Troubleshooting replacement brakes and bearings Oh My...

R

RichE

Novice
Hoping for a little sanity check and troubleshooting help here!

Two weeks ago I spent the week de-wintering our 560 and getting ready for a weekend shakedown trip to Ponca SP in Nebraska before our big outting to Yellowstone, Glacier and Banff later this summer.

Well glad I did because it's been an adventure...just not to kind I was looking for.

Prior to the shakedown trip I hooked up the camper and set off on a quick loop around the neighborhood to check brakes and sloosh the chlorinated water around the tanks before refilling. About half way through the loop my the brake controller stopped recognizing the brake connection. A little troubleshooting (including testing voltages on brake posts and pulling the breakaway cable) determined at least one of the brake solenoids was out. Not ideal, but I actually had a full set of replacement brakes and hubs I had purchased last summer but hadn't gotten around to installing...I had done a complete bearing replacement last summer (2025) but brakes were more than I was prepared to tackle and everything seemed to be functioning fine. (Our trailer 555 is a 2012 and new to us in 2024 so I had no idea hold long it had been since bearings and brakes had been serviced...)

First, sanity check and reference for myself and others the replacement brake parts I purchased were:
K23-103-104-00-Dexter Electric Trailer Brakes - Parking Brake Ready - 7" - Left/Right Hand Assemblies - 2.2K https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/Dexter/K23-103-104-00.html
and
8-257-5UC3 - Dexter Trailer Hub and Drum Assembly for 2,000-lb Axles - 7" - 5 on 4-1/2 https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/etrailer/AKEBRK-35.html

Everything physically matches and bolts together to the best of my ability to check against what was coming off the trailer.

Back to the fun...
The right-hand (passenger) side was slow going as I figured everything out (first time replacing trailer brakes). But eventually I got everything mounted, wired, packed, pinned and adjusted). Pulled the breakaway pin and brakes work! Same for e-brake. So far so good. . .

Now the fun...My first concern as I started tearing down of the driver (left hand) side I noticed the outer bearing had started to machine itself into the Castle (retaining) hub nut. Including leaving a groove on the back of the nut and visible metal filings along the mating surface between the hub nut and outer bearing. My concern is I had seen this last year as well and hoped I had solved it by fully replacing bearings, and installing a fresh castle nut.
The Replacement nut 8 ordered was (e-trailer Trailer Spindle Nut 1"
Part Number: 165686 https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/TruRyde/165686.html) I assembled following Dexters published procedure, but without a washer and secured with a cotter pin... Has anyone else seen wearing on back of the Castle nut or know how or why this might happen?

(Castle nut too tight? too loose? something I'm missing)


Second big head scratcher...Driver side went much quicker using the learnings from the first side. . .Then comes reassembly...As I start adjusting the brakes, seating the the new bearings and hub on the axle (again following the Dexter's published procedures), I notice the brake seems to be engaging when I try to spin the hub to tighten the Castle nut. Specifically, I can hear and see the magnet actuator arm (and e-brake arm) clicking against the pads and fulling locking the brakes on as I slowly rotate the drum. Less than 1/4 turn is all that is needed to fully lock the brakes and prevent the hub from turning. This occurs even with brake adjusters fully retracted (which I confirmed as the hub spins freely around pads up until magnet and magnet arm hit the inner surface of the new hub/drum assembly).

After lots of youtube videos and troubleshooting what appears to be happening is that the post that the brake magnet rides on appears to be contacting the front face of the hub. When the hub is rotated the pin drops into one of the holes housing the wheel lugs on the inner surface of the drum. This fully and strongly engages the brakes (obviously)....I confirmed this behavior by removing the magnet from the post, even with no magnet in place this behavior repeats (this happens with both the original and new hub/drum assembly).

In comparing the old and new brake assemblies the actuator arm on the new assembly is much stiffer and appears curved out and away from the baking plate. There is no obvious way to bend or loosen the actuator arm to prevent this from happening. The arm I'm looking at is (29 047-114-02 1 LH Lever Arm & Cam Assembly) on the diagram on page 17 of Dexter Axel parts diagram kindly posted by Tom S in another thread (link).

