Hot Wheel Issue Solved

[Timbob11]

I recently up graded from a Coleman Santa Fe to a used 2012 Keystone Cougar 29BHS. I am a technical guy and during our first trip made regular checks of the wheels for heat. I noted 2 were warm. one cold and one almost too hot to touch. The heat levels varied but one was always hot and one always cold. I went through a bunch of issues to solve and wanted to post here for others to hopefully help.
Trailer was used and 4yrs old I knew bearings had never been repacked. I got hung up on this fact and was focused on bearings as reason for hot Hub wheel. I knew brakes heat up wheel as expected. therefore I first followed instructions in axle manual. AlKo 3500lb axles. and set up brakes. Electric trailer brakes have to be adjusted manually. they do not self adjust when backing up like car drum brakes. This solved the cold wheel issue. I now had 3 warmish wheels and one very hot. I removed hub from hot wheel and found bearing nut very tight and outer bearing race grooved a bit. Immediately thought right on problem found. Replaced Bearings Races seal and repacked in hot hub. set up all 4 brakes again to make sure equal. Then to my disappointment very hot gain. But noted not always hot some time warm sometime very hot. Luckily my neighbor who is an auto mechanic agreed to help me out. He was not experienced with electric trailer brakes but is a great problem solver. Discovered brake was not fully releasing. Jacked wheel and spun while applying brakes. when released found brake dragging. If spun back and forth brake would release. Disassembled and found no obvious issues. He simply cleaned up points where brakes shoes contact against back plate and applied small amount of grease. Success. Now the previous hot wheel is the coldest of the 4 with the same brake set up. I will now be checking the other 3 and cleaning and greasing backing plate touch points. I have read many forums with hot wheel issues but never came across anything with brake shoe releasing issue. I spent a few weeks figuring this out during different camping trips. Concerned I would was going to be stranded somewhere with a bad wheeling bearing. When brakes disconnected wheels were cold. All the heat appears to be from the brakes. Dont be like me and get hung up on the bearings. check out the proper set up and releasing of the brake shoes first.

[Goo]

For reasonable axle component prices, check out Cerka Trailers in Milton. Knowledgeable staff too. Unfortunately for you, you need to drive across Toronto to get there.

Good luck!
Pete

[Timbob11]

Quick on line parts check.

10" hub is $80 CAN and brake kit is also $80. New hub comes with bearings.

Easy fix I should have done long ago.

[Timbob11]

Thanks again to all for the replies.

I like Turtle N Peeps solution.

I will be replacing the entire brake and hub assembly.


I will try to post a result when I get around to it, But may not be until next season.

Tim

[Timbob11]

No, run out has not been checked. When spinning the tire during set up it did slightly grab and release. More of a scrub than a grab. But all of them did this and I noted if the shoes where gigged around a bit it would not scrub and run smooth. Nothing indicated an obvious out of round issue.

I am considering buying an entire hub and brake kit and just changing out the whole thing. It is an AL-KO 4400lb axle, But from my understanding it is actually a 3500lb hub and axle with a heavier spring.

Maintenance is difficult for me, live in a subdivision and trailer in storage. Have to work on it out front of house on street. Not ideal. I may end up just taking it to a local trailer place and have them go at it. Jensen Trailers in Oshawa, Ontario. They have been good to me so far with parts and info.

[westend]

What is the best way to jack up a wheel so you can spin/remove the tire?

Depends on what you have but placing the jack under the spring shackles is usually a good spot. I have Torxflex axles so jack from underneath the axle mounting bracket.

[Turtle_n_Peeps]

As others have posted, just replace everything from the backing plate out. It's easy, cheap and it will put your problems behind you.

PS: no it's not your tire that is causing this.

[kyle86]

A problem I once saw on a motorcycle was the shoes sticking until the bike rolled backwards. I read somewhere to hit the brakes before tightening everything up. Sure enough it solved the problem. Good luck in your fixing adventure! Thank you for sharing your post!!

I just bought a new trailer and smell burnt brakes pretty bad. I need to do what you are doing. What is the best way to jack up a wheel so you can spin/remove the tire?

[westend]

Another cause could be a worn magnet or drum in the magnet contact area. The magnets tend to get "grooved" with age and the grooves can cause sticking.

The entire brake assembly should be available at less than $40. It is about the easiest repair for time and money involved. You may also wish to check the drum runout to make sure you have a round drum.

I would change the tire immediately. It's paired wheel is not benefiting from having a different sized partner. If your tires are 4+ yrs. old, I would suggest to swap out all four.

It's a bit of expense to get all the running gear right but the good news is that it only needs to be done once.

[hawkeye-08]

You already disconnected wire, perhaps just purchase a new assembly (backing plate and all) complete. That should eliminate the problem, unless it is wheel/tire causing it.

[ddndoug]

Have you considered replacing the brake hardware? The springs may not be doing their job on that tire.

Doug

[Lynnmor]

Did you check the run out of that brake drum? Do you feel a catch and release as you spin the wheel when adjusting the brakes?

[Timbob11]

Hot wheel issue Not Solved!!!!

To my frustration on last trip found wheel hot again. At a Loss. Pulled over mid trip and found brake drum 300F plus. Other 3 where 130 to 150F range. Disconnected wire to brake in question. Back and forth a few times to release brake. Traveled another 10km and even hotter than before. 330F plus! Crawled under and backed off brake adjuster at least 2 full turns. No time or interest to trouble shoot on side of highway. Cold after that!

The hot wheel brakes were adjusted the same as the other 3. I have a couple ideas:

1)That tire is different than other 3. Previous owner had flat and installed a higher weight rated tire. Don't have exact details but I believe it can carry about 800lbs more and can handle 80psi instead of 60psi. I should put spare on and try again. Maybe odd ball tire is having some kind of vibration effect? But I am having a hard time with this reasoning.

2) The brake or hub is defective. Weak spring or shoes and/or drum deform when heated.

Either way, that was the last camp of the year and I have no intension of playing with it anymore. I would like to have all 4 brakes working, but honestly I did not see much of a difference with only 3. Maybe next season I will tackle again or have somebody else do it as I have had enough messing with it.
So obviously the greasing of the backing plate did not fix as noted before.

Tim

[Timbob11]

Thanks for the comments people and added info. Appreciated! When I get time I plan to post about my Weight Distributing Hitch selection and set up. A much longer story!

[pop-sicle]

Most people can't conceive the idea of grease and brakes but that is correct they need to be greased at the backing plate.

Also over time even with greasing they will wear a groove in the backing plate and it will need to be grown down or replaced.