Trailer brakes and Maintenance.

[samw]

I have a prestige trailer for my boat. I have a few questions as far a maintenance.
1. When towing I don't notice the brakes come on very well. For being surge brake you usually the brakes setting. I don't. So how can you test surge brakes??
2. How often do you change bearings and repack them???

3. When should you really change the bunk carpet, other then seeing sever wear?

I know there is few more questions just can't think of them.

Thanks

[spharis]

1. You can have someone compress the actuator to make sure the brakes are bled properly. Other than that, you would have to get creative, although someone may have a technique.

2. Check them by jacking the axle up and wiggling the hub. Spare play indicates bad bearings. You will usually notice a bearing going bad while towing. You can repack them any time. It's a pretty easy job.

3. I change mine when new bunks go on, or when I can see the wood through the carpet over more than 25%.

[dogbert]

One thing I learned is that if you don't tow your boat very far, it will cause pre-mature failure of your brakes. I had to replace the brakes on my trailer about a year ago.

[mneal]

Testing: Sounds weird but after you dunk the boat off the trailer you can stop pretty fast in the parking lot and see the trailer lock up while empty. If they ever do work properly and then stop working you will also tell the 1st time you stop it while towing.

Bleeding: I bleed mine with vacuum brake bleeder and the results were so-so, I actually ended up making lever from a 2x4 and attaching bottom of the "lever" to the jack and forcing the coupler back to bleed them.

Wheel Bearing: There again, once the boat is off the trailer grab the top of the wheel and rock the trailer and feel for any play in the bearings. Like Spharis said if there is play the bearings , that is bad sign and they are failing and need service. I check for additional play periodocity just to keep an eye on them. Before super long trips I sometime jack up the trailer and check for play too. If the grease is clean and sufficient and the play has not changed I have found them good to go. Some might disagree, but if the grease is fresh and never been contaminated I do not take apart and "repack" them as maintenance. The key is the never been contaminated part. If you lose a bearing Buddie or something happens and grease gets water/debris in them . all bets are off. The bearings need at the least cleaned and repacked, most likely replaced. They are cheap and a failure on the side of the road is not much fun..

[chpthril]

Here is a thread with some info on bleeding.

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...trailer+brakes

[whitlock87]

I check my brakes with the trailer plug disconnected. Put the truck in reverse, and the trail should not move.

[spooner]

some "play" in the bearing is normal. If they are loose or you feel they have too much play then dissasemble and check the bearing and race surfaces. they should be free from chipping or small specs on the rollers or race. If damaged then replace if not repack and reset preload on bearing with outer nut.

Trailer brakes have an adjusting wheel on them like drum brakes on a car/truck you just have to remove the drum. I have not found one with a access plug. BTW during drum removal and brake adjustment would be a good time to repack the bearings

[samw]

My trailer have disc brakes.

[chpthril]

My trailer have disc brakes.

Not as much to service as they are self adjusting, but still need to be inspected annually for pad wear and guide-pin movement. Frozen pins can cause the calipers to "drag" and wear out the pads and damage the rotors, or prevent the calipers from applying stopping force to the rotor, i.e. no brakes. Fluid should be flushed every 3-5 yrs depending on # of dunkings and humidity in your area. Break fluid's goal in life is to absorb moisture, and it's real good at it.

Bearings should be inspected and repacked when the boat is being made ready for the new season. I would also suggest a new seal at this point to, they are only a couple of bucks for cheap insurance. I'd say new bearings between 3-5 yrs depending on towing mileage each season.

[spooner]

Sorry I assumed they were drum.
something I have seen only twice is the boot around the caliper piston drying out and or the folds in the boot sticking together this causes the piston to retract too far after braking which in turn causes the actuator to have to be depressed further to actuate the brake. Check this by inspecting the pads their should be very little space between the pad and rotor.

[scoot18]

A litte aid in bleeding the trialer brakes is, remove your draw bar from the tow vehicle and place the hitch ball in the trailer ball opening. latch it down just as if you were going to tow and use the draw bar as your leverage device. You can lift up on the draw bar and if all is lubricated and moving freely in the tounge it will depress the surge actuator and assist in bleeding the brakes. Much easier that trying to just use your hand to push in the actuator.

[spharis]

Or you can use a screwdriver to press in the pin.

[Weil Thing]

Bleeding the brakes should not be a difficult procedure - I had my 14 year old pump the actuator while I bled and reattached the hoses. Our system is a newer Titan system though...might be easier than some of the older ones I guess. (User manual was a big help )

Chpthrill is right about brake fluid absorbing moisture...on a friend's advice, I replaced mine with a silicone DOT 5 fluid that will not absorb water as quickly...but it's pricey!

[Razzman]

Let me state a word of caution here guys, unless you completely flush and inspect your brake system completely to include literally pulling apart the calipers/drums, checking all rubber components and flush the entire system with something like alcohol your taking a major risk converting to DOT5 fluid!

If there are any traces of DOT3/4 in your system the DOT5 will interact and cause a slugging to occur which can clog your system causing failure. Some mfgrs do not recommend it as it can eat away at certain rubber compounds and if your master cylinder seals & cups / caliper seals / wheel cylinders were not designed for it well you get the picture!

If there's any DOT3/4 left the DOT5 will float on top and you'll never get them to work correctly. Also as they don't mix it will cause a lower boiling point as well. DOT5 may be water resistant but it's not waterproof and if water does get in then again the boiling point lowers and pedal is severly diminished, can you say no brakes?

When doing this on racing motorcycles years ago we'd literally replace all rubber/rubber lined hoses and rubber components with DOT5 approved hardware, all remaining metal lines and components were flushed with alcohol and blown out. The information is out there about this, read up and get informed before you attempt this conversion please! Make sure your gear can accept DOT5 or you may be replacing more than just your brakes!

[chpthril]

Let me state a word of caution here guys, unless you completely flush and inspect your brake system completely to include literally pulling apart the calipers/drums, checking all rubber components and flush the entire system with something like alcohol your taking a major risk converting to DOT5 fluid!

If there are any traces of DOT3/4 in your system the DOT5 will interact and cause a slugging to occur which can clog your system causing failure. Some mfgrs do not recommend it as it can eat away at certain rubber compounds and if your master cylinder seals & cups / caliper seals / wheel cylinders were not designed for it well you get the picture!

If there's any DOT3/4 left the DOT5 will float on top and you'll never get them to work correctly. Also as they don't mix it will cause a lower boiling point as well. DOT5 may be water resistant but it's not waterproof and if water does get in then again the boiling point lowers and pedal is severly diminished, can you say no brakes?

When doing this on racing motorcycles years ago we'd literally replace all rubber/rubber lined hoses and rubber components with DOT5 approved hardware, all remaining metal lines and components were flushed with alcohol and blown out. The information is out there about this, read up and get informed before you attempt this conversion please! Make sure your gear can accept DOT5 or you may be replacing more than just your brakes!

I gotta side with Razz on this. DOT4 has a higher heat tolerance then DOT3 and is a compatible upgrade, but DOT5 is a synthetic fluid that may not be compatible with the rubber parts used in a system designed for DOT3/4. It may cause a system failure due to detereated seals and leak, or cause the seals to swell and cause no brakes, or dragging brakes.