Dexter 9k axles
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More Turbo
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 575
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From: Carthage, Mo
Dexter 9k axles
My tandem dual gooseneck from the mid 90's has Dexter 9k oil bath axles, which I understand are the same or similar as the newer 10k axles. Years ago I completely rebuilt everything, new brakes, seals, bead blasted & painted backing plates etc. I did not replace the magnets. The brakes work but have never been that strong. Should they be able to lock up the tires? Mine will not. This is with various controllers on max setting, including the factory controller in my current truck. I'm just not sure if this is normal or not.
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Joined: Jan 2010
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Adjusted properly yes they should be capable of it WHEN THE BREAKAWAY SWITCH IS PULLED. A properly adjusted brake controller should NOT allow them to lock up, because locked-up wheels are not controlled and can lead to jackknife situations.
So if you want to see if they'll lock up, you'd need to pull the breakaway switch. I...accidentally did this once years ago on a fifth wheel, I wasn't paying attention and the cable got looped around the latch handle on the hitch. Went to turn out of a parking lot, suddenly trailer tires were LOCKED. Quickly plugged it back in and re-routed the breakaway cable so that couldn't happen again.
So if you want to see if they'll lock up, you'd need to pull the breakaway switch. I...accidentally did this once years ago on a fifth wheel, I wasn't paying attention and the cable got looped around the latch handle on the hitch. Went to turn out of a parking lot, suddenly trailer tires were LOCKED. Quickly plugged it back in and re-routed the breakaway cable so that couldn't happen again.
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Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Media PA
Have you tried then when the breakaway cable/pin has been pulled out? That will apply full power to the brakes much easier than hooking up a separate direct wire for testing. The pin can be pulled and reset many times without issue.
FTE Community Team
Joined: Jan 2019
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The brake controller should be able to lock the trailer tires with the manual activation with the gain turned up enough. I set my gain to do this at the high end of the manual range, then feel it out later. I mostly agree that the trailer brakes shouldn't ever lock up normally, but finding the balance between setting the gain just low enough for the trailer brakes to give maximum assistance without locking up is not an exact science. To each their own, but I'm okay with it able to just lock up when I have to stand on the brake pedal for something. In return, I get the most available braking all of the rest of the time. In theory, we're all extending our following distances and looking far ahead in traffic to avoid this type of situation while towing anyways, right?
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