Trying to Remove Hubs on a Hudson 5 Ton Trailer

N4HMR

New Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2019
Location
Charlotte, NC
I have a Hudson 10HHSE18X6 5 ton trailer made in 04/2006, bought it in 09/2007 along with a John Deere 250 Series II skidsteer. Pull it with a 2002 Chevy 3500 with a 12' dump bed. Likely didn't have many miles on it when I got it and I haven't added more than 500 to it since. I was told by the Hudson guy it has two Dexter 5200 lb axles.

Need to use it soon so pulled it empty to check the brakes. What I got was one wheel would lock up but none of the other three. I'm tying to pull the hubs to check on things but not having much luck by myself.

Called the Hudson tech today and got the following info. He said to pull the tire off and the drum should come off. Yeah, ok, right! He said to check the magnet top where it rubs against the inside of the drum and look for 12-15 dimples in the surface. If they are worn off smooth the magnet is supposedly shot and won't work properly. Mmmm, Ok. Didn't ask him why the magnet would be dragging on the drum but ...?

He also said that there was a screw inside that will adjust how hard the magnet will apply pressure on the shoes. He said that if I didn't like the amount of braking to re-adjust the screws. After taking the Dang drums off again - and again - and again. Gotta be a better way!

Oh, yeah, he said that if there was less than 1/8" of shoe left I need new ones.

I put a couple of lug nuts on and was prying on the back side of the drum in two places while the wife tried to tap on the nuts - didn't get anywhere. Now, Sweet Thing isn't exactly best friends with a 4 lb ball peen hammer and couldn't get a good swing on it without almost dislocating my jaw bone. After a few "Oh, I'm sorry's" we kinda gave up. Actually she gave up.

So, I'm still at square one. Can anyone give me a bit more advice on how to dislodge the drums? Like how hard I might have to smack the nuts while prying on the drum? Also, does this dimple business sound right? And why the H... does that magnet have to rub the drum? That's what the shoes are supposed to do!

And, finally, how the Heck can I gauge the braking on a wheel when four of 'em are supposed to be doing that?

ANY suggestions will be very much appreciated!

Thanks.

Fred (Frustrated Freddie!)
 
Pull the cap in the center of the wheel.
Remove cotter pin, remove nut.
Then pull hub, keeping in mind the outer bearing will want to fall out, or just wiggle the drum and pull the outer bearing and then drum.

The magnet drags the drum to provide force to actuate the shoes. There should be a rubber plug to access the star wheel adjuster.

Proper way to adjust is to adjust the shoes out until you can't rotate the wheel, then back off until it rotates smoothly.

Now would be a good time to repack the bearings and replace the grease seal. They sell bearing packers that are a set of cones with a grease fitting on the threaded shaft.

When reinstalling, tighten the castle nut until tight tight, while rotating drum, then loosen till loose then tighten with weight of hand on wrench. Insert new cotter pin.

Hope to help.
 
If this was on a car/truck, you would be dead on, but this animal is different. The is a rubber cap in the outer center of the hub. Once removed, you're looking at a grease fitting. No cotter pin or removable nut.

You're probably right about why the magnet drags the drum. Likely evident once I can get an eyeball on the insides. The Hudson tech said there is no access to the adjusting screw from the outside - gotta pull the drum to get to it.
 
Where that rubber piece is that hides the grease fitting is a dust cap. It is pressed into the hub snout. Knock the dust cap off and the cotter pin and nut is behind it. If it comes to replacing the brakes/magnet. Go to a trailer shop and buy the whole backing plate assembly with shoes and magnet. They are typically cheaper than piecing it together and it’s all new.
 
N4HMR said:
If this was on a car/truck, you would be dead on, but this animal is different. The is a rubber cap in the outer center of the hub. Once removed, you're looking at a grease fitting. No cotter pin or removable nut.

You're probably right about why the magnet drags the drum. Likely evident once I can get an eyeball on the insides. The Hudson tech said there is no access to the adjusting screw from the outside - gotta pull the drum to get to it.
Click to expand...
Hes still right, knock the thin metal dust cover off and you can access the cotter pin and nut.

You may not have to take it all apart though just adjust the shoes first and while spinning the wheels have someone actuate the electric brakes and see if it stops the wheel.
 
