Just bought a used Rpod

Hi all,

We recently picked up a 2016 R-pod 177 from a dealer.  The trailer is in pretty good shape, but several things needed attention - it is pretty obvious they are not assembled like aircraft...LOL.

One thing stood out though, after towing the trailer for about 15 miles to get home, one wheel stunk of burned brake lining. I later pulled the drums to check everything out and pack the wheel bearings to find that the left side brake was adjusted way too tightly - I couldn't pull the drum until I had backed the adjuster off quite a bit.  It had gotten so hot it completely liquified the wheel bearing grease, which got past the seal and made a mess. So..I cleaned everything up, adjusted the brakes, and went for a ride, but no brakes! As it turns out, both sides had wire failures at the connector to the line that comes directly from the brake coil.  It seems that the factory assembly allows some of the weight of the wiring harness (not much, but significant, IMO) to be borne by the brake coil wire which eventually stress hardens and fails.  If they had supported the harness on the top of the axle/spindle area that would not have occurred.  I suspect someone didn't know the brakes had failed and unknowingly tried to compensate with over-tightening the adjuster.  I don't know if all the r-pod models are assembled this way,  so I bring this up as some may want to check that wiring and possibly re-locate and ziptie the harness so it will be supported upon the upper side of the axle-spindle area - to help avoid that kind of failure in the future.  

The dealer didn't check anything out regarding the brakes, the propane plumbing, and didn't even drain the black and gray tanks.  Sheesh

I'm amazed at the popularity of this trailer (which I previously had never heard of), and the amount of participation this forum has.  I look forward to learning from you folks.

Tom

Including the brake wiring.

I had considered the possibility that the auto-adjust brake was the culprit also.  Your experience tells me that is a more likely cause.  The next time I work on the wheels, I will disable the auto-adjust feature, as the potential damage from that feature is much more a concern than the occasional minor manual adjustment hassle.

Tom

If one is much cooler than the other then something is wrong. I found the curb side brake to be much cooler. That side has longer wire lengths and more connectors so it takes less current. Once I rewired they were a lot closer to the same temperature.