# Tt Brakes



## vinny (Sep 17, 2014)

I have a relatively new 298RE trailer/2500HD (<7000 miles) and am not happy with the brakes. I live I Florida which is pretty much flat and on an emergency stop I know the trailed is there stopping takes much longer.

I was reading an article that described replacing the drums with hydraulic/electric, sounded good and relative easy. I called the vendor the requested axel info.

Got under the trailer to get the requested info and noticed they were marked 4400 lbs. Called the brake vendor and was told they do not have rotors for my spindle.*%!

I called Dexter asking about the 4400lb. load rating and the brake capacity. Are the brakes also for a 4400 lb. trailer ? I called Keystone but I have not received an answer I am happy with. They directed me to the dealer to service the brakes.

My question is are 10" drums adequate to stop a 9000 lb. trailer ? Are the 4400lb axels enough ? Should the truck (2500HD double cab) TT combination stop the same as the truck alone on an emergency stop ?


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## Dave-Gray (Jul 9, 2012)

The brakes on your truck are designed to stop maximum capacity at its gross vehicle weight rating, not it and the trailer.

Likewise, the trailer brakes are design to stop at the maximum capacity (GVWR) of the trailer.

If the truck or the trailer or both are overloaded, then that can certainly cause breaking issues.

Ensure that the trailer brakes are adjusted correctly and the trailer brake controller.

If all the braking components on the truck and the trailer are in good condition and the vehicles are not overweight, there should not be any braking issues.


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## vinny (Sep 17, 2014)

Dave-Gray said:


> The brakes on your truck are designed to stop maximum capacity at its gross vehicle weight rating, not it and the trailer.
> 
> Likewise, the trailer brakes are design to stop at the maximum capacity (GVWR) of the trailer.
> 
> ...


"Likewise, the trailer brakes are design to stop at the maximum capacity (GVWR) of the trailer."

That is my concern. the GVWR marked on the trailer is 9000lbs yet the axels are marked 4400lbs each for a total of 8800. I called Dexter the axel manufacturer thinking I would subtract the tongue weight to come back to something under the 8800 lb. limit. but have been told that is not correct, the GVWR is what the axels should be rated.
I also asked Dexter where the 10" drums were used and was told they are typically on 3500 lb. axels. Again going to 12 in drums the backing plate and spindle on my axel will not work.
The numbers do not seem to add up. I think the bearings on the drums are not standard and are probably for the 4400 marked capacity but are the brakes good for the 9000 lb. GVWR trailer weight?


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## Dave-Gray (Jul 9, 2012)

Dexter is correct. The axle weight is shared with the tongue weight. It is unlikely you will ever have the total max weight on the axles. I do not know of any trailer where the axle ratings equal GVWR.


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## Todd&Regan (Jul 1, 2010)

Yes your brakes are adequate to stop your trailer, yes your axles are enough to handle the weight. With that being said, RV manufactures install brakes, axles, and springs that are good enough to get you down the road. You have several options if you want to make upgrades: disc brakes, independent suspension, shackles, wet bolts, and shocks just to name a few. If your main complaint is with braking performance, I would recommend you look into a disc brake conversion kit.

Todd


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## Bill & Kate (Apr 28, 2012)

In my opinion, your axles and standard brakes should be adequate to safely stop your rig if they are set up properly, and operating properly. In addition to making sure your brake controller is set up properly (as previously mentioned), make sure they are in good condition, grease free (the most common problem), and adjusted properly. We have 4400 lb axles on out 8600 lb gross trailer, and it stops nicely. I think it is typical that a loaded emergency stop is going to take a longer distance than the truck alone, but the difference should not be dramatic.

The biggest shortcoming of drum brakes, (besides the need for occassional adjustment, and tendency to accumulate grease when a rear seal fails), is that they fade when they heat up with hard use. Long decents are particularly difficult.

Larger diameter, lectric over hydraulic, and disc brakes are all desireable upgrades, and in my opinion almost necessary when you are towing 10,000 pounds or more .......


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## vinny (Sep 17, 2014)

Thanks to all that replied to my inquiry, much more useful information than Keystone was able to provide. I am going to pull the drums to see what things look like and adjust them at the same time. It is probably 30 years since I worked on drum brakes. Would anyone know why the trailer brakes are not self adjusting ? I know for sure cars had it on the rear can't remember if the front were (Yes I had a car with drums on the front).


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## Tatunka (Feb 14, 2012)

I am on the opposite side of the spectrum on this issue, I think the drum brakes were woefully inadequate on my 301BQ ( and yes they were adjusted correctly). With my trailer loaded for trips I am tipping the scales at 8700lbs, my GVW is 9000lbs the same as the 298RE and I also had the 4400lbs axles. I would set my brakes (Prodigy) by rolling at about 10-15 mph and manually engaging the trailer brake controller until lock up, then back down the setting a little. I never could get to lock up with my 301BQ like I could with my car hauler (loaded 8500lbs). The best I could do was slow down to a stop, not grab to a stop. I thought this was how it was supposed to be until I just barely missed hitting another motorist after they cut me off to make an exit in front of me. As I was stopping slowly with my pedal to the floor boards it occurred that something was not right. After that close call I began looking at solutions, which included larger drums, different axles, disc brakes, and larger tires/wheels to fit larger drums into. After much reading I settled on a disc brake conversion from Kodiak with a brake actuator from Cargo. I did not install it, I had the guys at Mor/ryde install the system while I was getting some other work done. After the conversion the stopping difference was considerably shorter as well as using a significantly lower setting on my trailer brake controller. I now feel like the trailer and the vehicle are one with the trailer doing its share of the work now.

As for the 298RE, I recommend going for the disc brake conversion. I have learned that running gear that Keystone has put under these trailers is just barely adequate to operate safely. They put fancy wheels on though!


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## vinny (Sep 17, 2014)

Tatunka sounds like we are on the same page. I agree the Keystone stock brakes are ok going down the road but not so comfortable when someone cuts in front of you. I feel like I have to reverse engineer what is behind those fancy wheels. I have a few questions related to the disk break conversion. Did the rotors fit the Keystone axels and does the rotor/caliper fit behind those fancy wheels ? Do you have Stability and Traction control on your truck and does the controller interface with those systems ? (I will give Cargo a call Monday)


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## Tatunka (Feb 14, 2012)

vinny said:


> Tatunka sounds like we are on the same page. I agree the Keystone stock brakes are ok going down the road but not so comfortable when someone cuts in front of you. I feel like I have to reverse engineer what is behind those fancy wheels. I have a few questions related to the disk break conversion. Did the rotors fit the Keystone axels and does the rotor/caliper fit behind those fancy wheels ? Do you have Stability and Traction control on your truck and does the controller interface with those systems ? (I will give Cargo a call Monday)


As far as what kit to use to fit the axle, I would call Kodiak directly. The kit that I had installed fits inside the OEM wheels. I believe that it was one of the 5200-6000lbs kits, I will see if I can find the paperwork related to the conversion. My vehicle has stability and traction control, but it does not have an intergraded trailer brake controller to take advantage of those systems. I use a prodigy (the original) brake controller and it works great with the Cargo brake actuator.


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