Disk brakes calipers freeze at times

[alan ber]

I have a 3 axle boat trailer
Rated 152000 lbs towing
Boat is kept at marina , Trailer kept home empty , No more then 2 times a year do I tow
3 years ago when I purchased boat I brought trailer into a shop too go thru ,
All new disk brakes & calipers
3 axles
disk brakes on 2 axles
Kodiak calipers
Few months ago I had need too tow boat , Pulling trailer from yard , middle 2 wheels would not release
, Jacked up trailer, removed tires , Removed disk brakes , greased cleaned , Re- installed , towed boat and it was fine
Today I wanted too move trailer just too keep wheels from locking and the same , Middle wheels would not release
Rinse with fresh water after use
What causes calipers too lock tight , What must I do too loosen and keep from locking, As stated disk brakes along with calipers are few years old, no more then 4 hundred miles but for what reason middle axle wheels lock , At times I roll back and forth and eventually releases , When boat is on trailer never had this issue
Some thoughts is appreciated

 

[dingbat]

Pretty common to “skid” wheels with no weight on the trailer.

Residual pressure in the brake lines are the problem.

Using a vented backup solenoid on the rig?

 

[alldodge]

That is the down side of disc brakes. I have a single axle dump truck which is not used very often, and every now and then one of the calipers hang. The best thing for disk is they need to be used. For trailers I would recommend drum brakes.

They stick because the caliper piston is plane steel and they rust. If you can get at them easy enough, take a hammer once parked, smack them with a hammer to push the piston back into the bores. This way the next time they are used, the pistons will push out to engage the pads leaving clean areas to retract on.

The best IMO are drum brakes for ones that do not get used much

Rated 152000 lbs towing

This might be a misprint, otherwise this is one large trailer

 

[GA_Boater]

This might be a misprint, otherwise this is one large trailer

Maybe not. Alan said the middle brakes on a 3 axle trailer are locking. :smile:


Since the trailer is storage queen with little use, maybe the caliper pins are rusting and the calipers aren't free to move; [h=3]PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE[/h]

Check pads frequently for wear.
Check brake lines frequently for leaks.
Rinse brakes off with fresh water after submersion in salt water.
Routinely lubricate wheel hub bearings.
Routinely lubricate sliding caliper bolts with a high temp. anti-seize lubricant.

---

Or you're suffering from the dreaded Lot Lock - http://www.roadkingtrailers.com/STORAGE.pdf

 

[dingbat]

They stick because the caliper piston is plane steel and they rust.

Kodiak is the gold standard in the salt. SS caliper pistons, hardware and brake pad backers. Even a SS caliper housing if your so inclined.

Never had a Kodiak caliper piston stick in almost 10 years of service.

The achilles’s heal are the slide guides. Learned the hard way they need greased more than once every 5 years.

 

[alldodge]

The achilles’s heal are the slide guides. Learned the hard way they need greased more than once every 5 years.

Maybe it would be better to mention this in your first post

Kodiak makes good stuff, but my guess is they are not 316

 

[alan ber]

Thanks for responses ,
Trailer towing max is 15,200 is what the mfg tag says , Boat is a 30 ft Regal , 9.6 beam weights around 9 thousand lbs with fluids .l I purchased a yearly wide permit , Sure beats DOT pulling me over
30 ft 9.6 beam is a beast ,
I use boat weekly , If I towed would use seldom , Trailer is amazing , Stainless wheels
Trailer is used seldom , towing boat for repairs ,
Last time this happened I removed wheels , removed pads , calipers, cleaned , bleed brakes , greased bearings, cleaned calipers , Worked fine , Today I hooked up truck and same happened middle axle with disk brakes ,Locked. If I had weight on trailer would have been better

Was curious what causes caliper too lock , Non use does not help flushed wheels last time after I launched
Will be pulling again and hopefully I am able too correct

thanks

 

[Cat nip]

If you find it is stuck before you try anything first crack the bleeder screws on the affected caliper/s. If the brake fluid squirts out and they are free now then something is restricting the flow back like a collapsed hose. If the fluid just dribbles out and they didn't free up then it is something else like the slides or what i call lot rot when the pads kinda rust to the rotors in a way. When you do tow it a few miles check the temp of all 4 rotors and see if they are close to each other.