dont understand these brakes

[greenwell001]

i have a 21 footer with a 24 foot tandem trailer......the brakes work off the goose neck movement i suppose.....they have locked up a couple of times when i have had to get on the brakes a little hard....is this the norm with this system or can i do some maintenance to fix the problem

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: dont understand these brakes

that's normal"ish" if the brake shoes are contaminated with oil it can contribute to locking... also if your tires are really old and bald or dry and hard then they may skid more easily than they should....

 

[northernmerc]

Re: dont understand these brakes

i have a 21 footer with a 24 foot tandem trailer......the brakes work off the goose neck movement i suppose.....they have locked up a couple of times when i have had to get on the brakes a little hard....is this the norm with this system or can i do some maintenance to fix the problem

I'm not clear on what type of brake system you have. Are you saying that they are surge brakes?

 

[Yellow Yota]

Re: dont understand these brakes

Blanket answer is NO. They're not working correctly. Are they electric? Or surge?

 

[180shabah]

Re: dont understand these brakes

Do you have brakes on both axles, or just one?
If just one, is it the front or rear axle?

Do you REALLY have a gooseneck trailer for a 21' boat????

 

[greenwell001]

Re: dont understand these brakes

sorry for the confusion...they are surge brakes i suppose.....there is a hydraulic line from ( i called it a gooseneck, anyway it is where the ball hooks on to my truck) it moves inward when i get in the brakes and increases the hydraulic pressure in the line to engage the brakes.....is that right? what can i do to keep them from locking up, the tires are good

 

[Proselect]

Re: dont understand these brakes

First I would pull the drums off and check the linings. Pay attention if the bearings are loose and tighten up or repack as necessary. Look at the brakes and see if they are dirty or not and clean up. Also look and make sure the grease seals are not leaking and getting grease on the brakes. You also want to check the shoe adjustments and make sure they are no adjusted too tight or down too far. If it is a disk system then some of this you don't have to worry about. Another thing that can cause them to catch is the drums or rotors being warped and having too much runout. Instead of getting a pulsation like in a car, they may just lock up. I have seen small car drum brakes do this quite often. If everything checks out then I would look at your hydraulic system next. If I remember right some of the master cylinder units in the tongue are adjustable so you can fine tune the braking pressure, but I am not totally sure.

 

[greenwell001]

Re: dont understand these brakes

pro select thankyou