Lippert brake assistance, help please!

waltheraustin wrote:
It feels right now it only goes one way but the only thing I know for sure is that they are lippert and I'm guessing self adjusting. I called them earlier and they said to adjust the self adjusters once every 3 months or 3k miles. Pretty sure these haven't ever been adjusted. Power on the P2 is all the way up and I feel them but no where close to locking them up. So I'm looking for an arm and not a tab? The drawing above looks like it's pointing to a spring attached to an arm. Is that right that I'm looking for an arm?

Appreciate it!!!!

Hi,

It sounds like you on the road and rolling for now. But there are some miss-conceptions I think still going on here.

On "self adjusting" brakes, you do not have to adjust them. They do it for you.

Something is miss-understood about your call with Lippert. The "manual" adjusting brakes you have to crawl under and adjust every 2,000 to 3,000 miles. They do not compensate for wear.

This explains why you never found the parts to unlock the adjuster pawl, as there may never have been any if they are manual adjusting brakes.

On manual adjust there is nothing but a spring across the adjuster to keep it from rotating.



The adjuster


The holding spring. As long as the adjuster is not froze up or jammed from being bottomed out, you just flick the adjuster to move it a click or 2 as needed either tight or loose.


If you have under-slung axles, I made this tool to help get in there


Take a piece of 1/4" round rod, pound (swedge) the end flat and bend as needed to get in


See this thread which may help Annual Brake Inspection and Axle Re - Lube (Pic's)

If by chance, you do have self adjusting brakes, they look like the ones of Old Biscuit's photo and they have a few more parts.

Here are mine, these are Dexter but they work the same as the Lippert. Now that Lippert owns Dexter, the Lippert's may even be made by Dexter for Lippert??

Notice the cable which is used to pull the adjusting pawl


The cable attaches to the silver adjusting pawl down by the adjuster


And here is the adjusting pawl that everyone was telling you about since you said you had self adjusting brakes. This silver pawl needs to be pulled back away from the brake drum side (pull towards you when facing the back side of the brake plate) to allow the pawl to unlock from the adjuster so you can manually "UN" adjust if you ever wanted to. To tighten them, you just rotate it, no need to move the locking pawl as it will ratchet over the pawl teeth. To un-adjust, you have to move the locking pawl first then turn the adjuster.


This post may help if you actually have self adjusting brakes. Dexter Self Adjusting Brakes (long W/pics and details)

I am still using those same self adjusting brakes I installed in 2009. I have never yet had to adjust one tighter. They stay right at full ideal settings all the time until the shoe lining is worn out.

If you have an out of round running brake drum by more then 0.015" TIR (total indicator reading) of runout on the brake shoe area, then you will have issues with that brake over adjusting and you have to crawl under and "un" adjust it. Then fix the out of round running brake drum or the issue will come back. Manual adjust brakes do not care if the drum is out of round, they still partly work as the break shoe wears and creates it own running clearance from the out of round drum. But self adjusters, need to have good true running drums.

Have a good trip and when you get back let's talk about what you learned and what you actually have on the camper.

Sorry I was late to the party....

Hope this helps

John