Electric Trailer Brakes

Allan

But I strongly suspect all you need is to adjust the shoes outward on each wheel. Adjust outward until they just begin to drag a little, then back it off one notch on the star wheel.

After adjusting shoes, I usually go for a spin where I can do a lot of braking so reseat the shoes, and then drive around where I can do as little braking as possible to let them cool down. You'll find them a little warm when you get home, but they should run cool once you've worn the high spots off the shoes on that first trip.

Dexter recommends manually adjusting the brakes as I described after the initial 200 miles and every 3000 afterward.

Dexter's manual lists manual adjustment of the brakes, as I described, as the #1 thing to do/check when troubleshooting weak brakes.

What I hear is that the brakes are working but are weak. So the magnets are there and functioning. But the magnets can't do their job properly if the shoes are not adjusted to make proper contact with the drums.

I agree it's good to check the wiring before he goes tearing things apart and replacing magnets.
It's a durn sight easier to check his voltage at each, and to pop the plug out of the backing plate and adjust the brake than it is to pull a wheel and wind up having to replace a dinged up seal after you find out the magnet is okay.

That adjustment is something that can be easily donew from the outside. He said he has a little noise, but I've found that even a slack adjustment will make a little noise -- usually periodic, not steady. Everybody has a different sense of where that point is that they actually start to drag -- that point where they then need to back it up a notch . I leave the tire on my wheel when I'm adjusting -- makes it easier to feel the actual drag of the brake as I adjust it out.

I pointed it out only because I have had magnets go bad, and I've had my share of electrical gremlins, from brakes to light, but I've always had to adjust brakes periodically, even on those where the electrics have been fine.