Looks like I found the right thread.
I just finished checking brakes & bearings, reset the bearings according to instructions here, adjusted the brakes, and replaced all 4 tires...this in prep for our 2 week trip, leaving next weekend. I did the 20 ft-lb, back off, 7 ft-lb, install pin procedure. If in doubt, I backed off to avoid high temps.
I just took a test drive...only about 10 miles. All 4 hubs felt the same...too hot to touch for more than 1 second. But, I was adjusting the Prodigy brake controller on my way back into the subdivision. Plenty of full manual stops. I'm driving it again tomorrow on the way to work, and will check again with normal driving (light on the brakes).
1. Can fiddling with the brakes make the hub shaft too hot to touch?
2. Thinking about getting a IR temp gun at Harbor Freight. My camper has the little plastic hub caps. Do you guys run without any caps, so you can get temps right on the cast hubs?
If you were playing with the brakes, you probably heated the hubs also. The brgs should never be hot if the brakes are not being used. If possible, back the brake controller off a little and be prepared to manually apply them on the way to work. Try not to use the trailer brakes for the last 10 -15 minutes of your drive to work so they can cool. The hub should not be hot, but warm, just a little above ambient temp. If it is hotter than that, you have the brgs too tight. I always use in/lbs instead of ft/lbs. You may have tightened them too much. 7 ft/lbs is 84 in/lbs.
Still sounds a little hot but you may have caused that by the extra braking you did. More testing will answer the question. I really like the HF laser temperature gun. They are on sale this week for $25 in my area and allow you to more easily check and then see how the four compare. If they are all equal, that's a pretty good sign. If one stands out, there is probaby a brake tightened too much. I usually see temps around 100 degress after pulling into a rest area.
Thanks guys. Bring the rig home from work, I made it without any trailer brakes. All were a bit cooler, but 1 was still too hot to hold on to. I'll be readjusting tomorrow.
I went through this last leayr and had similar problems. That's why I have the temperature gun. Adjusting brakes is not an exact science. You may want to try just loosening each one a little and taking it for another drive. See if you can bring the temps down, equally, by doing that and end up with temps around 100 degrees.
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