Anyone have experience with self adjusting brakes? - Fiberglass RV
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Old 04-24-2017, 08:55 AM   #1
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Name: abcde
Trailer: noneofyourbusiness
British Columbia
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Anyone have experience with self adjusting brakes?

As mentioned in a prev post, I'm considering upgrading to self adjusting brakes on our (new to us) 2008 Bigfoot 25B175G. Access to the star wheel adjuster is very restricted due to the combination of aftermarket shocks installed by the PO and the drop axle design.

I was at our local RV dealer and talked to a couple of the service techs. They had reservations about self adjust brakes as they thought they over tightened over time. They complained they were finding it very hard to remove the drums on trailers fitted with these brakes due to over tightening.

So - anyone got real world experience with these brakes? I don't trust most of the reviews on ecommerce sites like eTrailer or Amazon as too many of those have been created by people paid by the manufacturers!

Thanks!
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Old 04-24-2017, 11:00 AM   #2
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I worked in a service station while in HS when self adjusting brakes first came out.
they were and still are a clap trap of springs, links and cables.
They work off excess movement of the shoes when they are loose and tighten when you stop hard while backing something people towing trailers just don't do.
The service guy you spoke with is not very knowledgeable about drum brakes, when adjusted properly they both, manual and self adjusting, require loosening to remove the drums. There's a ridge on the edge of the drum left where the shoes don't rub against and therefore does not wear that the shoes catch on when trying to remove the drum.

There has been several threads on the Casita forum about people having trouble adjusting brakes on a trailer with OMW's shock kit.
Mostly it's just a matter of finding/making/bending a brake "spoon" (tool) that will get in.
I have OMW's shock kit and wouldn't leave home without it.
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Old 04-25-2017, 04:54 AM   #3
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i've been told that the manual that comes with dexter's new self adjusting brake axle says that in order to make them self adjust you must back the trailer up at 15mph. i don't know about you guys but i can't back my trailer that fast.

p@
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Old 04-25-2017, 07:09 AM   #4
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Name: Mike
Trailer: 1993 Bigfoot 17 ftCB / 2023 RAV4 Trail
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Misinformation - too much around!

I have been using Dexter 10" Nev-R-Adjust Brakes for my 3500 Bigfoot 17 for the last 4 years and I would NOT go back to manual adjust. They work with normal forward travel and NO special procedures are needed for the auto adjust feature.
There is information on YouTube and others showing the operation of the mechanism and only a preliminary adjust after installation is needed. The cost of the assemblies was only a small amount above the normal manual ones. As I recall, my costs were around $80 each back those 4 years ago.
Mike .....>
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Old 04-25-2017, 11:48 AM   #5
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Name: Jack L
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Pupeza View Post
I have been using Dexter 10" Nev-R-Adjust Brakes for my 3500 Bigfoot 17 for the last 4 years and I would NOT go back to manual adjust. They work with normal forward travel and NO special procedures are needed for the auto adjust feature.
There is information on YouTube and others showing the operation of the mechanism and only a preliminary adjust after installation is needed. The cost of the assemblies was only a small amount above the normal manual ones. As I recall, my costs were around $80 each back those 4 years ago.
Mike .....>
My experience is exactly the same as Michaels. I really like mu Nev-R Adjust brakes.
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Old 04-25-2017, 01:22 PM   #6
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Name: Daniel A.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael Pupeza View Post
I have been using Dexter 10" Nev-R-Adjust Brakes for my 3500 Bigfoot 17 for the last 4 years and I would NOT go back to manual adjust. They work with normal forward travel and NO special procedures are needed for the auto adjust feature.
There is information on YouTube and others showing the operation of the mechanism and only a preliminary adjust after installation is needed. The cost of the assemblies was only a small amount above the normal manual ones. As I recall, my costs were around $80 each back those 4 years ago.
Mike .....>
Same here I've been using them for 5 years now no issue and cost difference is so small.
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Old 04-25-2017, 01:44 PM   #7
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Name: abcde
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Interesting and diverse feedback

Thanks guys. Most of the feedback I've seen is positive about general operation and both the Lippert and Dexter self adjust units operate on forward movement to self adjust.

What the RV tech told me is that there is at least one brand where you can't back off the star wheel from the back of the brake. It ill only tighten, not loosen the brake setting. This makes it very hard to remove the drum once any wear pattern is established. he had no issues with the self adjust mechansim otherwise ....
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Old 04-26-2017, 02:48 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by FRL001 View Post
As mentioned in a prev post, I'm considering upgrading to self adjusting brakes on our (new to us) 2008 Bigfoot 25B175G. Access to the star wheel adjuster is very restricted due to the combination of aftermarket shocks installed by the PO and the drop axle design.

I was at our local RV dealer and talked to a couple of the service techs. They had reservations about self adjust brakes as they thought they over tightened over time. They complained they were finding it very hard to remove the drums on trailers fitted with these brakes due to over tightening.

So - anyone got real world experience with these brakes? I don't trust most of the reviews on ecommerce sites like eTrailer or Amazon as too many of those have been created by people paid by the manufacturers!

