Cobra Trailer brakes

[R Barry]

Anybody know where to source Cobra trailer brake shoes, return springs
& grease seals.

[WilLiscomb]

go to www.cobratrailer.de They do have an english page and will mail stuff
quickly. I got parts in about a week
williscomb

[JJ Sinclair]

>
>Anybody know where to source Cobra trailer brake shoes, return springs
>& grease seals.

We didn't drive with the hand brake on, did we?
:>)
JJ Sinclair

[A. Spindelberger]

(R Barry) wrote in message >...
> Anybody know where to source Cobra trailer brake shoes, return springs
> & grease seals.

Eastern Sailplane
M&H soaring
DG USA
LS Canada (Hollestelle)
Rex Mayes
Regards AS

[R Barry]

J.J.
Let me put it this way, I definetly didn't leave the house with the
hand brake on. Where I have to hook up at the house I must pull the
trailer about 5' to my truck. So I know it rolled free. At some
point on the freeway (about 15 miles from home) traffic slowed to
about 10 mph and some guy pulled up next and gave me the finger point
at the trailer and some other gestures. There was somke comming from
the right wheel and tire, the brake drums were so hot it melted my
plastic hub caps. The brake handle was in the up position at this
time. I'm very consious about the brake handle when hooking up and in
transit, I'm assuming that upon leaving my driveway and making a
u-turn down the street it might have pulled the break away cable and
set the hand brake and pulling up in front of the house I should have
checked it again.
I (thanks to the guy that I oue at least a 12 pack of beer or more)
caught the problem before it destroyed the bearings, races and
spindles. The tire was hotter than hell and if I had of had a tire
catch on fire I'd have been calling Costello on Monday (got a fire
extingusher now)

(JJ Sinclair) wrote in message >...
> >
> >Anybody know where to source Cobra trailer brake shoes, return springs
> >& grease seals.
>
> We didn't drive with the hand brake on, did we?
> :>)
> JJ Sinclair

[Andrew Warbrick]

Are you sure the ball races and bearings are okay?
We had this happen to a club trailer a couple of years
ago (not a Cobra but the same Alko hub that Cobra uses).
The wheels didn't quite fall off but they didn't half
graunch and on closer inspection the ball races were
shot and some of the balls were square, all the grease
having boiled/burnt off. The brake shoes also needed
replacing.

At 14:48 13 July 2004, R Barry wrote:
>J.J.
>Let me put it this way, I definetly didn't leave the
>house with the
>hand brake on. Where I have to hook up at the house
>I must pull the
>trailer about 5' to my truck. So I know it rolled
>free. At some
>point on the freeway (about 15 miles from home) traffic
>slowed to
>about 10 mph and some guy pulled up next and gave me
>the finger point
>at the trailer and some other gestures. There was somke
>comming from
>the right wheel and tire, the brake drums were so hot
>it melted my
>plastic hub caps. The brake handle was in the up position
>at this
>time. I'm very consious about the brake handle when
>hooking up and in
>transit, I'm assuming that upon leaving my driveway
>and making a
>u-turn down the street it might have pulled the break
>away cable and
>set the hand brake and pulling up in front of the house
>I should have
>checked it again.
>I (thanks to the guy that I oue at least a 12 pack
>of beer or more)
>caught the problem before it destroyed the bearings,
>races and
>spindles. The tire was hotter than hell and if I had
>of had a tire
>catch on fire I'd have been calling Costello on Monday
>(got a fire
>extingusher now)
>
(JJ Sinclair) wrote in message news:...
>> >
>> >Anybody know where to source Cobra trailer brake shoes,
>>>return springs
>> >& grease seals.
>>
>> We didn't drive with the hand brake on, did we?
>> :>)
>> JJ Sinclair
>

[JJ Sinclair]

>
>J.J.
>Let me put it this way, I definetly didn't leave the house with the
>hand brake on

Didn't mean to make light of a real potential problem, but I did recognize the
list of parts that needed replacing. I once had a Komet hand brake that would
pop on if I looked side-ways at it. A little bump and the gas strut would go
over-center and, well you know the rest. I would tie it down just to prevent
its self-initiated action.
JJ Sinclair

[R Barry]

J.J.
I know you were trying to make light of the situation and I didn't
take the comment ofensivly. I found a brake shop in Riverside that
will turn the drums reline the shoes, they have the seals in metric.
They havn't located a perfect match for the return springs yet, close
but not exact. The bearings were in good shape not blued or chipped
and the same with the races. I'll look closer tomorrow. In the
meantime I've been watching awsome Q's and lenticular clouds over the
Big Bear and San Gabriels and can't get the trailer to roll!!
Russ

[Steve Pawling]

One dry chem extinguisher won't be enough to put out a tire fire. By
the time the tire catches fire, everything is so hot it just
reignites.

