Boat Trailer Surge Brakes

[Lundman]

This past weekend on a trip to the Gorge I had a brake line on my MetalCraft boat trailer get cut and required a trip to Green River to get a replacement. I have a tandum axle trailer and have never had any problems with the brakes.

Well after I purchased the brake line I noticed that the brake fluid was very dirty and rusty looking. To my a long story short I took the whole brake system apart and boy and I glad I did!!!

My boat & trailer were purchased brand new and now I have seven years of wear & tear on the trailer - 5 trips to Oregon - 2 trip to Idaho - one trip to Powell and many many trip to the local ponds.

First I took apart the coupler and brake reservior and blasted it was brake cleaning fluid. Boy the rust & dirt were sure built up and need a good cleaning.

After the rear drums were off I noticed that one set of brake shoes had moved up a little and were wearing on the brake drum and one brake shoe needs replaced. On the other side the rear seal had been letting grease out the backside and getting over over the shoes & drum.

So tomorrow I am getting both drums turned, two new brake cylinders, new shoes, news seals, and new grease. And the remaining fluid flushed with new.

So even though I thought I had great trailer brakes I was on the verge of many problems. I do had the Bearing Buddies and always feel the hubs at all stops for over-heating.

Hope this helps someone remember to check those working trailer brakes and see how much wear and tear are left on them.
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[Like2Fish]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I've been thinking I should check my trailer hubs and such but . . . now I think I better do it soon!
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[Lundman]

After talking to a few experts about boat trailers - here are a few things to ponder:

1) after the long driver to the lake your boat trailer hubs are at least warm and when you back it into the water the natural thing that happens it water is attracted to the warmth -- in other words it is sucked into the hubs.

2) when greasing your bearing buddies you should only need a most a couple of squeezes once a year - think about your car and how often you repack your wheel bearing - every five years at most. In other words once you repack your boat trailer bearings you should be good for a least 5 years with the use of bearing buddies and a eye out watching the heat of the hub on all trips. Just reach down and touch the hub - it should be warm but not hot!!

3) By keeping a eye of the brake fluid in the reservoir - you should be able to see if your brake fluid is becoming comtaminated. Remeber that the rust/sludge will settle to the bottom so you might have to stick a finger in the bottom to see how bad it really is...

4) I asked over 20 people how to bleed/purge my brake lines once I had evacuated the old brake fluid. No one seem to know!! I believe I found the correct way and it did not involve a one-man brake bleed device. I don't believe that device will work with surge brakes - I might be wrong but for $25 to $40 for the self-bleeding device I think I did OK.

5) ALWAYS carry a set of three tube wrentches with you - your standand end wrentches might work but they weren't made for brake tubing.

Have a great day on the water...
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[Saberfish]

[black][size 3]For the most part, I agree with the information that was provided by your sources. Too much grease can be as damaging as not enough. Over packed bearings have a tendency to retain heat, and can result in bearing damage. [/size][/black]
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[size 3]Because boat trailers are subjected to water submersion and periods of non-use, I think that they should be packed every spring, and then only giving them a couple shots in the buddy bearings a year.[/size]
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[size 3]I've practiced this on my trailers, and have not had any problems (knock on wood).[/size]
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[size 3]Glad that you found your problems and made the repairs before you had any serious incidents.[/size]
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[size 3]Thanks for sharing what you learned from all of your efforts.[/size]
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[cna91]

I replaced my entire brake system this year. What kind of coupler do you have? I may be able to help you with bleeding information.

A week after I replaced everything, couple included, my nephew jack-knifed the trailer and bent the couple, so guess what I get to do again. Replace the couple and bleed it AGAIN!! [mad]
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[muskyhunter]

Thanks to all for the great info on this topic. One of the biggest mistakes when it comes to wheel bearings that have the bearing buddy type system is that people just pump a bunch of grease in them and they think they are ok!! If you pump to much in you will push the grease out the rear seal and will make a hell of a mess with your brakes!! M.H.
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