Tips, how-to guides, and expert advice on maintenance and troubleshooting from Jesse Allred, owner of Allred Trailer Service, a mobile operation serving the greater Sacramento area.
Every article here comes from real work done in driveways, jobsites, and fleet yards across Northern California. These are the same procedures, part numbers, and diagnostic steps we use every day — written up so you can handle routine upkeep yourself or know exactly what to expect when you call a professional.
The guides cover the systems that fail most often on the road: electric braking components, magnets and controllers, wheel bearings and hubs, lighting and wiring circuits, suspension parts, couplers, jacks, and dump bed hydraulics. Many include torque tables, part number cross-references, and step-by-step checklists you can print and take to the shop or the driveway.
If you are new to towing, start with the braking and bearing articles — those two systems cause the majority of roadside breakdowns, and both can be inspected at home with basic hand tools. Seasoned haulers will find deeper reference material, including part number guides for Dexter and UFP hub assemblies and spec sheets organized by stud size and nut type.
Quick Dexter/UFP Vault hub parts guide for 3.7K and 4.2K axles. Includes bearing, race, seal, cap, O-ring, Vault hybrid oil, Red Permatex RTV, and threadlocker part info so you can order the right parts before servicing your hubs.
Quick-reference guide to hub bearing, race, and seal part numbers for Dexter axles rated 3,500 to 7,000 lb. Cross-referenced to Timken, SKF, and National so you can order the right parts the first time.
Learn how to properly burnish electric drum brakes with step-by-step instructions from Allred Trailer Service. Covers both the standard owner method and the faster shop technique for maximum stopping power.
Learn how electric brake magnets use electromagnetic force to activate your braking system, including how to inspect, test, and replace them for safe and reliable stopping performance.
The JXC is a center-mount tongue jack that bolts directly to your A-frame coupler area without welding.
Understand how electric brakes work from magnet to controller. This complete guide covers every component of the electric brake system so you can tow safely and troubleshoot problems fast.
A step-by-step guide to cleaning, inspecting, and repacking your wheel bearings so they run cool and last for years.
Seven warning signs your electric brakes need attention, plus a simple step-by-step check you can do before your next tow.
A logical, step-by-step way to track down dead lights, blown circuits, and bad grounds without guessing.
Keep your dump bed lifting strong with this step-by-step maintenance routine for the pump, fluid, hoses, and battery.
Jesse Allred has spent years doing mobile service work on every kind of rig — utility, cargo, dump, boat, and equipment haulers. Nothing here is rewritten from a manual; each article reflects what actually works in the field, which parts hold up, and which shortcuts cause comebacks. When a job calls for a shop lift or specialty tooling, the guides say so plainly.
Need hands-on help? Call (916) 251-9731 — we come to you anywhere in the Sacramento region.