Should Trailer Axle Hub/Rotor Brake Assemblies Wear Out On One Wheel
Updated 07/17/2023 | Published 07/15/2023
Question:
I am working on a trailer that has this set up already on it. 2 months ago it had all 4 new caliper and pad sets put on it and it came in 4 days ago with one set of pads completely gone and the plate that holds everything down in place - one on each end of the caliper with a single bolt holding it down. The bolt broke and the plate is gone. In my own opinion, this is a completely lousy set up and the owner is completely irritated about spending all the money on new parts to have it fall apart this quickly. I have started the process of changing one wheel over to the dexter design with the actual slide pins and caliper style - dexter 090-000-02 with A089-002-02 caliper. I also have the rotor 070-006-01 as the original ALKO rotor is 11.25 inches and the dexter I ordered is 11 inches, the 11.25 hits the anchor and locks the hub in place. Now here is the issue, the caliper and pads will not fit in place. I am looking at a Dexter 8-214-10 hub. It uses the same bearings as this ALKO does, but is there any way to know if this will correct the problem I have with this? It appears that the mating surface of the rotor to the hub is about a quarter inch too short on this hub the trailer came with, but I have not found anything anywhere that gives me any kind of dimensional specifications to either part. I have over $1000 invested in attempting to switch this janky brake system over to a slide pin design that wont fall apart like this one has several times now. The AlKO version with this kodiak caliper and brake system should have been recalled and banned from use as it looks like an accident risk if the thin steel plate and one single bolt design holds the whole assembly together.
asked by: Brian P
Expert Reply:
Without more info it's hard to say exactly why the old setup had a single set of pads get worn through so quickly. Did the wheel spin freely by hand or was there any drag on it? I would admit one month to have all of that worn out is way to quick and evidence something was wrong. I would assume it was a hardware issue so going to a different setup would most likely eliminate the problem. If you are going to replace one of the wheels' brake setups I would have to recommend that you do all of them so that you get the same brake performance from every wheel.
If you can't get the caliper and rotor to line up that's most likely due to not using the correct caliper mounting bracket. In general the hub face dimension between hubs that fit the same spindle is all the exact same. I would not anticipate being able to get the clearance you need from just swapping idler hubs.
