I probably should have split this into 2 separate posts, (Trailer Brakes, and Controller Adjustment), but since the topics are related...
My trailer is an older (2002) Pace American 28' tag. Last weekend at the track, I had some down-time, and since it was well after dark, I figured I would give my trailer tires a good "cold" pressure check. (I had checked them the previous day before heading out, as I always do, but one side had been in the sun for a while). That turned out fine, but I also gave them a thorough visual inspection, and found something I've never seen before - One of them, (LF), was worn down a lot more than the other three. Tread depth is half what the others are. All 4 usually wear fairly evenly, but I occasionally swap them front to back, because whether it is different weights on the 2 axles, or whatever, the fronts seem to wear the edges a bit more than the backs, which wear the center of the tread more. I bought all 4 tires together, about 2.5 years ago, and assumed they were probably of the same production lot. They only have about 4500 miles on them. I haven't looked at the date codes, but I am thinking it is probably not a manufacturing defect. More likely is maybe the trailer brake on that wheel is dragging a bit, or doing more than it's share of work?
I will admit I have never inspected the brakes on the trailer. I have greased the wheel bearings, but not much other maintenance.
I doubt it is the controller. Could be a wiring issue? (As in maybe this wheel is the only one of the 4 that is actually providing any braking action)? I have no idea if or how the brake action is proportioned between the 4 wheels on electric brakes. My guess is they are not proportioned - That the controller determines how much voltage is sent to the trailer brake circuit, and each brake gets the same signal, and (theoretically) applies the same amount of braking force, (assuming all components are in good condition and properly adjusted). Anyone who knows more about how they work is welcome to share your knowledge.

Back to my situation - Because I had a 100 mile tow to get home, I wanted to make sure it wasn't a wheel bearing dragging and wearing that tire out, so I jacked it up enough to confirm the wheel spun freely by hand.
In case it was a brake issue, I backed the controller gain way down, from around 5.5 to 3.0, basically relying on the truck brakes unless an emergency stop was needed.

I plan to get the thing in the air this weekend, apply the brakes and confirm all 4 are actuating. Then pull off the wheels, and inspect the brakes. I do know they are magnetically actuated, but other than looking for unusual or different appearance among all 4, I don't know what I might check to see if this brake is applying more force than the other 3?
I do have a downloaded copy of the trailer manual, and I believe the axle manual also.
Will see if they can be adjusted, and do that if possible.

Actually, I was going to also ask you guys how you set the gain adjustment on your brake controllers, but I really do think that should be a separate topic, maybe I'll save it for another day.

Anyone ever have this issue, and also any suggestions on what could cause the 1 tire to wear really quick, and what I might look for on the brakes, will be appreciated.
Thanks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: FootbrakeJim,

I would think more towards turning is wearing the tire.

Once or twice per year I adjust the trailer brakes. Jack up each side of the trailer and spin the wheels while laying under the trailer. If they are manual adjust brakes, there will be a plastic plug or just a rectangular hole toward the bottom of the backing plate. Stick a smallish flat screwdriver in there and use it to spin the star wheel upward to tighten. Keep spinning the tire until it becomes difficult or stops, then turn the star adjuster downward just enough to free it up. I usually leave just a slight drag on it.

As for adjusting the controller, I would just do it by feel. Hit the manual apply on the controller and feel how much it pulls on the truck. You probably want as much help as you can without locking them up, but you don't want it to jerk too hard on the truck.

My trailer is a tri-axle and always has at least two cars in it. I tend to wear the insides of the tires more than anything; I think the axles might bow a bit. After a while I take them off and have them flipped on the rim to get the other edge to wear.

On one of my equipment trailers, I notice my left rear trailer tire wears more than the other 3. Pretty sure it's from the wear of it scrubbing/dragging more than the others when making turns, going through cul-de-sacs. May be worthwhile to check that all 4 wheels/tires are aligned properly. My brother had a trailer with a slight bend in right front axle which caused excessive wear on that tire. replaced axle, problem was solved.

If you've never pulled the drums, inspected the brakes then I would start there. If you need brakes be sure to order the whole backing plate with shoes and new magnets.
Adjustment of your controller depends on the brand of controller, find the instructions for your controller. Of course good connections and good ground is required.
More weight in one area of the trailer can cause tire wear. If you have a giant roll around tool box full of tools over that tire it could be the cause. A quick check for axles is to measure from the ball back to the hub on one side and then the other, should be the same. Then measure back to the second axle to see if it is square. Park on a good level pad and place an angle gauge on each wheel and see if any are cambered more than the others.

Appreciate the advice, guys.
If it matters, I forgot to include the Axle info - They are Dexter 5200# axles, with the "Torflex" torsion bar suspension - No leaf springs.
Eman, I am curious why you recommend replacing the entire brake assemblies, (with backing plates), rather than changing out the shoes and magnets? If the cost difference is not major, that may be a good idea.
One thing I have learned from this, is that the EZ-Lube hubs making greasing the wheel bearings fast & easy, but they also make it easy to skip out on removing the drums and inspecting things inside.

quote:

Originally posted by FootbrakeJim:
Appreciate the advice, guys.
If it matters, I forgot to include the Axle info - They are Dexter 5200# axles, with the "Torflex" torsion bar suspension - No leaf springs.
Eman, I am curious why you recommend replacing the entire brake assemblies, (with backing plates), rather than changing out the shoes and magnets? If the cost difference is not major, that may be a good idea.
One thing I have learned from this, is that the EZ-Lube hubs making greasing the wheel bearings fast & easy, but they also make it easy to skip out on removing the drums and inspecting things inside.

