Both brake drums hotter on one side

[Petrovsky]

I had the brakes and bearings done at the beginning of the season 2024. Did not put much mileage on it but noticed that the GM brake controller gain had to be adjusted to 1.5 or else the brakes were too agressive.

Just brough the RV from storage and roughly the same issue. After driving in suburdia to reach my home i noticed that both brake drums on the passenger side were quite hot (could not keep hand on them) while the ones on the driver side were not...just warm. No issues pulling trailer or side pulling when applying brakes.

These are not abs brakes and the axles are dexter 4400. Not sure if self adjusting.

Any thoughts and suggestions for debugging this issue. Note that the truck discs were warm but then I did a lot of start and stop. Also note that the drums started to cool fairly quickly on the culprit side.

Thanks,

 

[jkwilson]

Two tests.

Jack up each wheel and spin it. There should be some dragging, but not enough the wheel doesn’t keep moving for a bit when you stop spinning it. Pull the breakaway cable and see if you can spin the wheel. The dragging/scraping shows you the brakes are adjusted in the ballpark. Pulling the breakaway shows you that brake is working.

It’s possible that the brakes on the passenger side are the only ones working.

 

[Petrovsky]

Thanks for the quick response. That is a good test. I did this when I replaced the suspension components to Moreryde a few years back.

However before lifting each side of the trailer on a sloping driveway to check the wheels I was wondering about hooking up the truck and have my spouse apply the brakes. Is there a way to check with a multimeter or other method if power is going to the solenoids on the driver side wheels. This would rule out an electrical issue.

It appears that the brake lines are coming through that side, splitting and running through the axles to the passenger side. It was getting dark so I did not get a full analysis on the wiring.

Not even sure if I have self adjusting brakes or not.

 

[jkwilson]

Thanks for the quick response. That is a good test. I did this when I replaced the suspension components to Moreryde a few years back.

However before lifting each side of the trailer on a sloping driveway to check the wheels I was wondering about hooking up the truck and have my spouse apply the brakes. Is there a way to check with a multimeter or other method if power is going to the solenoids on the driver side wheels. This would rule out an electrical issue.

It appears that the brake lines are coming through that side, splitting and running through the axles to the passenger side. It was getting dark so I did not get a full analysis on the wiring.

Not even sure if I have self adjusting brakes or not.

You can measure current from the controller. Should be 15-16A for all 4 with the breakaway pulled. You either need to breakout the brake wire with a little wiring, disconnect in the junction box or use a clamp on ammeter. You may be able to hear the magnets. If you have someone pump the brakes, they make a very faint buzz. Some people hear better than others. You may also be able to detect it with a handheld compass.

 

[Petrovsky]

Thanks again. It appears that I do not have self adjusting brakes. Tomorrow...if it isn't raining (in forecast) I will use my old Silva compass (still bring it on hikes) and check each wheel roughly were the electro magnets are and hope for a deflection. If all deflect then it is possible that the brakes were adjusted too tighly last year.

Another possibility could be that after greasing the bearings....they overtigntened the castle nut. Hopefully that was not the case. Or there is grease on both pads on the drivers side. In any case at this point it means an afternoon's worth of work.

Still have quite a bit of time before camping season starts up here in the north to resolve this issue.

thanks, Peter

 

[el Rojo]

You could also move the trailer to a flat parking lot and do the first test JK mentioned. Then you wouldn't be just testing current, you would be testing the entire braking system.

Just a thought.