More aggressive brake shoe lining for trailer?

[dieseldrive]

Has anyone tried to increase their trailer brakes performance by have the shoes relined with more aggressive (higher friction) lining?

I know that my 5er is right on the rated gvw of the camper at 12K and the brakes don't seem to be very strong (will not lock up at all). I am lookin for an economical way to improve it -- all ideas appreciated.

[LongRider]

<font color="green"> If they are electric, then don't expect much.

If swapping to vacuum-over-hydraulic brakes is not feasible, then I would start at the controller, and work back to the brake hubs, re-wiring and soldering every connection.

Use at least 12gauge wire.

Solder a 12 gauge ground-wire, from hubs to a good ground on truck frame.

Splice in ground leads from the main ground wire and secure them to trailer frame and truck frame.

Don't be surprised, after all this work, if your brakes are no better; it is just the nature of electric brakes.

You can have a brake-shoe rebuilder build a custom-lined set of shoes, but I don't think that will cure your brakes.

Hope this helps. </font>

[KF6ZVT]

Years ago, a friend and I tried it once with a trailer we used to take hunting. We had the friction shop line the shoes with some stuff called "Velvet-touch". We put all new springs and magnets in. The brakes were only marginally better.

If you want really good brakes, you have to upgrade to electric/hydraulic disc brakes. I've seen these in action, they are awesome. An owner of a travel trailer was showing them off to a bunch of us in an RV park, he was NOT selling them just showing off. It was one of the smoothest working brake systems I've ever seen on a trailer. And they would, without hesitation, lock all four wheels on the trailer when needed. He pulled the the break-away switch with the trailer stopped, and could not move it an inch with his F350 in low gear and low range 4WD!!! His brakes were an after-market add-on, I don't remember where he got them, it's that old guy CRS thing again.

[T_Bone]

Hi dd,

First I would add a temporary seperate ground between the truck and trailer and see if that improves brake action. If it does then you need a better gound. The #1 cause of bad brakes or no brakes.

Next check the wiring connections to each magnet. After using new wire nuts or solderless connectors, I use RTV on the connectors to keep moisture out. Improvement?

Depending on how old your axles are, you may need to adjust the shoes. After the trailer sits for more than a month, besure to manualy apply the BC several times to break off the rust glaze on the drums while moving under 25mph. Shoe adjustment helped?

My new Dexter tandum duals are forward self-adjusting with oil bath bearings. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif[/img]

Next it's time to pull the hubs off and take a look. Download the Dexter service manual for your type of axle and go from there.




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