How to free up a 'frozen' trailer?

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peter2407

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My braked trailer (with RIB on top) has been sat on outside storage for 9 ish months. I went to move it today, expecting problems but couldn't get it to move despite using a lump hammer against wood against the rims (heard what I think was rust dropping) and a very little bit of rocking back and forth. Various thoughts occur:

1. I am now using a regular Audi A4 rather than the old Quattro
2. Its on a gravel section so the current A4 started to spin out
3. The hand brake/emergency brake on the trailer isn't actually releasing
4. The brakes are corroded

Any advice please?
 
I would jack up each side and see which wheels turn. When you find the one that doesn’t, strip it down and free it off. Then take it straight to a mechanic and get it serviced.
If all the wheels are tight then the braking is at fault. Either strip it or get someone in.
Trailers locking up on the move are a worry.
 
Too late for you now, but good advice generally is to never leave a trailer with the handbrake on. Chock the wheels if necessary, but leave handbrake off.
 
Firstly check the brale cables/rods at each wheel are releasing, which will confirm the problem is inside one or more drums/hubs.
Then as above, strip, clean, renew as necessary.
 
A neighbour had a boat on a trailer which had the same problem when he came to move it. I gave him a hand with it and had a little poke about with the brake. I realised that the lever was actually counter intuitive and was in the on position. Easy to overlook and obvious when a fresh pair of eyes had a look.
 
get underneath and give the cables or rods operating the handbrake a wobble, a good hard wobble, preferably with someone pushing the lever down. You might locate the source. Otherwise if all else fails, then it is what most boat trailer companies seem to do, drag it onto hard standing, and do the back forward shuffle a while till the wheels turn. Once they are free you can have a look inside the drums etc and sort it properly. Also, the hammer trick works better when the trailer is being "pulled" a bit.
 
so the latest - got a mate to bring his monster truck to try and move it, which it did or rather it managed to drag the trailer onto concrete. Lots of back and forth only managed to get the left wheel to rotate in reverse, but not forward. The right wheel didn't move at all. One point was that wee tried the back and forth with the handbrake both up and down (so theoretically on and off), but there is very little change in the tension of the cable.
 
The rotation in one direction but not the other is a classic symptom of a pad which has come adrift from the brake shoe. Remove the wheel and brake drum and you'll almost certainly find the shoes need replacing. Most trailer dealers should be able to help you out with a new set. Given that the other wheel isn't shifting, I d suggest going the same route: remove the wheel and brake drum, check the condition of the shoes and mechanism and repair as necessary. It may be that you'll find that the cable to the completely frozen wheel is stuck and also need replacing: you'd have to dismantle the brakes to do that anyhow so nothing lost in removing th wheel and drum anyhow.
 
duncan99210 said:
The rotation in one direction but not the other is a classic symptom of a pad which has come adrift from the brake shoe. Remove the wheel and brake drum and you'll almost certainly find the shoes need replacing. Most trailer dealers should be able to help you out with a new set. Given that the other wheel isn't shifting, I d suggest going the same route: remove the wheel and brake drum, check the condition of the shoes and mechanism and repair as necessary. It may be that you'll find that the cable to the completely frozen wheel is stuck and also need replacing: you'd have to dismantle the brakes to do that anyhow so nothing lost in removing th wheel and drum anyhow.
Click to expand...

The trouble is if the brake is locked on solid so that the wheel wont turn you cannot get the drum off !
 
Thanks Chaps - I will try and get a local specialist to sort it as it is beyond me. Truth is, the trailer (RM 7 meter break back) is probably worth more than the boat (Ribtec 5.5m, 2 x 40 HP manual start 2 stroke, but very reliable), so a replacement of the whole braking system, and possibly the wheels, may not be a bad idea?
 
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peter2407 said:
Thanks Chaps - I will try and get a local specialist to sort it as it is beyond me. Truth is, the trailer (RM 7 meter break back) is probably worth more than the boat (Ribtec 5.5m, 2 x 40 HP manual start 2 strokes, but very reliable), so a replacement of the whole breaking system, and possibly the wheels, may not be a bad idea?
Click to expand...

