Trailer brake fire!

Kermit · Mar 16, 2015

I've always enjoyed reading your posts but dang. Do I have a whole nother feeling about y'all now! I wish I could keep my cool and good humor like that just when the tire pressure gets a little low. Jeepers. How do you do it? I'm impressed! I couldn't believe you even thought to set up the video camera before tackling the blowout. And you hardly seemed even a bit annoyed by the brake fire. Y'all really must have what it takes to live your lifestyle.

Brian M H23 · Mar 16, 2015

It sounds like you need some washers between the hitch and the trailer, to keep the bolts from crushing it

woodster · Mar 16, 2015

Greg glad everything is going to be ok ....that fire put new meaning to the fraze "Hot Wheels"

drazlou · Mar 16, 2015

What Brian is saying is that tightening the mounting bolts can crush the mounting flanges of the brake actuator against the coupler portion (the part that connects to the truck towing ball and slides into the housing to apply the brakes). It's usually the front bolt that causes the problem since the trailer tongue tube is open and weakest at the end. You can use two shorts bolts (one on either side) to securely fasten the actuator to the tongue tube without crushing the actuator and making it bind. The other choice is you can cut a piece of pipe the exact length of the inside of the tongue tube and slide the mounting bolt through it. Then when you tighten the bolt the pipe will prevent the tube and actuator housing from crushing.
Go to tiedown.com and browse their site for information on brake actuator mounting. They manufacture trailer parts including brake systems and have lots of pdf's available for downloading dealing with brake systems.

Rick Webb · Mar 17, 2015

A Tip Worth Mentioning Here

When you park your trailer make sure the surge brake actuator is all the way forward.

If left compressed the cylinder in the master cylinder or the wheel cylinders can become corroded and prevent them from returning keeping the brakes locked.

Not sure that is what is going on here but worth keeping in mind.

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 17, 2015

I have read this a couple of times. First this is what I consider a new trailer being a 2014 model. That being the case, it should be under warranty.

There are several thngs that might have occurred but the first would be when the bearings were installed originally, how tight were they on the hub. If over tightened and/or lack of grease in the bearings theses are probably the likely cause of the failure.

With the surge unit itself and the brake line detached from it, will it pump fluid out? If so, I would look at the connection of the brake line hose attached to the drums to see if the heat build up may have damaged a nipple or solidified the fluid. Just thinking out of the box.

keep the parts and bills to include stay and file a claim with the manufacturer if it is still under warranty.

Good advice I gave to my customers. Go 20 miles, pull over, make sure all is secured and touch the drum. Yes there will be some minor heat but if really too hot, you have an issue. I always would pull over ever 100 mile to inspect. I had my share of trailer problems too. Once I had purchased a new trailer to tow back a new 34 footer and 25 miles out, everything was hot on the front axle. The boat was too far forward and limped back into the manufacturer slowly.

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 17, 2015

As a longtime sailboat dealer trailering sailboats all over the east coast, I too experienced brake failure a couple of times resulting in fire. It could be anything but again, I use to tell my customers always on a trip, the first 20 miles, pull over and check and the heat on the hubs is most important to check anyway. Then again every 100 miles. It is called safety. I wish I could be there to inspect but what I saw was what you said a 2014 Pacific trailer which is why I mentioned that.

Brian D · Mar 17, 2015

I know nothing about brakes or brake fluid, but I would be very interested to know if there was some kind of debris in the lines stopping the fluid flow.

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 22, 2015

Did you grease the hubs from time to time????????

monkeybars · Mar 23, 2015

Pretty much just a lack of preventive maintenance issue. rollers in actuator corroded sticky or the caliber slider pins not lubricated, causing brakes to stay locked. Gotta maintain this stuff or pay someone else to do it for you, but this is what happens when you don't do anything.

Crazy Dave Condon · Mar 23, 2015

When I see bearings not requiring maintenance, I would be very careful on that issue. I would have grease fittings at least have buddy bearings. In addition, when the bearings were put on, do the tires still spin without wobbling by hand? If not, then the large nut holding the bearings in may have been overtightened and this caused a brake fire once on me due to heat build up from the friction after picking up a new trailer.
Once on a hydraulic (new) trailer, I had the whole 300 lb. tire and rim come off and roll across the road and came to rest at the front door of a Virginia DMV office due to bearings being held by an over tightened retaining nut. Not so funny at the time but damage did occur without injury. It scared the poop out of me. Fixed the trailer and took the mfg. to court.

Trailer brake fire!

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