ARGH.

I have a 2015 Rockwood (made by Forest River) Windjammer travel trailer. I've put about 10,000 miles on it and hadn't looked at the brakes since I bought it new so I figured it was time for an inspection. I pulled one side apart and found I needed new brakes. I ordered what I thought were the correct parts from e-trailer last week.

One thing that seemed odd when I ordered the drums were that the largest capacity ones they had in a 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern were 3500 lbs and according to the axle sticker, it's a 4000# axle. So I guess that should have been my first clue that things weren't quite right.

I got the parts in, and here's what it looks like installed:



You can see there's about a 1/4" of the shoe hanging out of the back of the drum. I'm certain the drum is seated ALL the way on the spindle.

The difference is pretty clear when looking at the two drums side by side:



Now here's where it gets interesting. I called etrailer and asked what's the crack. They said they don't stock the parts I need. They gave me a Dexter part number of 008-426-91 and said to go to 6 Robblees (which is another trailer supply company - never heard of them). I called them and they said they have to special order these drums from Dexter. They cost $111 EACH. PLUS SHIPPING OMFG THEY'RE JUST DRUMS!!!

Has anyone seen anything like this before? The axle number is 3722505. It's a Dexter 4000 lb ez-lube torsion axle. The bearing numbers are L68149 and L44649. 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern.

 

4000lb axles aren't a common item, so maybe that's why they are so expensive?
I just installed new brakes on my 3500 lbs dexter axle and it seemed like everywhere stocked them, including the little camper store near me. Bought local because I needed them right away, but wasn't much more expensive than online.

So in summary, good luck??!!

 

I've never even heard of a 4,000lb axle. Standard ratings are 3500 and then they jump to 5,000.

Idk what to tell you. If you found what you need, and they're expensive, then that's just what it is. Sorry bud. Time to bust out your checkbook.

Although 10,000miles seems awful early for them to be out of life. Are they dragging???

 

Would just having the original drums turned be an option? They should have enough meat on them for at least one or two cuttings before hitting their minimum thickness.

 

I'm not sure if there is a combination of backing plates and drums that would fit your spindles, but it is something to look into. my guess is that the 3500 lbs brakes are going to be too short no matter what you do.

it might be possible to upgrade to the 6-bolt drums and backing plates, but then you have to get new wheels.

do you really need new drums? are they deeply scored? or were you just swinging the biggest bat you could find?

when I did the brakes on our horse trailer I took the drums off and took them to a shop to get turned because they were heavily rusted from years of not working.

if this were my trailer, and the drums were smooth, I'd throw on new shoes and be done. if the drums weren't smooth, I'd take them in and get them turned. I'm not replacing drums unless there is no other options.

then in then next 10,000 miles I'd be saving enough money to switch out the axles to something standard for which parts are readily available.

 

Kinda' strange that eTrailer stocks the proper shoes, and not the drums.

Why all-new drums, too? Going with new bearings, as well?

Pop

 

Well maybe this stems from my ignorance of trailer brakes. These are the first trailer brakes I've ever touched, though I have done dozens and dozens of hydraulic drum brakes on cars and trucks. As you probably know, there are two friction surfaces on the drum - one for the shoes, and one for the magnet. I had to back the shoes off to get the drum off, so my first thought was that the drums were already past their maximum diameter. The friction surface for the magnet is pretty uneven, but I guess I was making an assumption that it mattered.

So I guess I have a couple options:

- spend $500 on new drums
- have my current drums mic'd and machined
- throw them back on there as they are

Does the magnet surface in the drum need to be machined? Am I going to compromise braking performance if it doesn't sit flat on the magnet?

If not then I'm just doing #3. I already had to cancel one camping trip due to this.

These are definitely 4000 lb axles. Here are the brake part numbers for the axle (page 7): https://www.dexteraxle.com/docs/defa...4.pdf?sfvrsn=0

The shoes had less than 25% left on them and the bearing grease seems really loose and broken down. No I don't think they're dragging. Usually there are hot spots if shoes drag. I went to Napa and bought all new Timken bearings to replace the import brand that were in it.

 

getting a lip at the edge is normal on any drum brake. I wouldn't let that bother me.

I didn't do anything to the magnet surface on my old drums. I looked at them and they passed the sniff test, so I just had the shoe surface turned and reinstalled them. It would take a guy who really knows his brake lathe to machine the magnet surface. there is ONE guy in town here I would trust to do it, if he thought he could, but an o'reily's or the like - not a chance. even if it could be done, I doubt they would know how. Other than that I would be a machine shop if they really needed something done with them.

post some pics of the inside. that might help us help you decide whether they need anything.

 

Here are a few (huge) pics. They look good to me, but I don't know about the armature surface (where the magnet rides). That's the edge of a license plate in the last pic for reference if that helps at all.

 

I'm super close to just saying eff it and putting back together with the new brake assemblies and bearings and just re-using the old drums.

The place that I thought I could get them from for $111 can't get them. The only price I have now is $209 each.

 

Gotta think your magnets are worn the same way.

I'd just use them, but that's me.

 

I had an RV shop order a brake drum to see if it would fit. It didn't - same issue as the ones I bought from etrailer. Then I drove to their wholesale supplier with the drum and he said he rarely sees a drum like mine. He thought he may have ordered a set a few years ago, but he wasn't sure. He looked them up said he can get them straight from Dexter with a 2 week lead time for the same price I've been quoted elsewhere.

He also looked at the drum I brought him and said that he would either replace it or have it machined because if the magnet doesn't sit flat against the armature surface of the drum it can chatter. He ran his finger over the ridges in it and said, "Yeah that's too much."

So tomorrow's project is to find a machine shop that will turn these rotors.

This has been an *enormous* pain in the *** so far. I never would have known to ask, "Hey how hard are brake parts to find for this thing?" when I bought it.

 

Any machine shop worth their salt should be able to whip those out for you at no time

 

We have a couple of really good machine shops in Sacramento. I will be making more phone calls tomorrow.

 

If you are going to machine the drum consider replacing the magnets. The magnets and drums will have worn together.

Departing from the common train of thought a bit, if flat magnets will chatter on a drum like yours, then magnets like yours will chatter on flat drums.

I'd either put them back together so they are a matched pair again, or replace the magnets so they don't wear into the drum and create the same problem all over again.

My thoughts.