DEXTER BRAKES CAUSING ISSUES ON OUR AIRSTREAM. WATCH THIS VIDEO COULD HELP YOU!

Be sure to subscribe to the channel! In this video I discuss washing our Airstream and noticing lots of brake dust on one side of the wheels. I knew something was not right. Our Airstream is a 2020 25' Globetrotter. I tear the brakes apart to inspect with situation. Watch this video and I'll discuss how to tear apart, clean, adjust and address the issue that was causing our brakes to hang up. Hope this video helps others that are having similar issues with their units, or if you haven’t had issues yet might be worth looking into as this seems to be a pretty common issue on new model Airstreams.

[@bmfilmnut]

Beautiful trailer! The weird thing is you appeared to be adjusting the adjuster wrong (loosening) but it clearly worked. I've adjusted more drum brakes than I could count in my 74 years and all of them were tightened by engaging the adjusting wheel at the bottom and prying up. You pried from the top down.

[@TheLongLife]

I believe one side is reverse thread. Thanks for watching!

[@KensGarage1]

Great video you made. Pay attention people. He covered a lot of important stuff here. While I don't have a fancy pants Airstream (no offense, but I do have the same Ram dually as you) my Jayco had Dexter ez lube axles with traditional tapered bearings and I thought you didn't need to service them, just keep them lubed which I did religiously. BTW, interesting axles, hubs, etc., on that rig. Well, I never thought I would become that guy on the side of the freeway with a smoked bearing. A tow, a couple weeks at a trailer repair place, 2 axles, hub/brakes, bearings, etc., later I am told that the ez lube system (new axles are not ez lube) still requires servicing the tapered bearings annually. I'll put that on my list of things to do with the new axles. TPMS - I run these on both trailers and the front of the Ram. They do monitor air temp which can notify you if you have a problem developing. I believe I had an alarm on the way up to Tahoe, disregarded it, then that TPMS quit working, maybe due to way over heating, so no alarm when we left and the catastrophic failure happened. You are smart and took care of the problem (on your pusher) before a failure.

[@TheLongLife]

Thanks for commenting back! Yes you're correct people often think that the axles that have the grease zert pump grease into that bearing they don't really get grease between the roller pins. I usually grease my tapered trailer bearings every season to be safe. Never wanna be that person broke down on the highway due to bearing failure. With the airstreams they use a sealed wheel bearing similar to a front wheel drive Toyota or Hondas. We kept having a brake lock up issue with this trailer. I used other trucks to determine if it was the truck(brake controller) it ended up being the powder coating on the backing plates was getting hot and "gummy/tacky" causing the shoes to come out and not release. Hence dragging the brakes. Dexter had tons of these issues they couldn't figure out at the time what was going on that when I decided to tear it apart myself and see what the hell was going on. Hope this video helps others.. safe travels The Longs

[@timmcmillan3944]

Thank you very much for this great video on Dexter brakes. I’m taking ours apart this morning so I can clean and adjust them. Thanks to you I know exactly what tools I need and how simple it is to do. I hope your trip to Utah was a good one.

[@TheLongLife]

Get subscribed up! You'll see in the videos the trip to Utah we got caught by mother nature and ruined our pickup !

[@TalonID]

Great "how to" video!

[@TheLongLife]

Thank you

[@jfreeham]

Thank you. We live in our Airstream (Caravel 19cb) full-time. This video is very helpful, not because I have any problems with my breaks or bearings, but because you taught me the inner workings of the Dexter never lube bearings and never adjust breaks. I don't have the tools or knowledge to do what you did in the video, but it helps me understand why I'm watching what I'm watching while I keep me eyes on the TPMS.

[@TheLongLife]

Thank you!

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

Nice job. I have a 2017 30' Classic and crawled underneath and couldn't see the adjusting gear. I read in a manual that the Never lube doesn't need adjusting, auto adjusting, but just watched you adjust them, the old school way. Why don't I have an adjusting gear/spindle? Need to make a call or pull my hubs off. Dang it. Great video and awesome job explaining and demonstrating. I do have a temp gun and use it to check temps on each stop. First sign of any problem is heat. The TPMS is a must in my book. Saved me twice. Thanks Brudda

[@TheLongLife]

Temp gun has saved us couple times and yes TPMS is a must have! If I had someone filming me I could have made a better video but just me trying to do the work and show anyone else who has airstreams the situation I had. Glad I'm able to perform the work myself 😎 thanks for commenting and watching our videos!

