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Decided it's too much of a hassle to try it myself - took one wheel off but couldn't get the drum off.

I have a Kauffman trailer with electric brakes. I'd like to get the brakes inspected. Any suggestions?

Thanks.

Simon

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2011 & 2010 Atlantic Rally Cup 2WD Champion
2010 Rally America Eastern Regional 2WD Champion
2009 Atlantic Rally Cup M2 Champion
2008 New York Rally 2WD Championship 2nd Place
2007 Rally Spec Focus Champion

Simon,

this may or may not be much help- but you should be able to get the drum off yourself pretty easily. Most trailer drums are like old RWD car front wheel hubs- they use inner and outer tapered roller bearings, with a large center nut that holds them all together on the hub.

Here's a quick step-by-step if you want to try it again:

1- jack up trailer, remove wheel/tire.
2- pry off center cap from hub to expose nut.
3- remove cotter pin from hub and then remove nut from axle.
4- pull hub/drum off of axle- be careful not to drop the outer bearing as it will fall out onto the ground- inner bearing should be held into the hub by the grease seal.

Most trailer brakes have an adjuster that you turn with a flat tool through a hole in the back of the backing plate- you turn the wheel and expand the brake shoes until they start to drag- then back off a bit. Other than that, trailer brakes are pretty simple- the main cause of trouble in my experience is the crap wiring done by most of the trailer manufacturers. You might want to get rid of all the blue Scotchlok wire connectors and either solder the wire joints or use quality crimp connectors- this takes care of most of the trailer brake problems I've ever come across.


Bret.