Brake Squealing

conifer · 03-14-2011, 05:02 PM

Hi,

We're new to TTs and were previous owners of a 2000 VW Eurovan Camper.

Now we have a 2010 x-189 fds! The person I bought it from was looking to get a larger Fun Finder and sold this to me complete with WD hitch w/sway. My tow vehicle is a 2010 Nissan Frontier 4x4.

Now to my question.

When I tow, the trailer has a high pitched intermittent squealing in the drums like a brake was dragging. When I apply the brakes, the squealing goes away and the trailer stops. So, I jacked up one side and rotated the wheel by hand. It rotated fine with no resistance. Then, I pulled the drum and it looks like the magnet is dragging on the inside of the drum. Is this normal or should it stay completely away from the drum unless energized?

I've towed a lot of trailers with electric brakes and this is the first I've had with this noise. But, before I called Dexter and bugged them, I thought I'd ask the question here.

Thanks,
Randal

conifer · 03-15-2011, 04:45 PM

Well, after doing some more research, I found a thread on a Jayco forum about 2010 Dexter Axle Self Adjusting Brakes Squealing!

So, I called Dexter and they had me look at my Serial Number on the axle, and actually admitted that they had a problem with certain early brake assemblies squealing. It does not affect performance at all, just the eardrums!

My axles were part of this early production, and even though I am the second owner (they normally do not transfer warranty), they are sending me the new parts to replace the faulty ones.

In my book, Dexter is tops! Very few companies stand behind their products anymore. And even fewer treat the end-user like they are their only customer!

Randal

guybmoto · 03-15-2011, 05:31 PM

Hmm, thanks. It might be time to take mine apart and take a peek as well.

**LJAZ** · 03-15-2011, 05:51 PM

Wow - good info. Did they give the range of serial numbers that had the problem?

Glad you got your problem solved.

conifer · 03-16-2011, 01:47 PM

They did not share with me which serial numbers were affected. However, my axle was manufactured 09-16-09 and they did tell me that it affected late 2009 and early 2010 brake assemblies.

I want to reiterate that it DOES NOT AFFECT BRAKING PERFORMANCE AT ALL, so it is NOT A SAFETY ISSUE.

The indication of a noise problem is a squealing like old truck brakes or a scraping sound.

Here is the link for the Jayco forum where I originally found the info. -

http://www.jaycoowners.com/archive/index.php/t-351.html

Randal