[Pelican]

I'm putting new brakes on my trailer equipped with Dexter axles. I'm assuming there are wear limits on the actuating magnets, but I can't find any info on the Dexter site. Anyone know anything about these?

[HRLand]

I don't know about the wear limits but you can get the whole backing plate with everything installed for about $50-$60. Very fast replacement.

[Pelican]

Wish I had known that earlier!! I paid darned near that for just relined shoes!

[Bill Schwab]

I usually just replace the maggots at the same time we do shoes. Just as easy and no doinking around if something fails later. Sort of like when a garage does a brake job and does not replce wheel cylinders, then a month goes by and they explode.

For the $20.00 they tried to save, they cost another $100.00 in labor.

[PSUscaper]

i'm with the rest and pretty much do everything at once.....

new shoes, new magnets, new bearings, new races.......if I'm gonna get dirty, I'm only going to do it once. I hate working on trailers, so make sure I do it all in one shot.....in the winter time!
I don't even want to think about the trailer until the season is over.

Basically, you can replace the whole assembly (shoes, magnets, springs, etc) all in one piece, and as I recall, its about dead even with just buying new shoes and magnets. Plus.....a lot easier. All you have to do is pull the whole assembly off, reconnect the wire, and pack the bearings.

When doing the shoes, check the hubs for wear, just like a vehicle. They may need to be replaced.

Also, check the inside of the hub where the magnet makes contact....if the magnet was shot, then it most likely grinded the inside of the hub a little bit the new magnet will wear much faster (just like brake shoes if you don't get the rotors spun)

Speaking of trailer brakes......did you see the new fords....they have a built in trailer brake control in the dash now......pretty cool. It seems like they may have intergrated trailer brakes with the trucks brakes, but I'm not sure if it is just like a regular brake control and independent of the truck's brakes, or if the trucks abs and other computers control the trailer brakes also.

Its about time they did it though. I was happy when they finally included wiring harnass's for brake control......now they are going all out.