Dexter axel brake up grade

[Shadow_Catcher]

We have a large teardrop trailer,(I know kind of an oxymoron), and the TV is a Subaru Outback 3.6L H6. The tear has 7" brakes on a Dexter axle. Dexter says there is no way to upgrade to 10" brakes.
Plans for next summer will include perhaps a trip to Alaska just post retirement for my wife. and at the very least some serious travel out west and assorted mountain climbing.
Will I have to replace the axle to move up to 10" or is there a way?

[Gdetrailer]

carringb wrote:
Considering the OP has had braking problems and has a Subaru, I suspect he has the CVT transmission. This means the car will limit the maximum downshift to protect CVT temps (traditional autos only limit downshifts to prevent over-revving). So... it may not provide as much engine braking as some other cars.

I definitely recommend finding a solution if you are having problems with them overheating now. There's lots of options for disc-brake conversions, and disc brakes are much better at rejecting heat during long downhill descents.

Understood..

However, even with say a disc brake upgrade there IS a "point of no returns" on how much extra braking can be provided before tire lock up on the trailer becomes a greater problem..

You CAN over improve the trailer braking only so much before you go over the fine line of relying to much on the trailer..

No matter how much you improve the brakes on the trailer you need to also not act like you are driving a sports car.. That means slowing way down, anticipating hill grades well before you get to critical point of no return and realizing that some vehicles just may not be all that good of a choice for towing..

Just sayin..

I towed many years with a car and utility trailer combo without brakes on the trailer (3K GVWR, brakes not required) and never once smoked brakes on the vehicle.. And I had some pretty heavy loads on that trailer.

If the OP is having a difficult time smoking brakes on not only the tow vehicle but the trailer also it means that the OP is going to fast for conditions and or equipment, overloaded or not using ALL the "tools" available properly or perhaps ALL of the above..

[carringb]

Considering the OP has had braking problems and has a Subaru, I suspect he has the CVT transmission. This means the car will limit the maximum downshift to protect CVT temps (traditional autos only limit downshifts to prevent over-revving). So... it may not provide as much engine braking as some other cars.

I definitely recommend finding a solution if you are having problems with them overheating now. There's lots of options for disc-brake conversions, and disc brakes are much better at rejecting heat during long downhill descents.

[Gdetrailer]

Shadow Catcher wrote:
We have a large teardrop trailer,(I know kind of an oxymoron), and the TV is a Subaru Outback 3.6L H6. The tear has 7" brakes on a Dexter axle. Dexter says there is no way to upgrade to 10" brakes.
Plans for next summer will include perhaps a trip to Alaska just post retirement for my wife. and at the very least some serious travel out west and assorted mountain climbing.
Will I have to replace the axle to move up to 10" or is there a way?

If you could get the backing plates to work you would have to change the drums, if you change the drums you would have to change the rims and most likely the tires also.

7" brakes are typically on 2K-2.5K axles

10" brakes typically are 3K-3.5K axles

The components between those two axles are not compatible or interchangeable. Backing plates are different, drums are different axle stub and bearings are different.

Even if you bought 3.5K axles you WILL be buying new rims.. 7" drums are 4 bolt and 10" drums are 5 bolt..

Honestly with that small of a trailer I suspect that you are not doing something right in how you are towing..

When towing you should be taking advantage of engine braking.. In a nutshell you DOWNSHIFT to a lower gear when going down a hill. I assume you do not have Tow/Haul feature and so you MUST manually move the gear shift to the next lower gear.

Additionally you need to anticipate going down hills, watch for the road signs which often give info for how steep and long the downhill grade is.. These are posted in advance on steep grades or long grades to give heavy haulers a chance to get prepared. READ AND HEAD THESE SIGNS, treat it as if you are a heavy hauler and not a sports car!

Before you crest the hill or start down the hill you want to scrub off some speed, just simply lift your foot off the gas and allow the rig to start losing speed..

As you start down you want to downshift to a lower gear, this allows the engine to start holding back and you should continue to lose some speed at that point..

As you are going down the hill you simply can brake a bit if your speed starts rising and if you have to continue with the brakes to hold or slow down further then downshift again to the next lower gear..

