How to free up a 'frozen' trailer?

[me2]

No don't give up it is very easy to free , between now and Easter I will have at least one call a day asking us to service there trailer because the brakes have locked on . Its always the cable going from the axle to the hub the inner cable and outer rust solid holding the brake shoes in the on position . On the back plate you have 2 cups one is welded to the back plate and the other slots in and is held in place by the cup on the brake cable so all you have to do is cut the brake cable as close to the metal cup on the brake cable as possible , you will hear the brake shoes release at this point stop cutting it will then give you something to keep the 2 back plate cups together until you can get new cables . There is no point towing the trailer to free them as the cables will keep the brakes on .

 

[ianat182]

I don't know if current braked trailers use the same adjustment as my old car did, but there used to be an adjuster on the inside of the brake drum. Slackening off these, if you have them ,may do the trick; the adjustment was made using a long thinnish spanner with a squared aperture that fitted on the adjuster, moving the spanner either locked the shoes against the drum or freed them. The handbrake needed tobe let OFF and car jacked up on axle stands. The drums could then be removed and debris/rust removed. There was a spring inside the drum that was the actual adjuster itself.

As an aside, when my current car has been out for the day and is returned to my drive, a cold night will generate some surface rust on both disc and rear brakes due to heat of the last braking and cooling down -makes a horrible noise the first time I use the brakes, then cleans up OK. Maybe a similar cause here.

ianat182