Thanks!
: they put self adjust on cars and we removed them as it is just as easy to adjust on your own with special tool.
Stude
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Old 04-26-2017, 03:30 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by stude View Post
: they put self adjust on cars and we removed them as it is just as easy to adjust on your own with special tool.
Stude
Why ?
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Old 04-26-2017, 05:16 AM   #10
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Why ?

Take a look at all the clap trap that self adjusting adds then imagine a little rust and or corrosion that is sure to occur.

Joe
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Old 04-26-2017, 10:57 AM   #11
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WHAT? I do NOT agree with this statement at ALL. I've adjusted the Scamp brakes and NOTHING is easy about it.

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Originally Posted by stude View Post
: they put self adjust on cars and we removed them as it is just as easy to adjust on your own with special tool.
Stude
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Old 04-26-2017, 01:57 PM   #12
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WHAT? I do NOT agree with this statement at ALL. I've adjusted the Scamp brakes and NOTHING is easy about it.
Clearly, you must be lacking a special tool in your tool box
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Old 04-26-2017, 02:27 PM   #13
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May be...but I'm all eyes!! Still havent seen a tool that would make me want to do away with self-adjusting ANYTHING.

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Clearly, you must be lacking a special tool in your tool box
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Old 04-26-2017, 02:36 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Borrego Dave View Post
Why ?
:back in the 40's to say 1990 self adjusting brakes became a pain in the butt when they jammed and the tire could not move and this happened often, though of late they have seem to fix the problem. Manual Adjust was and still is easy for some of us. I serviced my old clunkers every 3000 miles and while doing it I checked the brakes or the pedal to see how low down it came which meant brakes needed adjusting, sure no simple feat but I had gotten used to doing it. Self Adjust brakes caused me lots of problems in the old clunkers but today the problem is not gone and I never adjust my brakes but every time I have it serviced I ask them to check the brakes.
Stude
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Old 04-26-2017, 02:53 PM   #15
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Most automobiles have rear disk brakes that does away with the need to adjust them Self adjusting brakes are mostly a thing of the past. Just like bearing service is on everything but our trailers
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Old 04-26-2017, 03:17 PM   #16
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Dexter ALSO offers a "maintenance free" bearing axle! As far as I can tell from reading, it's a permanently "sealed" bearing. I"m not sure it's available in the small axle for the 13'ers though. If I ever have to replace my axle, I will find out though! The feature is called "Nev-R-Lube".
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Old 04-26-2017, 03:44 PM   #17
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Originally Posted by Darral T. View Post
Dexter ALSO offers a "maintenance free" bearing axle! As far as I can tell from reading, it's a permanently "sealed" bearing. I"m not sure it's available in the small axle for the 13'ers though. If I ever have to replace my axle, I will find out though! The feature is called "Nev-R-Lube".
I think the sealed bearing is not available for the 3500 axle used on the Casita.
That avenue has been explored already.
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Old 04-26-2017, 04:29 PM   #18
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I don't hate on the Bendix patent self-adjusting brakes as much as some. Indeed, I have had several four wheel drum brake vehicles and liked the self-adjust feature, but then I know what to do to keep things working.

The Ford cable adjust brakes are another matter...

Honestly, I don't know why you'd ever want them on a small trailer - the brakes are only stopping a few thousand pounds and are assisting the TV brakes in any event.

It's probably worth mentioning that properly adjusting self adjusting trailer brakes requires backing up and applying the TRAILER brakes. I don't know why they said 15 MPH as usually you can hear the click of the arm snapping back on release when it has pushed the adjuster wheel over a tooth and pretty much any backing up braking effort at all is sufficient to make it happen.

Further, if you back up at 5-10 MPH and repeatedly cycle the manual lever on your brake controller, you'll make it a much quicker job...

That said, I'm happy my Casita doesn't have self-adjusters. Don't need them, and it's not that big a deal to manually adjust during the wheel bearing check and repack.
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Old 05-04-2017, 10:44 AM   #19
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Name: abcde
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Update and corrections to this thread

So, I've done a lot of research on this topic since last posting, some of which seems to contradict some of the posts in this thread.

First, I've talked to Dexter & Lippert's support departments. These are the two major manufacturers in the US of trailer brakes. They confirm that their brakes self adjust during forward braking. The same applies to two resellers of made in Asia generics that I contacted. So the whole need to backup thing seems to be a hangover from older products.

Second, Dexter confirmed that there it's possible to release a locking tab from the backplate to allow the star wheel to be backed off on their self adjust brakes. This makes it possible to remove the drum if the brake shoes have started a wear pattern inside the drum. Bang goes the concerns of the RV tech I spoke to. Dexter specifically commented that they have a lot of training material on YouTube, but few RV shops encourage their techs to take training due to profit pressures.

I intend to do this upgrade when my current brakes start to wear or corrode out. The dealer from whom we bought our Bigfoot installed new brake assemblies (manual adjust unfortunately) when it was being reconditioned on their lot from the previous owner. So it would be silly to throw away virtually new brakes.

But for me the advantages of having your brakes automatically adjusted seem pretty evident to me! Thanks everyone for your advice and input.
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