Brake locked up and maintenance question

[Dirty Dawg]

Hello all , been boating for two seasons with the similar routine. The boat goes in the water, salt, were it stays for anywhere from three days to two weeks. The other day, I went to hook up the trailer and one of the wheels was locked.
It is a Venture tandem trailer with surge drum brakes. I checked that the surge braking system was not activated and only one drum was stuck. I am assuming it froze up. So I took a rubber mallet to it and it freed up and we where good to go.
So the question, What did I do wrong? How do I avoid it from happening again? Is there any way to clean out the drum brakes after it gets dunked, other than flushing? Any good web page about trailer functioning and maintaince? Thanks Ike

 

[Tom P]

Re: Brake locked up and maintenance question

My tailer sat with no boat on it for 3 months. I then went to move it to pick up my boat and the drivers side tire was locked. This happened once before and it broke free. This time it didn't. Dispite banging on the drum (Led Zep, Doors, The Who). NFG. Eventually it broke free and split one of the shoes. I'm now in the process of replacing the breaks.

The best advice I can give you is: The last action you should do with a trailer is pulling a little froward. This should insure that the breaks are not engaged. Honestly, in my case, I'm planning to put the trailer up on jack stands when not in use and spinning the wheels every week or so. It sucked that bad. I think flushing the breaks helps. But a tug forward or a spin of the tire I think is the best bet.

At this point, I would pull the drums the next time the boat is in the water for a couple of days and have a peek at the insides.

Tom

 

[Dirty Dawg]

Re: Brake locked up and maintenance question

Thanks Tom for the reply, makes sense to release the brakes.

I wonder is there anything that can be "sprayed" onto the brake mechanism after flushing it out to prevent corrosion?

Anyone has any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks Ike

 

[dingbat]

Re: Brake locked up and maintenance question

Anyone has any other thoughts or suggestions?

Ya....dump them and go disc

 

[Tom P]

Re: Brake locked up and maintenance question

With a 21' boat and 5.0L motor you're most likely over 3000 lbs. This site www.championtrailers.com has some good articles that explain the pros & cons of disk & drum breaks. It also has some how-to articles. I keep my boat in the water so I'm trailering about 6 times a year. It just wasn't worth the added cost. I also noticed that 10? with 5 lugs cost a lot less that 12? with 6 lugs. Naturally I have 12? with 6 lugs. The good news is that you can plan what you want to do at this point.

Tom

 

[Dirty Dawg]

Re: Brake locked up and maintenance question

Tom, you are right on the money, it weighs 3500 lbs without about 100-lbs. of gear and then the weight of fuel. Nice sight and an interesting obvious warning about moving your trailer forward after backing it up.

I am only trailering it 2 miles form the house to the ramp about 8 times a year so light short use.

I realized that the booklet that I got with the trailer is pretty useless, no info on adjusting brakes , checking fluid levels or anything. I guess your on your own. Is there a we page with maintaince info? I will try the manufacturer, but I do not remember any.

Thanks again for your help!! Ike

 

[Tom P]

Re: Brake locked up and maintenance question

I thinks a wise man checks the trailer out real throughly at the beginning and end of each season. Then before each time towing does a quick once over. I bought my trailer new about 5 years ago. After each long haul, I felt the hubs. No heat, so I assumed all is well. When I check the bearing while doing the breaks. They looked good.

Like you, I don't trailer often, so would it kill us to check things like break fluid, tire pressure and the lights each time? If you do some searching on the board here, I'm sure you can find a good article on adjusting breaks. I should be able to discuss that after this Tuesday. I'm adjusting my in the afternoon. Bleeding them was real easy.

Tom