Was just this arm faulty from the manufacturer or perhaps became bent in shipping? E-trailer has been no help since the parts were ordered last summer and I'm well part the 90 day return window (even though I'm just installing the parts new now....). I'm about to order a whole new brake assembly but just wanted to put this out there to see if anyone else has experienced something similar or has any ideas...

Anyone with troubles with brand new as received brake assembly from Dexter or experience troubleshooting electrical trailer brakes?

I'm also planning to call the nest on Monday morning, but of course I'm doing this on a weekend and am impatient.... it has also been a now week long ordeal and I just want the wheels back on the trailer and functional brakes/bearings!!!!

Thanks and enjoy the adventure!
Rich
 
just replaced bearings yesterday. It may be the bearings were not seated fully when installed. This I believe would allow additional space between bearing and race and wheel to wear on the castle nut. No expert by any means. Lots of videos to assist replacement.

Not sure on brake issue. Just adjusted mine when had camper wheel up.
 
Rich, I just DM'd you.

It sounds like you are using a brake controller on your truck, not an autowbrake controller correct?

Per Dexter, a single brake magnet should be 3.8-4 ohms per magnet. If you test them in parallel (on the trailer) the resistance will be half of that...approximately. (R = (3.9 × 3.9) / (3.9 + 3.9) = 15.21 / 7.8 = 1.95Ω)

Another reading is how much power they are drawing...the amperage is about 2.5 amps per magnet - so 5 in total. This is something your brake controller may tell you -- to test this you'd need to build a test rig with a 12 volt battery and an ohm meter...and whatever you do, don'ot leave them at full power for long it will smoke the magnet if you aren't careful, thats why you never pull the 'break away' cable and leave it...

I use the 1 1/2" socket just for control. I pre-tighten with it, back it off until its lose then its only finger tight - just intil it 'touches' then I back of off to the next flat or point. Then check for that "loseness" that little tiny almost imperceptible 'thump'

The 'tang' lock that came with the camper is not my favorite any longer, though there is some debate on the topic. I had a rather touch-and-go bearing job where I used a tang washer, and it cost me a few hours extra work and the need to purchase a die to reform the threads....I found a 'cage' lock that works very nicely to replace it, they work well and they are reusable.

I got mine from waymiredistribution.com out of Indianapolis -- they provide all of my axle parts - etrailer is also good but for me its faster to drive to my local distributor with a warehouse the size of a football fields with just trailer parts :D
 
RichE said:
Hoping for a little sanity check and troubleshooting help here!

Two weeks ago I spent the week de-wintering our 560 and getting ready for a weekend shakedown trip to Ponca SP in Nebraska before our big outting to Yellowstone, Glacier and Banff later this summer.

Well glad I did because it's been an adventure...just not to kind I was looking for.

Prior to the shakedown trip I hooked up the camper and set off on a quick loop around the neighborhood to check brakes and sloosh the chlorinated water around the tanks before refilling. About half way through the loop my the brake controller stopped recognizing the brake connection. A little troubleshooting (including testing voltages on brake posts and pulling the breakaway cable) determined at least one of the brake solenoids was out. Not ideal, but I actually had a full set of replacement brakes and hubs I had purchased last summer but hadn't gotten around to installing...I had done a complete bearing replacement last summer (2025) but brakes were more than I was prepared to tackle and everything seemed to be functioning fine. (Our trailer 555 is a 2012 and new to us in 2024 so I had no idea hold long it had been since bearings and brakes had been serviced...)

First, sanity check and reference for myself and others the replacement brake parts I purchased were:
K23-103-104-00-Dexter Electric Trailer Brakes - Parking Brake Ready - 7" - Left/Right Hand Assemblies - 2.2K https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/Dexter/K23-103-104-00.html
and
8-257-5UC3 - Dexter Trailer Hub and Drum Assembly for 2,000-lb Axles - 7" - 5 on 4-1/2 https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Brakes/etrailer/AKEBRK-35.html

Everything physically matches and bolts together to the best of my ability to check against what was coming off the trailer.

