Troubleshooting Trailer Brakes that Drag After They Locked Up with Breakaway System

Published 12/01/2015

Question:

My 5th wheel trailer breakaway switch wires has a short that fried the wires..the brakes released but drag to a point they get hot

asked by: Eric

Helpful Expert Reply:

You are going to need to remove the hubs of your wheels to see if there is anything that got damaged as the brakes shouldn't drag to the point they get hot. They could be just adjusted to tight though. You would need to adjust the assemblies so that they only put a slight drag as you turn the wheel by hand. Check out the video I attached that shows how to adjust them. Beginning at the 4:23 mark, our installer shows how to adjust your trailer brakes.

There is a strong possibility that you damaged the brake assemblies and drums though.

In order to pick out the correct hub assembly for a trailer you are going to need know a few key pieces of information. The first thing you will need to know is the bolt pattern of your hubs. This is so you get a hub that is compatible with your wheels. I attached an FAQ article on determining bolt pattern for you to check out.

Next thing you will need to know is what spindle you have on your trailer. In order to do that you can either get the inner and outer bearing numbers from a hub or use a dial or digital caliper to get exact measurements of the spindle. The measurements needed are the parts of the spindle where the bearings ride.

If you get back to me with that information I will help you pick out the right hub assemblies. Or, you can follow the link I attached that will take you to the page that has all of our replacement hubs.

You would want to first select the bolt pattern that you have, next select the inner bearing you have, followed by selecting your outer bearing, and then all the correct hubs will be listed.

Once you are on the product page for a hub that will fit your trailer there will be replacement brake assemblies that will fit the hubs listed in the related products.

Be sure to clean up the wiring of the trailer before you do anymore towing.