Surge brake Q

[surroundsound64]

I'm relative green when it comes to surge brakes. The rear axle on my trailer has disk brakes. Got to the ramp today and when I was unhooking the boat I felt the heat coming off of both rear wheels. Both being hot leads me to believe it's a wheel cylinder sticking and not a caliper issue. Is there something else in the system I should look at before replacing that? (Fluid level was good and all zerks are greased.)

It has reverse lockout but seeing as how it got hot on the drive there, and not having driven there in reverse, leads me to believe it has nothing to do with the reverse lockout.

Oh, and by hot, I mean HOT! The caps on the bearings were popping out and I could splash water on the wheel and it would boil. When I got home I pointed my gun at it and saw well over 200 degrees (makes sense, water boils at 212...)

[jhersey29]

I would start by jacking up each side and see if the wheel rotates freely as in brakes not locked up. Overhauling the bearings is pretty easy but will take a trip to the auto store to get new bearings and seals. They usually have them in stock behind the counter but matching them up can be tricky. The part numbers are darn hard to read on the bearing and seals. You'll also need a grease gun and new grease.
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[surroundsound64]

I don't think that's it as it is both wheels on the same axle that happen to be the axle with brakes. Combine that with the burning smell that was present (pads) and that the rotors themselves were considerably hotter than the hub.

Also, I forgot to mention, I can move the sliding unit [insert correct term] by hand back and forth. Pretty sure it should take more force than a 180# guy in flip flops pushing and pulling on it.

[HS]

SS: I think you're right, there is a piston in the trailer tongue which is the "surge" activator. I learned this by watching a video on the DHM (now Calif. Trailers) web site when I was trying to solve a reverse lock-out issue on my old boat trailer. The piston is basically a shock absorber and I had to replace that as well (but didn't notice any hot brakes, I just had a loud clunk when stopping and starting). I found a great trailer guy that a local (former malibu dealer uses) and I have him look after the trailer for me.

[surroundsound64]

Cool. Thanks man.

[BoardSkier]

SS: I think you're right, there is a piston in the trailer tongue which is the "surge" activator. I learned this by watching a video on the DHM (now Calif. Trailers) web site when I was trying to solve a reverse lock-out issue on my old boat trailer. The piston is basically a shock absorber and I had to replace that as well (but didn't notice any hot brakes, I just had a loud clunk when stopping and starting). I found a great trailer guy that a local (former malibu dealer uses) and I have him look after the trailer for me.

Dont want to hijack the thread, but can you tell me more about the surge piston. My trailer also "clunks". Bled the brakes and can barely move the tongue by hand. The cylinder leaks when I back up. Doesnt seem to leak when I manipulate the tongue by hand. Can feel the clunk when trailering. Brakes seem to be activating and the discs look like pads are activating.

[Skidave]

There are many different types of actuators (the coupler with the brake master cylinder and associated components). Each one should have some sort of small shock-absorber. The shock pushes the coupler to return to the non-braking position and it also prevents a lot of slap / clunking noise when driving the trailer. BoardSkier, sounds like your shock could be bad and you are getting the clunk from the actuator moving back and forth without the help of the shock. Also, don't forget about your reverse lockouts. Some are mechanical and some are electric (and some are both).

SurroundSound64, I think you definitely have an actuator problem if both wheels are that hot. Check to see which vendor makes your actuator and look at their parts diagram for repair / rebuild parts.

I have a Titan Model 60 actuator...big, simple and easy to test operation with a large flat blade screwdriver. You may be able to test your actuator depending on the design as well.

[HS]

yeah, if you take a look at the side of the trailer tongue you can see a slot in which a pin is located. That slot is the travel guide with "stops" for the surge brake actuator. So once you've come to a stop at a red light, for instance, the pin has slid forward a bit. Once you begin to pull away from the traffic light, the pin will travel rearward in the slot about an inch and engage the rear stop in the guide. You can sense this in your tow vehicle and maybe even hear a small clunk (which I think is normal). But when the piston has failed, you'll hear the clunk more frequently and if it is shot, sometimes the trailer will "buck" meaning the brakes have been actuated and feel like they want to lock up and then the extra unintended drag causes the trailer to bounce back from the tow vehicle. Back with the old boat when I realized the shock was bad, I was towing without the boat and with every bounce on the road, and even going slow over small bumps in a parking lot, the trailer would buck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKG1zAd5YkQ

http://www.trailmastertrailers.com/p...aintenance.pdf

[gome123]

GREAT INFO!! From reading this, I think my shock absorber is out as well. Time to tear my coupler apart.

[surroundsound64]

Yes! Thanks for the info. I went ahead and purchased a whole new assembly. I have a tiedown model 66. $94 from eastern marine.

[shag]

Good thread here....