Back to the fun...
The right-hand (passenger) side was slow going as I figured everything out (first time replacing trailer brakes). But eventually I got everything mounted, wired, packed, pinned and adjusted). Pulled the breakaway pin and brakes work! Same for e-brake. So far so good. . .

Now the fun...My first concern as I started tearing down of the driver (left hand) side I noticed the outer bearing had started to machine itself into the Castle (retaining) hub nut. Including leaving a groove on the back of the nut and visible metal filings along the mating surface between the hub nut and outer bearing. My concern is I had seen this last year as well and hoped I had solved it by fully replacing bearings, and installing a fresh castle nut.
The Replacement nut 8 ordered was (e-trailer Trailer Spindle Nut 1"
Part Number: 165686 https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/TruRyde/165686.html) I assembled following Dexters published procedure, but without a washer and secured with a cotter pin... Has anyone else seen wearing on back of the Castle nut or know how or why this might happen?

(Castle nut too tight? too loose? something I'm missing)


Second big head scratcher...Driver side went much quicker using the learnings from the first side. . .Then comes reassembly...As I start adjusting the brakes, seating the the new bearings and hub on the axle (again following the Dexter's published procedures), I notice the brake seems to be engaging when I try to spin the hub to tighten the Castle nut. Specifically, I can hear and see the magnet actuator arm (and e-brake arm) clicking against the pads and fulling locking the brakes on as I slowly rotate the drum. Less than 1/4 turn is all that is needed to fully lock the brakes and prevent the hub from turning. This occurs even with brake adjusters fully retracted (which I confirmed as the hub spins freely around pads up until magnet and magnet arm hit the inner surface of the new hub/drum assembly).

After lots of youtube videos and troubleshooting what appears to be happening is that the post that the brake magnet rides on appears to be contacting the front face of the hub. When the hub is rotated the pin drops into one of the holes housing the wheel lugs on the inner surface of the drum. This fully and strongly engages the brakes (obviously)....I confirmed this behavior by removing the magnet from the post, even with no magnet in place this behavior repeats (this happens with both the original and new hub/drum assembly).

In comparing the old and new brake assemblies the actuator arm on the new assembly is much stiffer and appears curved out and away from the baking plate. There is no obvious way to bend or loosen the actuator arm to prevent this from happening. The arm I'm looking at is (29 047-114-02 1 LH Lever Arm & Cam Assembly) on the diagram on page 17 of Dexter Axel parts diagram kindly posted by Tom S in another thread (link).

Was just this arm faulty from the manufacturer or perhaps became bent in shipping? E-trailer has been no help since the parts were ordered last summer and I'm well part the 90 day return window (even though I'm just installing the parts new now....). I'm about to order a whole new brake assembly but just wanted to put this out there to see if anyone else has experienced something similar or has any ideas...

Anyone with troubles with brand new as received brake assembly from Dexter or experience troubleshooting electrical trailer brakes?

I'm also planning to call the nest on Monday morning, but of course I'm doing this on a weekend and am impatient.... it has also been a now week long ordeal and I just want the wheels back on the trailer and functional brakes/bearings!!!!

Thanks and enjoy the adventure!
Rich
Click to expand...

I admit that yesterday, I did not give this email a thorough reading....something jumped out at me, and I've seen this before.

This is NOT a Camp-Inn specific process, nor are the observations I made. The system used here is extremely common and not written specifically about CI — rather general observations. I've done many wheel bearing jobs, and consider myself to be proficient in the process.

Many of the axles I have done are much bigger than the cute little things on our beloved campers. Where I see tang washers are very commonly used is on boat and small cargo trailers. Ours just share them.

I'm going to walk through the disassembly here...follow me for a minute...in order of removal:

1] Dust Cap
2] Castle Nut held in place by tang washer
3] Tang Washer - small screwdriver helpful to bend 'tangs' from between the castle nut teeth
4] Washer - heavier duty, perhaps 1/8" thick
5] Outer Bearing
6] The hub itself
7] The inner bearing
8] Grease seal - The grease seal will retain the inner bearing in the hub.

