Your brakes are a very important part of your trailer, for obvious reasons. Unless you are experienced with braking
systems, it is best to leave these jobs to professionals. We’re all about saving a few bucks - But when it comes to
brakes and your safety, there should never be a compromise. You should adjust your brakes:
1) After the first 500 km’s of use, after the brake shoes and drums have been “seated.”
2) At 5,000 km intervals
3) or as your use and performance requires (Eg. after 4x4 driving)
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C H A R I O T S 4 | O W N E R ’ S M A N U A L
BRAKES &
HANDBRAKE
BRAKE CLEANING, INSPECTION & DRUMS
With your camper parked on a level surface with the wheel you are not working on chocked. Loosen the wheel
nuts on the wheel you are working on with a half turn, then jack your camper up, and support with jack stands.
Undo your wheel nuts and remove the wheel. Once the wheel is off, take off the bearing dust cover with a flathead
screwdriver (you may also need a hammer to lightly tap the screw driver). These dust caps are made of thin
metal - so go easy on them to avoid damaging them.
Next, you will need to straighten the split pin and remove the pin from the closed end. Now you can remove the
nut that secures the brake drum. Be careful here, the outer bearings and washer could fall out - be prepared to
catch it. If it doesn’t remove the washing and outer bearing carefully, do not use any tools to remove the outer
bearing as this may damage it. You can use the drum to assist in removing the bearing but keep in mind it may
fall out. Now that the outer bearing is removed you can remove the drum. Place the drum onto a clean working
surface, careful remove the inner bearing and seal (this will require a tool to punch out). Degrease the bearings,
inner seal, and outer washers, you can use brake cleaner for this. Dry the parts to remove remaining moisture with
a clean cloth. Inspect the bearings for damage. What you are looking for is pitting or scoring of your rollers. If you
feel any resistance to movement in the rollers, or if you see any “blue haze” on the bearings (which may suggest
excess heat) it is time to replace your bearings. Re-grease the bearings (using a specially formulated, high-temp
bearing grease) by pushing grease in through the rollers by hand. (There are specific tools for this job too)
Clean your brake drum, use a brake cleaner, and again check for any scoring or unusual wear. While it is possible
to have brake drums machined - it is recommend to simply replace them when required. Smear some fresh
grease on the bearing surfaces and refit the inner bearing and new bearing seal to the brake drum (this will
require a press tool). Apply grease to the axel shaft and fit the drum back in place. Fit the outer bearing, washer
and nut back on to shaft.
Tighten the drum nut, the correct tightness is when the split pin hole just breaches the crowning of the nut. Be
careful not to over tighten as this will cause damage to the bearings and drums. Refit your split pin, and bend
one end up. Put the dust cap back on, and then refit your wheels. Check your brake shoe adjustment. Then after
first 50km - check your wheels nuts. Note: every time the wheel is removed the wheel nuts will start their bedding
process again.
