Why Would Trailer Brakes Get Warmer on One Side When Brake Controller is Used
Question:
We have a new Santa fe with reliance brake controller installed by the dealer.I set the controller at 35. When we got to the park about 10 miles away I noticed the passenger side wheel on trailer was hot.On the way home I set the controller at 20 .Wheel was cool but not sure if I had good braking power.I should mention this wa on our old trailer .Yesterday we picked up a new trailer.The shop guy told me to set the controller at 65. 10 miles up the road I thought maybe I should check the wheels .The passenger side was really hot so I Iturned turned the controller down to 2. 20 miles up the road I checked again and everything was as cool so I turned the controller up to 35.I checked again 20 miles further and the passenger side was getting warm again.Turned the controller down to 20 again and drove the rest of the way home. Is 20 high enough for good braking and why in the world would only 1 side get hot?
asked by: John K
Expert Reply:
You might have one brake that's adjusted tighter than the other. That's really the only thing I can think of that would cause one hub to get hotter than the others when brakes are applied. You want your brake controller to be set so that it will stop the trailer safely. The temperature of the wheels does not normally factor into the adjustments.
You want the brakes to almost lock up if you slide the manual override lever.
To see how to manually adjust trailer brake assemblies check out the video I attached, fast-forward to the 4:35 mark of the video. Basically you will adjust the brakes out so that there is a slight but constant drag of the pads on the drum when the wheel is turned. I recommend using brake adjustment tool # W80630.
Products Referenced in This Question
Brake Adjustment Spoon for Drum Brakes
- Accessories and Parts
- Trailer Brakes
- Hydraulic Drum Brakes
- Adjuster
- Brake Adjuster Tool
- Performance Tool
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on Trailer Brake Controller