I'd get a trailer person to have a look at it and get it back in working condition: don't tell them what to replace, just ask them to get it working again. I once had a twin axle trailer sorted by the local trailer/caravan place, they did an excellent job, replaced most of the cables and a couple of bearings: never did tell the Admiral just how much it cost... Mainly the cost of new parts by the way, labour was only about three hours in total.
 
Peter, where in the country are you? I am sure you could get some good recommendations on here for local trailer specialists? My vote on the Solent would be Crosshouse Trailers, Jasper would be your man, he will give you some good advice over the phone, and doesn't charge silly money. Most importantly of all, he will if you ask him, give you some tips on maintenance and future problem solving for free. I am sure there are chaps like him all over the country.
If I was in your position right now I would jack it up, pull the wheels off to gain access to the drums, and the brake levers and cables. Give it all a really good wiggle, and a few blows. If in doubt, pull the hand brake rod or cable assembly apart, Put the wheel nuts back on, and use a lever between them to try and rotate the hub. That is pretty much what a trailer company will do when they come to pick it up - or they will bring a recovery truck, and the costs will be higher. Give it a crack if you have time
 
Solent Clown - my kids tell me that I am cash rich and time poor ..... To answer your question, the storage area is in Dorchester, I live in Wimborne and the 'real boat' (raggie) is in Lymington. This, the 'stinky' is to please the financial parasites - aka my children...

Thanks for the referral btw - on the net I have found a local trailer person who on their website say that a service would be £70 plus bits and charge £40 per hour so at least there is some element of transparency there? I have also asked the storage company if they can help/recommend someone. The problem is that I have signed up with a new storage company who are around the corner and half the price so would prefer to have equally 'round the corner' maintenance services, but I need to get to a point where said kit is physically local. Quite why I signed up with a storage provider 30+ miles away ... I blame Google ...
 
if you can get the wheels rolling it will be a much cheaper affair, but if you are not on a tight budget, then get the trailer guys to do it for you where you are. Time is money and all that, and you will be putting money in the pocket of an independent hopefully. Maybe get them to tie you in to a good maintenance deal when your next season is over. That way you pay and play, and they get all the headaches/do all the things to prevent headaches.
 
9 times out of ten, simple solution is to get a good heavy club hammer and give the centre of the hub a good clout or two. If the bearing is at risk then clout round the centre of the wheel generally. This tends to break the corrosion that is locking the hub. Don't be shy.
 
My trailer is on a gravel drive which slopes slightly so the Audi wheels won't grip. I position the tow car on firm ground and pull for the first 20' with a strong rope until I can hitch it.
 
From experience with caravan brakes I can tell you why one wheel will turn backwards only. Inside the most common type of trailer brakes there is an automatic reversing mechanism that allows the brakes to release when reversing despite the fact that reversing pushes the hitch backwards, which is the same movement that applies the over-ride braking when towing. When the hub is turned backwards the brakes release because the shoes slip off a cam. If the handbrake is locked on you might, with sufficient force, get the shoes to slip back enough to free the wheel, but pulling it forwards will cause it to jam up again.

One possible way to release the wheels is to jack up the trailer and use a long lever bolted to the wheel studs to turn the hub backwards.
 
I have a similar problem quite often with a trailer that has stood for several months each winter particularly if I've left the brakes on. Jacking up and servicing with a heavy boat aboard isn't practical so I service it in the summer when the boats afloat.
It's often seized up when I want to move it in April but usually responds to some good belts from the lump hammer. Traction on my gravel drive is poor so I use a rope from the hitch to the car which can then be on the tarmac. The wheels are often reluctant to turn but free themselves after a couple of metres on the road.
The OP could try the hammer and rope trick or get someone with a 4 x 4 or tractor to help.
 
thanks again all - gonna give up and learn lessons from this, which are:

a. Use chocks not the brakes
b. Wash down 'properly' after recovery
c. Don't leave it so long to move the trailer

We live (and very rarely) ... learn ....

;-)
 
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