Hudson Brothers Trailers is on HWY 218 going towards...away from Charlotte towards Monroe/Unionville. Go there, anyone looking like a "TECH" slap them upside the head and call them Bubba.:D Talk to Cliff in parts. He does not care if you live or die but once you tell him your dilemma he will help you. Those brakes wear out crazy fast so that's probably your issue. The magnet deal is real and rust has a lot to do with how they work so if your trailer sits, they won't work until after you get to your destination. Drive it round and hold down the brake controller (is it working?) and wear the rust off. I totally replace mine every two years but I use them.
 
Stuntman Autoworks said:
Hes still right, knock the thin metal dust cover off and you can access the cotter pin and nut.

You may not have to take it all apart though just adjust the shoes first and while spinning the wheels have someone actuate the electric brakes and see if it stops the wheel.
Click to expand...
Yeah I'd try that first.

I normally cheat by adjusting up till they just very lightly drag.. like just barely hear the shoes scrubbing. But the proper way is what I first outlined.

The grease fitting inside is so you can just shoot grease into the bearings. Like mentioned above, remove the metal cap and you'll find the cotter pin and nut, buried in some grease.

@rq I wouldn't say they wear crazy fast, but they do wear. And if the brakes are improperly adjusted the magnet will wear out stupid quick, since you'll have the application turned up high and no brake action. Properly adjusted is key. Napa/carquest and some other places sell the loaded backing plates and they are the way to go for sure. There are also self adjusting sets but I'm not sure how well they stay adjusted.
 
Star wheel is at 6 o'clock in the pic. So is the access plug. It helps me to see what I'm looking at before I get into it. You can also see the friction material on the magnet, as well as how the arm works to apply the shoes. Though this magnet is about worn out.

IMG_20191105_001646975.jpg
IMG_20191105_001655282.jpg
 
N4HMR said:
If this was on a car/truck, you would be dead on, but this animal is different. The is a rubber cap in the outer center of the hub. Once removed, you're looking at a grease fitting. No cotter pin or removable nut.
Click to expand...
actually that's backwards, most car/truck has seperate hub and drum, and most trailers are made together. Some may have slip on drums, but none that I'd ever worked on.
 
Well, I'm learning thanks to all who have commented. Went to the Dexter axle website and poked around. Found a downloadable pdf on light duty hubs/drums/bearings that shed a lot of light on the matter. After that I called Dexter with some questions.

The axle labels had been painted over but we determined that these axle hubs are their E-Z Lube type which use a retainer shell on the nut rather than a cotter pin due to the way the E-Z Lube system works. The fitting passes grease through a bored hole in the spindle which exits behind the inner bearing and then flows forward toward the fitting. As grease is pumped in, it forces the old grease out past the fitting and fills the inside of the dust cup (until it oozes out and falls on the floor unless you catch it. They say to pump it until you see clean grease which Dang sure takes a while! Also they insist on rotating the tire while pumping so can't grease them with tires on the ground. Or, you can try running beside the trailer while greasing it! (Good luck.)

I started on the first wheel and cleaned out the inside of the dust cup 5-6 times then said the Heck with that. The gun tube is gonna get old grease all over it anyway so just left the sucker hooked up and pumped away, wiping blobs of old grease as it came out. Dexter cautions to NOT use a air gun due to the volume of grease that is inserted. They say that can dislodge the inner seal which won't do the shoes any good.

I think I will pop the dust cap off for the rest of them - lot easier to catch the old grease, and less time. If you do pull a hub the rear seal should be replaced.

BTW, I eyeballed the back side of the backing plate and there are no openings to get to the (internal) adjusting screw - wherever it is. Interesting tho, I did see a slot on the LOWER side but it wasn't opened.
 
The slot is where the adjuster will be at. Should be a rubber plug in it. I see you say it's not got the knockout punched out, may be yours are intended to be self adjusting, though sometime they don't work properly. The bearing retainer nut, behind that metal cap, likely has a part that you press down on in order to rotate, or something similar. If the adjuster aligns with the hole with the drum removed (some access through drum, come to think of it), you can knock out the punched area and install a plug after completing adjustment.

Good luck. & Your welcome to bring it by and I'll try help you out but I'm a little out of your way.
 
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