In the hub, you will have races -- these races are matched to the bearing at installation, and when they are pulled down the road, they are permanently married to the respective bearing. When you replace the bearing, replace the race. If you replace the race, replace the bearing. Never put the wrong bearing (switch the inner/outer) during reassembly.

I've seen a mistake made where the washer (Part #4) is missing, and the tang washer is between the castle nut and the outer bearing. The tang washer is very thin, and not designed to handle the rotational forces of the bearing. Granted, those should be light as these are 'finger tight' and the bearing should spin freely. The tang washer is only designed to hold the castle nut in place so it does not tighten or loosen while traveling. The larger washer (which also has the 'D' cutout in it) is designed to handle that.

If the tang washer is directly up against the wheel bearing, this can cause problems. I've seen cases where the tang would spin slightly. Not a lot — maybe a 16th of a turn? Enough that the tangs will get sucked into the threads between the castle nut and the spindle. When you try to remove it, you may experience the unpleasantness of using a breaker bar to spin the castle nut off. This is frightening since it takes a lot of force to remove the castle nut, which can damage those threads. You will then need to chase the threads with a die to clean them out. If the washer (Part #4) is present, I've never seen this happen. Bottom line: make sure you have a washer AND the locking tang washer between the outer bearing and the castle nut...you'll have no problems.

Brake adjustment is not hard...The TrailerSmith has a great video on the topic...better than anything I can say here.
 
Finally getting around to posting a follow up (actually had drafted a follow up but must have not hit post)....

Thanks so much for all the support and details from Sweeney and others....

I think I've finally got things figured out, with a big assistant from Craig at the Nest! Before getting into details I just couldn't be any more impressed with Camp-inn and their support of these amazing little campers! We're at least the third owners of #555 and Craig took time to explain everything and support me like I was picking up a brand new camper...

My hope here is too document and share some of my learnings for anyone else finding themselves doing a brake replacement or bearings particularly on older trailer numbers #555 is a 2012. . .

1st Issue: New replacement Dexter bakes siezing on installation.
Briefly I had determined that at least one of the solenoid magnets had failed and rather than just replacing the magnet I chose to replace the entire brake assembly. This should be a fairly straightforward "bolt-in" replacement. However, after mounting the replacement brake assembly, when I went to install and seat the new hub/drum assembly on the spindle the brakes would fully apply and lock up the preventing the wheel from spinning in both the forward and reverse directions.....less than 1/4 turn was all that could be achieved even without the Castle nut in place

In talking to Craig this is a known issue to Camp-Inn with the Dexter brake design and has been addressed on newer trailers or when servicing brakes at camp-inn.... although this has occurred in the field on several older trailers.

Briefly what I had described above is indeed what occurs....

"the post that the brake magnet rides on appears to be contacting the front face of the hub. When the hub is rotated the pin drops into one of the holes housing the wheel lugs on the inner surface of the drum. This fully and strongly engages the brakes ....

The arm I'm looking at is (29 047-114-02 1 LH Lever Arm & Cam Assembly) on the diagram on page 17 of Dexter Axel parts diagram kindly posted by Tom S in another thread (link)."

Specifically, there is a stepped down portion on the end of this rod which secures the solenoid retainer clip, which holds the magnet in place while installing the hub/drum assembly. The stepped down portion (even without the clip in place) can contact the back surface of the hub and cause full mechanical application of the brakes. . .

The solution Camp-inn have devised (which according to my understanding is performed at the factory on new trailers during initial assembly) is to grind or cut off this stepped down portion entirely (just the part where the clip would attach). Once the hub is in place the remaining portion of the arm is sufficient to keep to magnet in place and there is no possible way the solenoid could fall off..

So following thid advice I used my Dremel to cut off the stepped down portion and round off the edges followed by a good spay down with some brake cleaner to remove and residual metal flakes.... This worked perfectly and the hub went on without issue. I then went back a did the other side (as advised by Craig) even though that side hadn't showed the same issue.....

So 1st Issue solved....feel free to reply with questions or reach out to the nest for additional background details if attempting a brake repair or replacement....