You will not "hurt" the engine or transmission now days by downshifting, they are computer controlled and will not allow a downshift that could over rev the engine.

And YES, the engine IS going to scream..

[hohenwald48]

Like others have already said, smoking brakes are a driver problem and not a vehicle problem. Use those gears. Don't over rev the engine and when you do use the brakes, brake like you mean it, bleed off as much speed as you need to in as short a period of time as possible then get off the brakes.

[Ozlander]

1. Learn to drive. Gear down going down steep grades.
2. Do you have room for bigger tires? 10" brakes require at least 12" wheels which means bigger tires.
3. Alaska is pretty flat as is the Alaska Highway. Don't remember any steep grades.

[4X4Dodger]

As I see you are from Ohio my guess is that it's possible you dont do much mountain driving. Your post sounds to me like you just need some help in learning to properly descend a long steep slope.

If your car brakes were smoking you were definitely going to fast. The brakes on the Subaru outback are good and disc on all four wheels if I remember correctly.

If you have an automatic transmission downshift to second gear as you crest the summit, start down the hill. Now you can let it rev up and gain some speed up to lets say 50mph, now touch the brakes lightly several times with a short interval in between (don't pump them)this should slow you down to about 40mph. Continue letting your car and trailer gain speed up to a safe and comfortable level again lets say 50, and keep repeating the process. (this of course would differ based on the road and grade)

Doing this your brakes get a chance to cool down and will stop you with no problem.

DO NOT ride the brake or brake continuously. This is what will smoke your brakes.

If you find second is too slow try third. This depends on your transmission and rear end.

I have driven in the mountains of the west all my life and have never had my brakes overheat no matter what I was driving. I have also taken the trip to Alaska. And that road is like one big roller coaster. But much of the ups and downs are fairly short.

Try the above. I dont think it's the brakes on your trailer that are the problem and changing them isnt going to make you a better mountain driver.

Good Luck and enjoy the trip.

[Lynnmor]

I've had popup and snowmobile trailers with 7" brakes for the past 38 years. I can tell you they have been nothing but useless junk. The biggest problem has been the magnets actually coming off the arm, now I braze the clips in place.

If you can come up with a way to fit 10" brakes it would be well worth the effort.

[Wishin]

I think the biggest concern should be your ability to control speed by downshifting to a lower gear. At the time you had all of your brakes smoking, were you in a lower gear? You may need to be at a fairly high rpm to help control your speed, this is okay. This needs to be your primary method to control speed coming down a mountain grade. You will never be able to upgrade your brakes to the point where they can handle constant use coming down a mountain. This is true if you are towing or not.

[Coolerman]

If you were smoking the brakes, you were either going too fast, needed to use a lower gear, or your teardrop is over 3000 lbs, the limit for you Outback.

Regardless of what was the issue, you might look into upgrading the brakes rotors and pads on the Outback to the Legacy rotors (bigger) See this thread for some more ideas on making your Outback have better brakes.
http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/65-parts-accessories-performance/20124-brake-upgrades.html

[Shadow_Catcher]

We had a problem coming down Tioga pass three years ago. Both the trailer brakes and TV brakes were smoking. One of the reasons I am interested because we are looking at at trip to Alaska and one individual with a teardrop just completed that trip and made the comment that their tear which is a couple of hundred pounds less than ours had one brake fail. They did not have a problem becuae the TV was a pickup.
The axle is a Dexter torsion bar and with the weigh of the trailer you might as well not have any spring at all with a heavier duty axle. If I have to switch I will probably move to a Flexride axle.

[opnspaces]

You would probably have to buy a new heavier duty axle to get the larger brakes. Of course then you might need new springs and such. Do you have a problem with the existing brakes not being strong enough, or do you you just want to change them out for peace of mind?

[SDcampowneroper]

Replace the axle to upgrade brake size.. I did it from Dexter 7000k 12x 2s to 8000k 2 1/4 x 3 3/8 forward self adjusting brakes under our 5er.
Much better braking and tire wear.
I had a use for the old 7 k axles, to build a hydrauilic dump bed trailer. You can find a buyer or use for yours
Look at rednecktrailersupply.com or statetrailer.com