Avoiding "lock up" on a boat trailer

[peter2407]

Went to tow my boat on trailer yesterday after not using for less than a week. Thought I was going mad as the hand brake on the trailer seemed to on when it was in the correct positiin and the cables were slack, but the wheels were dragging and leaving behind rubber. After a big wooden jobby hitting the wheel/brake assembly, the brakes freed. Clearly my post sea water launch and recovery fresh water wash down routine isnt working. Any recommendations for a spray product (a la WD40, but OK for brakes ..) after a wash down or as part of the release process?

 

[maxi77]

Alldrumbrakes are prone to locking up like that when left. Try leaving the trailer with the brake off that can help. Reversing can also help but unlesss you can find a way of stopping the inside of the drum from rusting you are alwayslikely to suffer from that problem.

 

[rbmatthews]

+1. Something similar happened with our trailer in the early days - the only cure was to dismantle the hubs and brakes and free everything up.

Since then, we never leave the brake on for extended lengths of time (i.e. > 1 week). More than that we use chocks to stop it going anywhere. That and regular flushing with fresh water after each use seems to have solved the problem (touch wood!).

 

[Pete7]

After the trailer has been dunked, try to wash the drums down before taking her home, should be dried nicely after a few miles. Leaving the hand brake on for more than a few days with wet brakes normally needs lots of violence with a land-rover using fwd and reverse to solve.

Pete

 

[PaulHa]

Whenever I service my drum brakes, I put copper grease (sparingly) on all the moving parts. Seems to last the season.

 

[peter bush]

Just tap the brake backplate with a hammer.

 

[TSB240]

Cheap bowden cables jam up and lock the brakes on.

 

[mlines]

Lessons learnt by me......

1. Never put the handbrake on the trailer on except as a very temporary hold (i.e only for minutes)
2. Flush with fresh water after you have launched at sea.
3. Replace the Bowden cables every year, they just do not survive a year of sea dipping however good and expensive they are.
4. Pull the boat/trailer forward slightly if you have reversed parked into the space (reversing can put the brakes on, pulling forward releases them)

 

[William_H]

OP does not say just what part of the brakes was stuck. I would find it unlikely that the shoes had stcuk against the drum. More likely cables or mechanism stuck holding the shoes in place. I found that brakes just give so much trouble in a trailer dunked in salt water. I confess now I have removed the brakes but I only do short trips now to the water. I had hydraulic brakes from the front of a largish car. Unfortunately the pistons in the brakes were made of ali aloy and sliding in steel they quickly corroded. The pistons supported rubber cups which actually do the sealing. I made up nylon pistons which made it a lot better. Yes I remember arriving at a marina with brakes and wheels very hot. Smoking. a bit scary. Certainly I would say brakes need to be dismantled and cleaned after each dunking. good luck olewill

 

[kolster]

It's not just trailers and salt water that give trouble, my present car a Kia Picanto has discs all round and the previous one a Skoda Fabia had rear drums, they both lock up the rear wheels if I forget and leave the handbrake on overnight after going through the car wash .

 

[trapezeartist]

It's not just trailers and salt water that give trouble, my present car a Kia Picanto has discs all round and the previous one a Skoda Fabia had rear drums, they both lock up the rear wheels if I forget and leave the handbrake on overnight after going through the car wash .

That's not good, but I've known almost any car will rust the shoes to the drum if the handbrake is left on for a long time. Clutches will do the same. I once bought a car (cheap) with a seized clutch. I thought I would free the clutch on the way home but no amount of jumping on and off the throttle while the clutch was depressed would free it. Having got home I had to dismantle the n/s suspension to remove the driveshaft, gearbox and clutch cover. Then 2 seconds to ping the clutch plate off with the tip of a screwdriver. Then reassemble the whole lot again. The crazy thingsI did in my youth!

Returning to the topic in hand, the conclusion seems to be: flush the brakes with fresh water and don't leave the handbrake on. I wonder if there is an access hole in the backplate where you could poke a hose in. If not, could you cut one?