Check your Brakes!

[VCToyhauler]

I was in having some minor upgrades done and thought to have the brakes checked while it was in. Even though our unit is only about 18 month old, and done 7-8 trips, maybe 5k miles, i wanted to make sure they were balanced etc so that no one or two of the 6 brakes would be taking the brunt of the load. Turns out i was not being as proactive as i thought.. All 6 were worn and needed replacing, some even showing some overheating, and all the hub bearings needed regreasing as well. Like they say, "your mileage may vary", but posting this one here under Toy Haulers to hopefully get some feedback from others in the 20k lb class as far as how often they have found the $1300 brake job necessary, and to let everyone in the class know not to assume they'll get even 2 years before needing new brakes.

[lcv800]

Grease and adjust every year, about 9,000 miles.
Rusty

[thompwil]

Took our 3305 in for state inspection a couple weeks ago. Has about 12K miles on it. All four wheels had no brakes left. Brake performance was still fine, just nearly no linings left. I realize this is a heavy rig with only two axles, but that is a bit ridiculous for brake life. I adjusted them according to the instructions LCI provides in their video, worked great, no drag, and no heat. Always use the exhaust brake too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ih1pLKHELIs&t=189s

Thankfully the parts were only $50.00/wheel and my local dealer only charged me one hour labor since it was already jacked up for inspection. I’m starting to seriously consider installing disks if this is all you get from a set of brakes.

[azdryheat]

I did my first brake and bearing re-pack when the trailer was two years old, last July, and had been across the USA a few times, probably 20,000 miles.

I learned that my trailer brake linings don't have much pad material on them even when new. I did my brakes a few months ago and found one brake that has never worked, due to an electrical issue, as it was still clean. The brake pads of the other brakes had just as much pad as the new pad, which wasn't very much. Our trucks have thick pads, our trailers do not. I did not replace any of my pads. I hope your mechanic didn't look at your thin looking pads and think they needed to be replaced when they didn't need to be. I hope you looked at the new and old pads to make a comparison. One big item is keep up on your brake adjustment as they are not self-adjusting, like every other drum brake in the free world. $109k MSRP for my 'luxury' trailer and Dutchmen won't install self-adjusting brakes? Ridiculous.

I also cleaned and re-packed the bearings. After two years of use, and no additional grease from me, they still had lots of grease. They were also adjusted properly from the factory. I doubt I will re-do my bearings every year as I'm not submerging them in water like my boat trailer.

You paid some major bucks for bakes and bearings with only 5,000 miles on them so I hope you were looking over your mechanic's shoulder to make sure he was doing the right thing and not doing work that wasn't needed.

[dougs2]

Pulled my hubs to clean and repack bearings and found the seals had let grease into 3 of the 4 brakes. I had never pumped the hubs full of grease so I'm thinking the seals were bad from day one. The bearings all were ok so I repacked and installed new hopefully better quality seals purchased from local Car Quest parts store. They advised me to just clean the brakes up instead of replacing them because they had a lot of lining left probably because the coating of grease wasn't letting them work much. Will check them again after returning in the spring from the next trip.

[ATCguy]

If I ever get the use of my right arm back, redoing my brakes & bearings is a job I plan to tackle this winter. My question for those of you who have done it yourselves... how did you know what size brake pads you needed (part number & brand), and where did you get them? I'd like to actually ha d the new ones in hand before I begin the job.

[thompwil]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

If I ever get the use of my right arm back, redoing my brakes & bearings is a job I plan to tackle this winter. My question for those of you who have done it yourselves... how did you know what size brake pads you needed (part number & brand), and where did you get them? I'd like to actually ha d the new ones in hand before I begin the job.

They replaced the entire back plate loaded with everything. New shoes, magnets, etc. Quick and easy. I believe mine are 12". I did see LCI sells self adjusting backplates too. My shoes were just on the verge of metal to metal, thankfully I didn't have to buy drums.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

If I ever get the use of my right arm back, redoing my brakes & bearings is a job I plan to tackle this winter. My question for those of you who have done it yourselves... how did you know what size brake pads you needed (part number & brand), and where did you get them? I'd like to actually ha d the new ones in hand before I begin the job.

Check on the etrailer.com website for fully loaded back plates, cheapest way to go. IIRC all trailer brakes are pretty much the same you just have to make sure you get the correct diameter.

Aaron

[ATCguy]

Ok, sounds good. I just didn't figure the local auto parts store was gonna have a listing for a Dutchmen Voltage 3200 in parts books. 🤔

[Thom]

Originally Posted by ATCguy

Ok, sounds good. I just didn't figure the local auto parts store was gonna have a listing for a Dutchmen Voltage 3200 in parts books. 🤔

Dutchmen doesn't even have a parts listing..... just ask them.

[gwcamp]

I have a 2012 3750 FL Infinity pulled the wheels off, pads worn down to the cores went to the locale parts house got new brake assemblys and 2 new bearing race kits and packed bearings with a new type of grease its synthetic supposed to be the best on the market.I looked on the NET and found 5 and 7000 lbs axles use the same brake shoe assembly.They (brakes) cost me 58.00 a piece.

[azdryheat]

The brake shoes are 12 x 2.