Wheel Hub / Brake Issue

bayernfan

Just picked up the trailer from storage and drove it home.  Noticed a loud squeaking sound when driving slowly through the neighborhood.  Did a walk around, didn't see anything out of the ordinary.  Checked the temp of the driver side brake drum (170F), passenger side brake drum (110F).  Wheel on driver side also noticeably warmer.

Any ideas what I'm dealing with here?

Grumpy_G

Dragging brake or failed wheel bearing. Given the trailer is a 2024 I'd think the brake(s) is/are dragging. Did you accidentally pull the breakaway switch pin ? 

bayernfan

Thanks for the reply.  After some thinking and investigation I realized I had the brake controller set too strong.  I lowered the max brake setting, went for a 10 mile drive, and both brake assemblies and wheels measured at the same temp.

manyman297

I had a similar issue where one drum was much hotter than the other. After playing around with the side that was hot (thinking it was the culprit) I realized it was actually the other wheel that was the issue. The linings aren’t exactly round so the surface area they wrested braking on was much less. The solution was to play with the brake drum adjustment on that side until I got a fairly equal temp on both sides (took the fair part of an afternoon to adjust and test drive around the city).

Even if your brake controller is set too high you shouldn’t have that much temp fluctuation between each wheel. I would adjust both wheels until you’re within 10-20 degrees of each other. What set me off to there being an issue was I could smell burning brakes.