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

@@TheLongLife Don't be so hard on yourself, we all are perfectionists, the video, narrating and editing was great. I also wanted to see what the Never Lube bearings looked like. You accomplished a lot in this video. Truly appreciate it.

[@paulstreeservice1]

Cool video. I like the tire monitor idea.

[@TheLongLife]

It's comes in so handy to have when pulling a trailer across the country.!

[@kcwerv]

I have our Airstream Dealership check our brakes and bearings every winter. They tell me each year they have to do exactly what you've done here.

[@robertedwards5916]

Nice job, appreciate the information!

[@TheLongLife]

Thank you! It was a huge headache for awhile

[@robertedwards5916]

@@TheLongLife Imagine what that would have cost to have an Airstream Dealer to check that out for you if it’s not under warranty. Nice to have the tools and know how to be able to take care of it yourself!

[@TheLongLife]

Yeah the cost $$$ and the biggest part would be the wait time to get in could totally ruin ones summer trips etc!

[@73NF14Ret]

Nice video on a little covered Airstream system. I have the same kind of brakes on my 2017 23FB and have starting feeling pulsating braking going downhill. I had a look myself at one of the brakes and only saw a rough area on each of the brake linings. Been in contact with Dexter, so far the help has been slow and only wants me to check out truck and Airstream wires, we’ll see.

[@TheLongLife]

Dexter isn't much help unfortunately. I called them with little to no support so I had to figure things out on my own. If it's only wearing on one side check those backing plates making sure both shoes can swing out. Hope this video helps! Safe travels.

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

Brudda, I am sorry to keep bring up this video but, I just called Les Schwab to get a price check on a break check and adjustment. He said a minimum of $250 per axel just to replace/repack the bearings. I told him about the having an Airstream and Nev-R Lube but he said as soon as you take the drum off, they replace the seals at a minimum. I see a little grease on/in your drum but did you do anything with the bearings or seals? When I was your age, I replaced old bearings and repacked them too, but I really don't have a place to do a complete job like that. We sold our house in Nov 2022 and live in out AS full time. Waiting for the wife to retire on Dec 1 2023 (YES!). The RV parks don't like old farts working on their vehicles in the parks. All in all, I would love to do a clean and inspect like you did. Then adjust the brakes because I know mine need adjusting because if the major difference in the temperatures. I guess if I do a clean and inspect, I'm just a few steps from a complete bearing job 🤣 What is your view opinion on the Nev-R Lube bearings and seals while cleaning and adjust the breaks as you did? Again, sorry for the discussion but I hope your video encourages others to do check and adjust their own brakes, too.👍

[@TheLongLife]

Hey! Go to harbor freight, buy a torque wrench! I think the torque was #140. On the never lube axles. There is no adjustment on bearings. Or repacking. Just cleaning the brake shoes and adjustment with a spoon. (Brake shoe spoon as I call it) red lock tite on the large nut. Snap ring pliers, can of brake clean and you're good to go. Slight drag is all ya need. One wheel at a time. Thanks for watching the videos love the comments

[@JohnnyLawBMC]

@@TheLongLife I have everything but the lock tight 😂. Thank you so much. Truly appreciate it.

[@shekharmoona544]

Just think, the next generation will have wheels able to drive themselves and produce power on the fly.

[@TheLongLife]

Possibly!

[@darylkalbach4600]

The never lube axles are terrible we had a tire flew off and lucky it didn't hit anybody. Had to put 2 new dexter axel. Lube never lube bering.

[@TheLongLife]

I am not a fan.

[@darylkalbach4600]

I will never buy a trailer with lippert never lube axles.

[@mr.craigstephens5364]

How to change the master cylinder on a 1990 airstream land yacht ?

[@David-bb8gw]

I have a nucamp 320 tab. My dexter brakes were not releasing fully. Noticed after my brakes locked up after gassing up. I too noticed hot drums after easy braking periods. Finally got selling dealer to look at it and whole brake assembly needed to be replaced due to brake not releasing to safe distance. Class action lawsuit?

[@TheLongLife]

I would think so! Lol

[@machine7767]

So a tire should rotate one two times after adjustment?

[@TheLongLife]

Yes, it shouldn't free spin. You want slight drag. But not too tight either

[@cbdane]

Did you manually slide the magnet to make sure the self-adjusters were working?

[@TheLongLife]

Yes, they auto adjusted once everything was freed and well lubricated