Trailer repair questions

[white cloud]

First, thanks for reading this.

I have a Big Tex 10ET. I notice black streaks radiating out from the wheel hubs. The streaks appear to be grease mixed with dirt. I am concerned that I have damaged some sort of seal when greasing the axles. Any ideas about how to repair this would be appreciated.

Also when the trailer is connected to the truck I get alerts that the trailer is not connected to the truck but the brake controller is plugged into the truck. Could this be the connector?

Is there a way to charge the brake controller battery as this trailer gets parked for long periods of time.

Thanks again for reading this.

 

[Chewwy]

Not familiar with your trailer but the trailer’s wheel seals and brake controller connections are pretty generic.

Any ideas about how to repair this would be appreciated.
Replace the grease seals on the trailer’s hub. It would be beneficial to repack the wheel hub bearings (both inner and outer) when doing this.

Could this be the connector?
The blue wire on the 7 pin connector is used to send power to the trailer's electric brakes. The brake controller senses the trailer is connected by sending a small voltage on this wire to the trailer brakes. Check if there is continuity between pin 1 (ground) and pin 2 (trailer brakes) on the trailer’s 7 pin connector. Also check the same pins on the tow vehicle’s 7 pin connector for some small voltage.

Is there a way to charge the brake controller battery. The trailers battery can be charged by connecting a charger to pin 1 (ground) and pin 4 (12V) of the trailers 7 pin connector.

 

[hosspuller]

First, thanks for reading this.

I have a Big Tex 10ET. I notice black streaks radiating out from the wheel hubs. The streaks appear to be grease mixed with dirt. I am concerned that I have damaged some sort of seal when greasing the axles. Any ideas about how to repair this would be appreciated.

Definitely, investigate this. You likely have over greased the bearings. If the axles are the "Ez-lube" type, it's better to clean and grease the bearings the old fashioned way. The previous owner of my trailer pumped the brake housing full of grease to the point of destroying the pads. You will need new seals for each wheel.

Also when the trailer is connected to the truck I get alerts that the trailer is not connected to the truck but the brake controller is plugged into the truck. Could this be the connector?

Yes, any other electrical could be at fault.

Is there a way to charge the brake controller battery as this trailer gets parked for long periods of time.

Thanks again for reading this.

I would suggest a small battery maintainer. It will stop charging when the battery is fully charged.

 

[BigBlue1]

Regarding charging the brake backup battery... You can hook up a pigtail for a battery tender so that you can connect one when the trailer will sit for a while. You could also/instead hook up a small solar charger that stays with the trailer.

For the wheel/grease... Best thing to do would be to remove the wheel & hub and check things out. Could be that you just pumped too much grease into the hub and it pushed past the seal but the seal isn't 'bad'. Or the seal could be bad.

 

[white cloud]

Thanks to all for this excellent information.

 

[dodge man]

I just take the battery out and put it on a maintainer. That works well if you don’t use it often.