Which direction do you spin the trailer brake adjuster?

[wopachop]

Going to try and talk my friend into letting me adjust the trailer brakes. Ideally i would inspect and grease the bearings but there is noway thats gonna happen before they go on a trip. I was the last one to tow the trailer and the brakes seemed weak. Full manual control wasnt doing much. I have a clamp meter and have read i want to see about 3a to each wheel. Which i will check later. Im pretty sure due to age the brakes need adjustment regardless.

If im allowed, im just gonna jack each tire up and spin the adjustment until i hear scrapes, then back it off. Is that correct?

Im worried the first wheel i do i might spin the wrong direction. Causing the brakes to be so loose that a component falls off. (no idea if thats possible or not) I would just pull the drum off but thats potential for the whole "why you messing with my stuff".

Been watching videos but havnt come across one that shows the direction that tightens up the slack.

If doing the driver side tires do i spin the little sucker upwards or downwards? Is the passenger side opposite?

Thanks for any advice. I know we should grease bearings but this conversation comes up with all types of things. She thinks "if it aint broke dont touch it". While ive always been a fan of regular preventative maintenance.

[drsteve]

ScottG wrote:
If you have a newer rig and are adjusting it the first time, make sure both adjusters on the same side turn the same way.
My trailer had the wrong adjuster on one wheel. It's an auto adj system so everytime I hit the brakes, it loosened them!
That happened right up until it totally came apart inside the drum and made all kinds of noise I could here as I parked. Adjuster was destroyed.

Another note on the auto adjusters... they need to be close to begin with or they don't do much. My Coachmen has them, and the brakes were very weak when new, and they didn't seem to be getting better, until I manually set the adjustment. Now they take care of themselves like they're supposed to.

[noteven]

Suggest letting the trailer owner know the brakes work now to avoid flat spotting a set of tires.

[wopachop]

Thanks everyone knocked it out pretty quick. Didnt even get caught!!

I did error a bit on the side of backing them back off more than i should. Did maybe 7 clicks back after it was too tight to turn by hand. They were all super loose i must have done 30 clicks to get the wheels to stop. Sure hope there is still a little bit of brake pads left. Will have to talk her into to pulling the drums at some point. Or at least pull of 1 drum and check for brake pad thickness.

[opnspaces]

Always spin the wheel the direction of going forward. Yes down on the handle spins the star wheel up and expands (tightens) the shoes against the drum. Get them tight so it you can't turn the wheel by hand and then back off 3-5 teeth. If the tire won't spin then back ff some more until it does spin with a scraping noise.

[ScottG]

bpounds wrote:
This was kind of touched on above, but so it doesn't get missed I'll repeat it. I like to tighten the shoes hard into the drum first. Then back off until I can spin the wheel with slight drag. What that does is force the shoes into concentricity with the drum. If you don't do that, and only snug up until you feel/hear drag, chances are only 1 shoe is doing the dragging.

This is the way the instrictions I've read say to do it.

[bpounds]

This was kind of touched on above, but so it doesn't get missed I'll repeat it. I like to tighten the shoes hard into the drum first. Then back off until I can spin the wheel with slight drag. What that does is force the shoes into concentricity with the drum. If you don't do that, and only snug up until you feel/hear drag, chances are only 1 shoe is doing the dragging.

[ScottG]

If you have a newer rig and are adjusting it the first time, make sure both adjusters on the same side turn the same way.
My trailer had the wrong adjuster on one wheel. It's an auto adj system so everytime I hit the brakes, it loosened them!
That happened right up until it totally came apart inside the drum and made all kinds of noise I could here as I parked. Adjuster was destroyed.

[wopachop]

Rock on yeah just watched the video. Upward on the teeth expanded for that particular brake model. I didnt realize you could see the threads so easily.

Now the real hard part is asking to do it!! I might just wake up early and do it while everyone is sleeping.

[whiteeye42]

Turning the wheel so that the teeth on the wheel move upward will expand the brake shoes against the inside of the brake drums. Moving the teeth downward will contract the brake shoes. these instruction came from ETrailer.com Also raise each tire off the ground so you can spin it while adjusting take it until it stops and then back it off until it just spins with slight drag

[wopachop]

Sweetness!! Down and out will remember that always.

Thanks for the video will give it a look.

[wnjj]

Here's a decent YouTube video (not mine): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waNWLWy7sDY

[time2roll]

Just remember "Down and Out" When you move the lever down the shoes move out.
The different sides have reverse threads so it works same on each.

[wopachop]

Thanks so much!

[Lynnmor]

Don't make it so difficult, just turn till it drags and If that doesn't work, turn it the other way. With a flashlight you can see the threads if want to see which direction will make the adjuster expand.

See Page 13 for the procedure. No, listening for noise is not the correct way to adjust.