Today we are going to show you how to install brakes on a trailer that does not have existing brakes. It is actually pretty easy to do it is just very time consuming. There are a few things you want to look out for before you start. One of those things is look being the existing hub you have. Make sure you have a flange like this on the axle. It is this 4 bolt flange on here if you have that on your axle your pretty much home free. You will see it on 3,500 pound axles like we have here. You also see it on 2,000 pound axles. On a 3,500 pound one you would probably use a 10 inch drum and on a lighter 2000 pounds, you would use a 7 inch size. Also you notice we have the hub missing. We have to take that off because the hub and drum assembly it is all in one piece. You have to take off the old hub get rid of it and start off fresh.... more
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Posted: Thu, 8 May 2008
When one wheel does not seem to be stopping as quick as the others it may be because the brake magnet needs to be replaced. We put together a short video to help you recognize this problem and to show you how easy it is to fix it. Keep your trailer safe for yourself and others on the road by checking and replacing parts like the brake magnet when needed.... more
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Posted: Thu, 17 Apr 2008
We get many many questions on how to make sure trailer hubs and brakes are safe for travel. Here Joe addresses some of those questions demonstrating how to thoroughly inspect the hubs, breaks and bearings. I know many of us take the performance of these assemblies for granted but if you are planning a long trip or just make short trips around town you should be aware of their condition. I like to say it is time well spent when it avoids break downs on the side of the highway.... more
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Posted: Thu, 17 Apr 2008
Do not put off checking and repacking your bearings as it will save you a lot of trouble down the road. It may be messy but is well worth it, time well spent. Joe spells it out for you step by step making it all very easy.... more
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Posted: Fri, 11 Apr 2008
Today we're going to show you how to install a typical leaf spring onto a trailer. What we have here is a typical 4 leaf spring on a 3500 pound axle. The first step involved is loosening this bolt here and this bolt here on the bottom and this top one we don't have to worry about for now. The next thing we have to do is loosen these U-bolts here. The nuts are on the bottom, so we loosen these out so we can get our axle away from the spring. What we're going to do first is take off this bolt and then we'll come around and do this one. We're going to let this spring down and our axle is going to hang down a little bit. What we did was keep the axle tight on the other side so it will come down some but it will take off most of the weight so that way we can do one at a time. ... more
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Posted: Fri, 22 Feb 2008
Today we're going to be replacing the wiring on this trailer. We'll be replacing a 4 pole flat, as you can tell this one is pretty beat up and worn, so it has to be replaced. We're going to cut this wire off and we're going to replace this brown wire also. We're going to cut this loose and pull the rest of our wire through, on this trailer here it's pretty open so we can reach the wiring. Just in case though, if your wiring was run in conduit and you're replacing it, don't pull all of this out yet. We'll actually tie on the new wires and use these wires to pull them through. We're going to cut off all of this old wire here, and we're going to take off this old light too. I would like to point something out on this 4 pole flat, you'll notice there's actually 5 wires coming out of it. What's happening is on the inside of this pin, which is for the running lights, has two wires coming out. ... more
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Posted: Fri, 22 Feb 2008
This seal has to come out. Every time you pack the bearings you have to destroy a seal and put a new one in, it's just the way works. There are actually two different ways of doing it, I know that there is a special tool for it, I don't have it, most people don't. What I like to do is take a punch and push this in a little bit, or actually make a hole in it, so it pulls the seal away from the edge where you can stick a screwdriver in there, tap it in a few times and pop it out. It is a little bit less stressful on the bearing. The other way of doing it, if you don't have that, is to take a wooden stake or something like the handle of this and go in though there and beat it out that way. It puts a lot of wear and tear on the bearing, but it's another way of doing it. I don't know if you can see there or not how I punched it in and it brought the seal away from the edge. And that is where we will try to work in our screwdriver. There we go.... more
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Posted: Fri, 18 Jan 2008
