Brakes overheating. — Surge Brakes

TomH

i took a long trip this summer, and at one point had overheated my brakes by leaving the parking brake on. After cooling down they were fine, but I decided to replace them regardless. These are mechanical surge brakes. I bought new shoes and bearings and replaced them. The shoes are different from front to back but the fit seems obvious to me. Using a procedure for this specific t@b I made sure the expander lever and Bowden cable eyes are in the correct aspect. I greased up the linkage and reverse piston per the procedure. The drums go on and turn easily. I loosened the linkage and adjusted per the procedure. During the test drives the drums get hot. I have double checked the set up, and tried backing off the brake tension to reduce the load but no change. The only part not changed out (besides the drums themselves) are the tension springs on the reverse lever. One needs replacement but the other one still has tension, regardless both brake drums feel hot to the touch after short drives on level ground. At this point I am reusing the original axel nuts, not wanting to use the new ones until I have resolved this issue. I have run out of ideas on what the issue is, unless it's the tension springs on the reverse lever.... but that doesn't seem likely.
Anyone with an ideal where I am going wrong?

Verna

http://tab-rv.vanillaforums.com/discussion/5839/dutchmen-t-b-trailer-brake-information#latest

Teo PDF’s in the User Manuals/PDF Files....  Category. I do not know if your answers are here. 

ericnliz

@TomH, If the brake shoes are like the rear drum brakes on most older cars, trucks & trailers, the long brake shoe goes in the front, short one in the back. One other thought as to the heat build-up in the brake shoes..are you sure the parking brake is releasing all the way? Also your thought on the tension spring is a valid one, might be keeping pressure on the shoes even though the adjustment is back off. You might try to engage the parking brake a LITTLE with the drum off to see what is happening as far as contact & release as well. Just a thought, as if it isn't releasing pressure, the drums will get hot.

TomH

Thanks for the help. This is driving me crazy!... shoes are actually the same size, but one has a longer tang to fit into the adjuster groove and there are indicators stamped on the shoes showing where the groove fits. I released the tension on the parking brake connecting rod completely when I was adjusting the Bowden cable play at the axel. I then tried to adjust the brake tension on both ends to be equal and reattached the rod. The rod is supposed to be tensioned by a mm or so and the cables by 5 mm. With the brake off and the tongue extended the Bowden cables show a lot of play at the brake rear plate, so I think these are okay. 
Ill give your parking brake procedure a try......

rfuss928

I highly recommend following the step by step process outlined in the Alko adjustment procedure in the file Mike referenced above.
The first steps are where you make sure the internal adjuster is set correctly so there is minimum play but no drag.
 I check the brake adjustments on mine each Spring (about every 10k miles).  They continue to perform very well with no other attention. This chassis and elegantly simple brake system was part of the attraction of the T@B for me.
BTW - If you buy the Alko brake rebuild kit from NuCamp, it comes with every part inside the hub,  Brake shoes, springs, adjusters, actuators, caps..... everything!

irvingj

Yes, those Al-Ko brakes are the same as used "on older cars." Our 2004 T@B had this set-up, and I agree with rfuss-- they're elegantly simple and in my experience worked very well.

I adjusted mine with the Bowden cable & all parking brake connections made, but parking brake released. If brake shoes are adjusted correctly, you should be able to spin the wheel/tire and JUST hear a bit of scuffing -- but you should be able to spin it easily. Then set parking brake and try to spin again: it shouldn't move at all. Release brake, then check once more for "free" spin, with just a bit of scuffing. You may have to repeat this procedure a few times.

In my experience, some scuffing is good (perhaps hearing it once or twice as the wheel is turned through 360 degrees) -- that shows that the shoes are very near the inner surface of the drums, but not dragging all the time.

Keep in mind, too, that new shoes are thicker, may initially scuff more, and will certainly "wear in" over the first few hundred miles and require re-adjusting. Also, applying the parking brake and re-checking as above allows for the shoes to shift a bit against the backing plates and slide into their proper positions.

PS-- I see where Michigan Mike has posted link to PDF files for those early DM/Al-Ko brakes in a separate thread---

Ronb67

I see that this post was from some time ago. I have a question though. I have a 2007 T@B that needs brakes. Where did you find your brakes? I'm having a hard time finding them.

irvingj

I'm not sure; I never did need to buy brake shoes for our T@B. (We sold our T@B in 2016.) Hopefully you'll get an answer from someone here.

tabiphile

Follow the advice in @rfuss928 post...

rfuss928

This is the correct brake kit for the Dutchman ALKO axle (1637).  It is rarely available in the US as these were exclusively used on European T@Bs and other caravans.  The DM T@Bs used an imported ALKO chassis.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/165379144220?hash=item26815d7a1c:g:jD4AAOSwRQZiK3sv&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA4BQzSowSbTY4JN2dFsS6NdmQd2BNwM50kieE8F7AUB8xjdApccnYfWPVgCGvPaDu9mY/IAWFq5aa8zn4jVXU84Vc4cIo8MEtpuiEAqhlmajDe+9DYhUkr4YRqBA0vFTKWc2VXLmxGGBSrwT2Oc/0RTaZFz5Mtpn5ERRY7MY4G83I+E0JYfMUty+Qraaft/HZNGgMzxXaROhndPzdI+46TJ12q3lSJ38MdWGIGTDO97ntdpiutAqK3J5TdoKGlEUoS6ZExkZJQlqBeIb0qhXR9QIZpRSQpCm8hGaOSBdAarxt|tkp:Bk9SR-KKhISUYg

This kit is very complete and includes every internal part of the brake drum assembly.