Do Nev-R-Adjust Brakes Need any Manual Adjustment

Question:

Hi, Just finished the installation of self adjusting brake assemblies that I purchased from etrailer.com. Took the trailer out for a test drive to verify operation. I immediately noticed the new trailer brakes were not nearly as strong as the old ones I removed. I had to turn my brake controller all the way up to get any appreciable braking. My trailer has dual axles. After parking, I noticed two hubs were significantly hotter than the other two. I jacked up the trailer and checked the brakes on each wheel. None of the brakes were dragging. However, the two hot hubs had very good braking force when the brakes were applied, The two cooler hubs had much less braking force I was able to spin the wheels with the brakes applied. I suppose the hot brakes are working very hard and getting hot, the cool brakes are not pulling their weight. I know you say these brakes do not require adjustment, but it seems in my case they do. How do I get the cooler brakes to start working a bit harder? Thanks,

asked by: Daniel R

Expert Reply:

The # AKEBRK-35L-SA Self Adjusting brake assemblies will adjust themselves as you drive after the initial installation. The front brakes will always bear a bit more of the braking work, because more of the trailer weight is normally on the most forward axle, but it should not be noticeable. We recommend that you do adjust the shoes when you first install the assemblies, so that your brakes are working as well as they can upon the first use. This would be especially helpful in allowing your brake controller to engage the trailer brakes as intended.

The adjuster is below the magnet. You should adjust the brakes so that you cannot turn the hub easily by hand and then back them off about 10 clicks or so until the brakes drag just slightly on the brake drum. Do this on all four axles and your brakes should them work evenly and should stop properly.

If you let the brakes alone they will eventually adjust themselves so that all of the brake assemblies are operating the same. The self adjusting just brakes adjust themselves each time you apply the brakes and keep the brakes adjusted for maximum braking performance.

If you have some of the brake assemblies on the wrong side, it could also produce the problem you are having. Both lefts should be on the driver side, both rights should be on the passenger side. There is a sticker attached to the inside of the assemblies which denotes which ones are left and right.

We have a video that shows how to adjust the brakes, see link. At the 4 minute and 30 second mark you will see the adjustment procedure.

expert reply by: Patrick B