We will go ahead and get the bearing out and wipe it down real fast. Makes it a little bit easier to see, rotate the bearing cage, look for anything that bounces up and down too much. This is almost a continuous line so I think the cage is pretty good on this one. So we will just keep cleaning it up until it spins freely. I'm looking for little nicks or stuff like that. Sometimes you can see a little bit of wear, it is like a dark band here, light band here, dark band here. For the most part that is kind of acceptable, it is not perfect, but in this case I think it will be fine. If it's really dark you definitely want to change it out because that part of the bearing, this actual roller got overheated, but this one looks pretty darn good. We will pack this side and then flip it over and then pack the other side.... more
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Posted: Thu, 17 Jan 2008
What we are going to do is take off this hub and repack the bearings in this axle. First off, we will take off the hub, then take off the nut on the inside, and we will pop the whole hub off and take it to the workbench and clean it up from there. You can see there is a lot of rust in there, there is a lot of condensation. Basically water got in there through either condensation or a seal leak. We definitely need to take it apart and clean it up. This has what's called a tang washer. Instead of a regular cotter pin that goes up and down, it has a little piece of metal that goes between the notches here and you have to push this back, flat, so you can take off the nut. And the whole thing just slides off. Sometimes if it gets caught on the hub here you can beat it to get it to come loose. You can see where you got a little bit of rust and possibly two different types of grease in there.... more
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Posted: Thu, 17 Jan 2008
First off, we will take off the hub, then take off the nut on the inside, and we will pop the whole hub off and take it to the workbench and clean it up from there. You can see there is a lot of rust in there, there is a lot of condensation. Basically water got in there through either condensation or a seal leak. We definitely need to take it apart and clean it up. This has what's called a tang washer. Instead of a regular cotter pin that goes up and down, it has a little piece of metal that goes between the notches here and you have to push this back, flat, so you can take off the nut. And the whole thing just slides off. Sometimes if it gets caught on the hub here you can beat it to get it to come loose. We will go ahead and clean this spindle off here, and then we will put our hub back on. Give it a test fit first to make sure it all slides on pretty good and then go ahead and take it back off. What is good is to take a thin layer, it doesn't have to be much just a little bit, to kind of help the parts slide on a little bit more than they used to.... more
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Posted: Fri, 18 Jan 2008
What the heck! There are no connectors on my new trailer lights, these must be defective. But wait, there are connectors, and better yet, they are extremely simple to use. It is common to get new trailer lights and then be stumped by how to make the proper connections. This video will show you how the connection points are built right into the back of the lights and just how easy it is to match them up with your wires to make a solid connection.
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Posted: Fri, 7 Dec 2007
I know, nobody wants to do it. But sometimes your trailer hubs need to be serviced or you are going to head out with a big load on your trailer and end up with a big problem on your hands. You could take your trailer to a local shop and have them do the service for you, or you can get the parts you need from etrailer.com and use this information, along with our step by step videos to service the hubs and bearings yourself. Why spend the huge hourly rate for a mechanic if we can help you do it yourself and keep a bit of extra change in your pocket. This article will walk you through all the steps needed to service your trailer hub and really, it is not very difficult, once you are armed with the knowledge of how to do it.
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Posted: Thu, 6 Dec 2007
Servicing your trailer brakes is not something that most people will do every day, so it can be intimidating. Luckily, here at etrailer.com, it is what we do. This video will show you just how easy it is to replace your brake shoes, so that you can continue to tow safely.
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Posted: Fri, 30 Nov 2007
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I got my order and everything was great. Thanks
Eddie
Eddie, Matoaca, VA |
Questions and AnswersBrakes
Trailer Brakes and Wiring InstallationTrailer Hub Brake Magnet ReplacementHow to Remove and Install Electric Trailer Brake ShoesHubs and Bearings
Trailer Hub InspectionPacking Trailer BearingsHow to Service Trailer Hub BearingsRepack Bearings and Hubs on a TrailerRemove and Reinstall a Trailer HubRemove, Inspect, and Install Trailer BearingsInspect and Repack Trailer BearingsLights and Wiring
Trailer Wiring and Light Replacement DemonstrationHow to Connect Trailer LightsSuspension
Trailer Leaf Spring Replacement
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