Will address issue with spindle/Castle nut in a subsequent post....
 
I replaced the brakes on my TD last year due to warpage/surging and a scraping noise. Mine is a 550 built in 2017. According to the Dexter parts diagram, mine had the old style spindle nut retainer system but the D-washer was missing. This is the thick washer that goes between the bearing and the tang washer. Sweeny mentioned that he has seen this washer missing and considers it a mistake. I agree. I used the EZ Lube Retainer Nut Kit. The kit from Dexter included a new style D-washer, a new style spindle nut retainer and a new style spindle nut. This kit is priced around $25 for both sides, and appears to be an improvement since you don't have to bend any tangs. It should be reusable multiple times. Link to the EZ Lube Retainer Nut Kit is below:

Leading Manufacturer of Highly Engineered Components and Systems | Dexter

dexterindex.com dexterindex.com

The brakes and fine as far as the bearings and towing, but they have no stopping power. Since I tow with an F150 pickup I haven't worried about it a much, but I think it is probably a safety issue. I'll do a separate post describing the diagnosis I have gone through so far. Hopefully some folks on here can help me get the problem figured out.
 
Thats the same system I use. I have found the 'tang' washer system is now coming without the steel washer. I'd add one to mine. I'm sorry, that little .030 thick washer just don't inspire me.

As for your problem witht the brakes 3 things come to mine:

1] Did you possibly contaminate your brakes? Did your grease seals possibly leak?
2] What is your brake controller set too -- whats the gain?
3] Did you properly adjust the brakes? That needs to be done every 3000-4000 miles - and if they are 'lose' you will definately not have teh stopping power you expect. I hate brake adjustment -- much like the tightness of the nut. They have to be in the goldilocks zone.

I just ordered a new set of brakes - mine got stuck and work out the hub, not to mnetion getting hot enough for the hub to leak out its grease - no damage to the spindle though....shockingly the bearings even looked good. But they get replaced too --- just waiting on the parts to get here.
 
Sweeney said:
I admit that yesterday, I did not give this email a thorough reading....something jumped out at me, and I've seen this before.

This is NOT a Camp-Inn specific process, nor are the observations I made. The system used here is extremely common and not written specifically about CI — rather general observations. I've done many wheel bearing jobs, and consider myself to be proficient in the process.

Many of the axles I have done are much bigger than the cute little things on our beloved campers. Where I see tang washers are very commonly used is on boat and small cargo trailers. Ours just share them.

I'm going to walk through the disassembly here...follow me for a minute...in order of removal:

1] Dust Cap
2] Castle Nut held in place by tang washer
3] Tang Washer - small screwdriver helpful to bend 'tangs' from between the castle nut teeth
4] Washer - heavier duty, perhaps 1/8" thick
5] Outer Bearing
6] The hub itself
7] The inner bearing
8] Grease seal - The grease seal will retain the inner bearing in the hub.

In the hub, you will have races -- these races are matched to the bearing at installation, and when they are pulled down the road, they are permanently married to the respective bearing. When you replace the bearing, replace the race. If you replace the race, replace the bearing. Never put the wrong bearing (switch the inner/outer) during reassembly.

I've seen a mistake made where the washer (Part #4) is missing, and the tang washer is between the castle nut and the outer bearing. The tang washer is very thin, and not designed to handle the rotational forces of the bearing. Granted, those should be light as these are 'finger tight' and the bearing should spin freely. The tang washer is only designed to hold the castle nut in place so it does not tighten or loosen while traveling. The larger washer (which also has the 'D' cutout in it) is designed to handle that.

If the tang washer is directly up against the wheel bearing, this can cause problems. I've seen cases where the tang would spin slightly. Not a lot — maybe a 16th of a turn? Enough that the tangs will get sucked into the threads between the castle nut and the spindle. When you try to remove it, you may experience the unpleasantness of using a breaker bar to spin the castle nut off. This is frightening since it takes a lot of force to remove the castle nut, which can damage those threads. You will then need to chase the threads with a die to clean them out. If the washer (Part #4) is present, I've never seen this happen. Bottom line: make sure you have a washer AND the locking tang washer between the outer bearing and the castle nut...you'll have no problems.

