Need stronger brakes, what can I do?

[Renze]

Oh, and making stuff brake better: when i changed from 185R14 to 195/50R13 and at the same time chopped my trailer down from 80cm to 63, i didnt change the surge brake lever to the longer lever distance to correlate with the smaller wheel diameter: And im not going to because i rather like the more powerful brakes...


The increased brake force together with the lower center of gravity, 50 ratio tires with less flexible sidewalls, and the Vee of the towbar running straight from the first axle to the hitch to gusset the whole front end, makes it a much nicer trailer when towing it with my Volvo.

 

[BWSwede]

Okay, the final chapter of my saga.

I am the OP and through this thread received a lot of great information.

To recap: The first thing I did was get 4 new brake assemblies to replace the glazed shoes and I removed the very fine coating of what appeared to be a grease vapor/dirt deposit everywhere in the brake drum housing. That improvement helped but I still wasn't back to what it was when I bought the trailer (used but nearly new).

I then adjusted the brakes like I always do and they were spot on where they should be.

I then cut out and replaced all the brake wire crimped connections. In the process of doing so I removed the insulation and cut one open. Bingo! There was that grayish green powdery stuff you often see at the battery post terminals on motor vehicles. I knew from past experience this powder can limit electrical continuity. Yesterday with the new electrical connections in place I hauled my tractor once again and the brakes were substantially better. To the point I don't feel the need to do anymore work on them.

Thanks again for all the help. I can once again haul my tractor without having the white-knuckle affect the entire trip.

Blane

 

[dodge man]

Good deal, it was corroded wires then?

 

[BWSwede]

Yes, cutting out the factory crimped connections and replacing them with new was what made the most difference in the braking improvement.

Blane

 

[ovrszd]

Yes, cutting out the factory crimped connections and replacing them with new was what made the most difference in the braking improvement.

Blane

Thanks for the update!!! We sometimes don't get that and never know what the fix was.

 

[oliver1555]

Glad you got it sorted out! Hopefully, you covered the new connections with adhesive shrink tube or used some other method to seal out moisture.

 

[crazyal]

Unless you protect the wires/ connections you can expect it to happen again. Once the wires corrode there's not much you can do. But when new you can solder the bare wires to protect the copper (or even solder the wires tot he terminals). Another thing I like to do is weld a stainless bolt to the frame everywhere a wire is grounded as the simple sheet metal screw type ground rarely last up north.

 

[aczlan]

Unless you protect the wires/ connections you can expect it to happen again. Once the wires corrode there's not much you can do. But when new you can solder the bare wires to protect the copper (or even solder the wires tot he terminals). Another thing I like to do is weld a stainless bolt to the frame everywhere a wire is grounded as the simple sheet metal screw type ground rarely last up north.

Better IMO to use adhesive lined shrink crimps than solder in an automotive or trailer application as the resulting joint is more flexible and easier to get a good connection with less risk of a cold/bad solder joint breaking, or the wire snapping off at the end of the solder.

Aaron Z

 

[Fallon]

Better IMO to use adhesive lined shrink crimps than solder in an automotive or trailer application as the resulting joint is more flexible and easier to get a good connection with less risk of a cold/bad solder joint breaking, or the wire snapping off at the end of the solder.

Aaron Z

Ya, solder can make wire brittle. All automotive manufacturers use crimps rather than solder these days. Part is cost for sure, but proper crimps in a proper weatherproof connector cut down on warranty issues too. I've heard but never confirmed that the FAA only permits soldered wires in rare circumstances too.