Two weeks ago I replaced the hubs/drums, bearings, and full backing plates on my trailer. There is NO WAY I would mess around with brake shoes again. 5 nuts and 2 wires, and the complete assembly is off. 5 nuts and 2 wire connectors, and the job is all done. Why mess around with brake shoe springs? It cost me about $100 per axle (both sides) from eTrailer for my 7K axles which I think use the same stuff as the 5200.

A few years ago, I had a buddy machine the magnet surface on my drums after I installed new magnets and that made a nice improvement in braking power.

It's cheaper, easier and you'll have better results replacing the whole shebang. Eastern Marine and etrailer have great deals on everything you need. Use the best quality and I wouldn't bother with self adjusters. You mention EZ lube hubs. They are good but you should jack the trailer and rotate the wheel while lubing which makes it a good time to adjust the brakes. When you pull the drums you'll be amazed at how the magnets and the drums wear. You might have to replace a drum if the magnet area is worn badly.

It was kind of stupid money, but I just replaced my hubs/drums with fully pre-greased and ready to install units. Saved so much time and mess over cleaning and packing the bearings by hand. After installing I added a few pumps of grease into the EZ-Lube zerk, rotating the wheel as Eman stated.

With everything brand new, the stopping power is way better than I can ever remember.

quote:

Originally posted by Lenny5160:
Two weeks ago I replaced the hubs/drums, bearings, and full backing plates on my trailer. There is NO WAY I would mess around with brake shoes again. 5 nuts and 2 wires, and the complete assembly is off. 5 nuts and 2 wire connectors, and the job is all done. Why mess around with brake shoe springs? It cost me about $100 per axle (both sides) from eTrailer for my 7K axles which I think use the same stuff as the 5200.

Tony & Eman -
Wow! Now that really DOES make sense. The Dexter website and local distributors are priced at $40 per Magnet, and $60 for Brake Shoes (PER WHEEL). So that is $400, (a Benjamin + Tax per wheel), and on top of double the price, I would get to do all the dirty work, (disassembly, cleaning, repacking, reassembly), plus buying any additional needs like bearings, etc.
You guys got me sold on swapping out the assemblies! Thanks!

Just to be clear, the loaded brake backing plates were $100 per axle. So that is brake shoes and magnets, really. And that is the eTrailer house brand. The Dexter ones were a good amount higher.

The fully loaded hub/drum, pregreased with new bearings and seal was an additional $110 PER WHEEL. You can either just get new seals and clean/repack bearings, or for about $15 per wheel get a kit with the seal and bearings/races. Saves you the step of cleaning the old grease out.

I did my 1999 28' a couple of years ago. My trailer is basically an upgraded Vintage unit with heavier axles. I found one trailer brake on each side with it's wiring wiped out. The shoes still had a lot of life in them so I simply cleaned things up, lubed them where they were lubed before and then manually adjusted them. I did a much better job on the wiring job and at the same time coated the fender wells with spray on undercoating. I also pulled the hubs, cleaned and repacked the bearings (mine are already equipped with zerk fittings). The trailer tows and stops a heck of a lot better.

I do appreciate all the good, detailed info from you fella's.

I will hold off on ordering anything until I get the wheels and drums pulled tomorrow, so I can inspect the wiring, brake shoes, drum magnet & brake friction surfaces, and measure the I.D.'s for wear. That way I can order whatever I need in 1 shot.
While I am at it, I plan to rotate the tires, in case the one worn tire is due to scrubbing while turning. The others really don't look worn at all, I may end up buying 1 new tire, and moving that one to the spare wheel, since it is several years newer than the existing spare.

quote:

Originally posted by FootbrakeJim:
I do appreciate all the good, detailed info from you fella's.

I will hold off on ordering anything until I get the wheels and drums pulled tomorrow, so I can inspect the wiring, brake shoes, drum magnet & brake friction surfaces, and measure the I.D.'s for wear. That way I can order whatever I need in 1 shot.
While I am at it, I plan to rotate the tires, in case the one worn tire is due to scrubbing while turning. The others really don't look worn at all, I may end up buying 1 new tire, and moving that one to the spare wheel, since it is several years newer than the existing spare.

I have to ask this: How will you pull all four wheels at the same time? I can safely do two at a time by driving up on ramps to let the other wheel spin freely. Just curious, that's all.

Lower the front of your trailer as low as it goes on the tongue jack.
Put jack stands under the rear of the trailers frame as close to the frame as you can get it back by the door.

Jack the front up until all 4 wheels are off the ground.

That’s how I always do it and pull all 4 wheels.

I put 2 more jack stands up front under the tongue.

The side door probably won’t close if you had it open when you jack it up.

The frame may flex enough to cause that problem.

My trailer has Nev-R-Lube bearing cartridges. Sealed units.

I changed them all once. Saved the old ones as spares.

I’ve done brakes both ways, shoes alone and loaded backing plates.

The loaded option makes more sense.

My tires wear fairly even.

I do rotate them and look them over regularly.

Goodyear Endurance E rated tires and they are looking good after a couple years on there.

Previously had Goodyear Marathons for about 4-5 years and they were in bad shape when I replaced them.

They went from looking ok to looking like how did I make it home without blowing a tire in one 200 mile trip!