Brake adjustment is not hard...The TrailerSmith has a great video on the topic...better than anything I can say here.
Click to expand...
Here is a useful Dexter video I found the last time I did the bearings grease job, from an old long thread with good context from @Cary Winch

Wheel Bearings

Bear, I would like to counterpoint this. In our experience most bearing failures we see are shortly after having bearing service. Generally the service is "just because" and not following the guidelines for when to service the bearings found in the owner's manual. Packing the bearings just...
campinnforum.com
@Sweeney can you provide the Trailer Smith video?

Regreasing the bearings is a PITA the first time but a not-that/hard/once-a-year job anyone can do with basic tools. Just give yourself an afternoon and keep notes and next year will be easy.

I've trip just ahead and so thanks for the tip on the part dremeling @RichE

And +100 on customer service at the Nest.

Craig walked me thru "what to do" on a hot brake I was dragging...probably a bit of gravel got jammed up, and the "back up a few feet" trick dislodged it.

I had heard/felt something at the start of a little trip to check some new gear, a year back and by the time I got off the twisty road to a safe spot the one side hubcap was very hot...

Just that few miles dragging was enough to cook out the grease so its a good idea to carry a spare bearing kit and tools to replace on side of the road.

Had to return to the barn for a grease job, that I shoulda done already after letting it sit a year prior after a very hot 6000 mile round trip, during a heatwave across to FL. Lesson learned?

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
 
Last edited:
All great information about the bearings and packing procedure. I definitely reviewed all this before the first time I packed and replaced bearings last summer. Second time through this year definitely went smoother....

Addressing the issue I had with the spindle nut....on the older round (non D-style) spindles.
2nd Issue: worn Castle nut
Same as last summer when I replaced bearings, when replacing brakes noticed significant wear and grooving on the back of the "Castle"/spindle nut.

Last year I followed the sequence described by Cary in the bearing maintenance thread linked by @The Postman in previous post.
Again this for the older round (non d-shaped) spindles which require a cotter pin to secure the spindle nut.

...in order of removal:

1] Dust Cap
2] cotter pin
3] Castle Nut
4] Outer Bearing
5] The hub itself
6] The inner bearing
7] Grease seal

Notice the thick heavy duty washer (between 3 and 4) omitted in this installation. This sequence is typically required on the round (non D shaped) spindle as the spindle is not long enough to allow installation of the cotter pin with the thick washer in place.

Craig noted however that using this installation some machining and wear of the Spindle nut may occur and this needs to be monitored to prevent grooves or metal filings entering the bearings.

Craig however suggested two possible remedies. . .
Option 1: Use a belt sander to thin down the back side of the Castle nut (rotating frequently to ensure uniform removal of metal keeping the back of the nut flat) to allow installation of the heavy duty washer.

Option 2: Go to hardware store and buy a 1" machine bushing of appropriate gauge to install between the Castle nut and outer bearing (in place of the thicker heavy duty washer). Multiple thicknesses should be available so buy the thickest one which still allows the cotter pin to be installed...

Lacking a belt sander I was able to sand down a pair of castle nuts by hand. I frequently stopped and used a micrometer as well marked the covered to back with sharpie marker on the ground surface to ensure uniform removal of material. It took a good 30 minutes of sanding, cleaning and testing but I was able to remove about 0.5 mm from the back of each nut, sufficient to allow the cotter pins to be installed....A subsequent trip to the hardware store did find several different thickness of machine bushings so those are packed away in my rebuild kit for next time....

Hopefully, this will give some relief to wearing previously observed...


After a couple drawn out weeks trying to find time to work on the camper I finally have
everything mounted, brakes and bearings adjusted and hopefully ready for our next big trip! One quick overnight shakedown trip tomorrow for my sons birthday then ready for Yellowstone, Glacier and Banff!!!

Again thanks to all the support from all of you on the forum and back at the Nest. This is definitely the most amazing and supportive group. . .
 
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