking up) and check the magnet wires as they pass through the brake plate to see if one or both of the wires have chafed insulation that may cause them to short against the plate. If nothing wrong is found at that point continue to follow the wires along the trailer frame to see if there is any chafing anywhere else.

Also, mice and rats love to chew on wire insulation, which of course is another cause for wires shorting, so be sure to check on the wire integrity for the entire run.

 

[woody]

sounds like the left side needs adjusting just a little. raise it up like you did and adjust to where you can just hear the brake drum touch the shoe as it turns and try to get both sides the same. If that don't fix it I would want to take them down and inspect them both.

 

[wawajake]

Well thanks a bunch all of you .........that was easier than I thought...…..wires were all okay ( I had put protective sleeves on most when I bought the trailer too) but adjusting from behind plate (rubber capped) looked hit and miss with screwdriver, so I dug into taking drum off and although nervous about taking bearings and drum all off at once with castellated nut off...it worked easily and I saw how shoes still had plenty of pad.....so I adjusted star wheel easily from inside and got both wheels adjusted the same. Took it for test drive and I can drive empty at 1.5 or 2 without locking that wheel and at 2.5 or 3 will be good for when loaded...……..now I even have time today to cut the lawn with the tractor ! thanks and now I know how the things work !

 

[mike48130]

Did you check that they were all working? If one side is not working, then you will get more electrical power to the other at the same controller setting and cause the brakes to activate more than they did before. Jack up the trailer and pull the brake safety switch, spin the tires, and check that they all work. I have an 04 trailer and just replaces all the magnets because a couple were very weak and had a broken wire on one.

 

[wawajake]

Did you check that they were all working? If one side is not working, then you will get more electrical power to the other at the same controller setting and cause the brakes to activate more than they did before. Jack up the trailer and pull the brake safety switch, spin the tires, and check that they all work. I have an 04 trailer and just replaces all the magnets because a couple were very weak and had a broken wire on one.

That is what I did Mike .....both braked wheels of ground using car ramps on the non braked wheels. As seen in my post above it was fixed. Thks