Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Scared the crap outa more than one person )</font>

A cousin bought a new VW in '64, and one morning after a light rain, he was showing me how he could spin it around with the park brake on wet asphalt on a parking lot; worked fine. Then he ran down a little dirt road and tried the same thing; only time I've ever been in one that rolled over its side. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif And when the dust settled, I was laughing so hard I almost couldn't get out and help him push it back up on its wheels, but I finally did. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[Soundguy]

Both my 16' flatbed and horse trailer can be locked up nicely when loaded. Horses founf out that the hard way, the first time the wife drove, and she messed with the brake controller... Consequently, I set the brakes for her if she is taking the horses out for the day

Soundguy

 

[tonyw]

Don't kill me for getting a little off-topic, but I have a Coleman pop-up camper that needs electric brakes. Besides trying my camper dealer, how can I go about this? Are there kits available
that i could buy and have a local mechanic install? The dealership wants around $500 to install everything, but that seems a little pricey--? My truck is a 2002 Dodge Dakota v-8 with tow package..already wired for a brake controller,; pulling the 2,000 lb. + camper isn't a problem, but stopping is another matter.
thanks for any help!!!

 

[Bird]

If it were me, I'd look up a Dexter Axle dealer in the yellow pages to start with. I'm assuming that since you don't have brakes now, the existing axles do not have the proper hubs, brake drums, etc. To change out axle and all is actually quite simple and wouldn't take long to do, and could probably be done by almost any do-it-yourselfer, but I don't know whether or not the parts are available to just change the hubs. Do you know what brand of axles you currently have? They may already be Dexters.

 

[tonyw]

Thank you, Bird! I will check the yellow pages. I really have no idea what brand axle is on the camper now.
My camper is a 1999 model; I learned recently that Coleman started adding electric brakes as standard equipment in 2000 or 2001 /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif ..just my luck!

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( just my luck! )</font>

How well I understand. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif When I bought my '88 CarriLite, I had seen one with an enclosed and heated underbelly, but I made a deal for one out of state, sight unseen. It didn't have the enclosed and heated underbelly; seems they started that in mid-year and I had seen a late model, but bought an early model. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif And since I had mine equipped with every option you could get, including washer/dryer, generator, air, etc., I learned on the Alaska Highway that the suspension (two 3500 pound axles) was inadequate for the weight I was running. So, in 1990, I went to Elkhart and learned that the new CarriLites were now being built originally with 5200 pound axles. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif So I went to the Dexter factory in Elkhart and had axles custom built (5200 pound axles, but using the same axle tube as the 7000 pound axles use, heavier springs, bigger brakes, bigger spindles and bearings, etc.).

Incidentally, if you don't have and "Axle" category in your Yellow Pages, you can go to Dexter's web site here and click on "Distributor Guide" and find all the distributors in your area. They may have what you need in stock, but if not, they can order them custom made to whatever you want. I don't know how long it would take to get ones they have to order, but when I went in person to the factory and ordered mine one morning, I picked them up the next afternoon. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif The salesman told me they were making about 1,500 axles a day there.

 

[tonyw]

Thanks, Bird! your help is appreciated......now, just wish me luck!
Apparently, some states we'll be traveling through this summer require brakes on trailers over 2,000 lbs..besides, I'm not too fond of the idea of driving through NY's Catskills without them /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

tony

 

[RMulkey]

After some thought, I decided to go to Dexter's Website and here is one of the FAQs from their site:

<font color="blue"> "BRAKES - Why can't I lock and slide my electric brakes?
On an unloaded trailer, you may be able to lock up your brakes if your electric brake controller is supplying full amperage to the brakes. When loaded to capacity, you may not be able to lock your brakes as electric brakes are designed to slow the trailer at a controlled rate, and not designed to lock up the wheels on a fully loaded trailer. Our brakes are designed to meet all applicable safety standards. All of our brakes will perform better after numerous burnish stops to seat the brake linings to the drums. [top]
</font>


Thanks again,
-Roger

 

[Bird]

Roger, I suspect most folks have never even heard of burnishing brakes. I can't say for sure, but I don't recall seeing anything in new car owner's manuals telling you to do that, and of course, I don't know about all the brake pad/shoe compositions in use today, but I know the manufacturers of the police cars used to recommend a series of hard stops to heat up the brakes on a new car. One of the manufacturers' engineers even told me it should be done until you see smoke or smell the burning - that seemed a little too extreme to me, but he was supposed to know a lot more than I. I've never gone to that extreme, but anytime I've done a brake job on one of my own vehicles, I did promptly take it out and do several hard stops (after one or two gentle ones) to burnish the brakes.

 

[RMulkey]

Bird,
Like you I never really thought about burnishing the brakes on a trailer before. I do know that we used to burnish the brakes on race cars. In fact some racing suppliers now offer pre-burnished racing rotors for a extra $10/rotor. I do know it makes a huge difference in the stopping power on a race car. If you don't burnish the brakes, you would swear that the brakes were defective for the first dozen applications. The key is to allow the brakes to cool for a few seconds between applications duing the burnishing, otherwise you can burn up a set of racing brakes in just a few laps.

I guess I subconsiously used to accomplish this after a brake job on all my cars and trucks by performing a few light stops and then several heavy stops.

It never too late to learn something new...
Thank you for all your help over the years...
-Roger