You may want to carry a product called Cold Fire for A B and D fires.
It has much greater cooling properties than dry chem. Check it out at:
http://www.firefreeze.com/site/page1.cfm

Stay cool,
Steve

(R Barry) wrote in message >...
snip... The tire was hotter than hell and if I had of had a tire
> catch on fire I'd have been calling Costello on Monday (got a fire
> extingusher now)
....snip

[Hank Nixon]

(R Barry) wrote in message >...
> J.J.
> Let me put it this way, I definetly didn't leave the house with the
> hand brake on. Where I have to hook up at the house I must pull the
> trailer about 5' to my truck. So I know it rolled free. At some
> point on the freeway (about 15 miles from home) traffic slowed to
> about 10 mph and some guy pulled up next and gave me the finger point
> at the trailer and some other gestures. There was somke comming from
> the right wheel and tire, the brake drums were so hot it melted my
> plastic hub caps. The brake handle was in the up position at this
> time. I'm very consious about the brake handle when hooking up and in
> transit, I'm assuming that upon leaving my driveway and making a
> u-turn down the street it might have pulled the break away cable and
> set the hand brake and pulling up in front of the house I should have
> checked it again.
> I (thanks to the guy that I oue at least a 12 pack of beer or more)
> caught the problem before it destroyed the bearings, races and
> spindles. The tire was hotter than hell and if I had of had a tire
> catch on fire I'd have been calling Costello on Monday (got a fire
> extingusher now)
>
> (JJ Sinclair) wrote in message >...
> > >
> > >Anybody know where to source Cobra trailer brake shoes, return springs
> > >& grease seals.
> >
> > We didn't drive with the hand brake on, did we?
> > :>)
> > JJ Sinclair


Advise: In a recent safety speech at a contest, John Murray described
pretty much what you are talking about. The later production trailers
use seaaled bearings which will fail after overheating you have
described. The bearings are virtually impossible to get quickly and
locally. As a result, you would be well advised to get a set of brake
drum assy's with bearings and have on hand. If it got as hot as you
describe, the grease will be lost or at least compromised ndd failure
is very likely to happen sooner than later.
Tow Safely UH

[Chip Bearden]

The bearings and seals are off-the-shelf parts that a good bearing or
auto parts supplier should be able to get for you. I carry a spare set
in the front of my trailer just in case. From experience, it can be
difficult to find them on Sunday evening...in a small town...in
eastern Tennessee. :)

The bearing numbers are stamped on the races. Not sure about the
seals; I might have had to take one in for the supplier to match up.

I had something similar occur on a Komet trailer years ago. The
bracket welded to the front of the tongue (just before it exits the
front of the trailer) broke, allowing the trailer to settle onto the
brake actuating rod. The bolts at the rear of the tongue kept
everything connected but it jammed the surge brake on.

A bearded, southern good ole' boy pulled up beside us on the freeway
in North Carolina in a tricked out van and pointed back at the
trailer, which had smoke pouring from the hubs. He helped me lash a
chain around the tongue and front crossmember which allowed me to limp
into a nearby town for a quick repair.

Lesson learned: Surprisingly, he knew it was a glider trailer. As he
ferried me to the local Kmart to buy some chain, I was giving him the
"how gliders fly without an engine, kindergarten version" speech when
he allowed that he had just had a ride in a glider, a Grobee (sic).

"It was last week; I've got some pictures here." At which point he
pulled out a packet of prints with him climbing into and out of a Twin
Grob at a nearby commercial operation!

He refused any compensation for ferrying me around and being late for
dinner, but I signed him up as an SSA member when I got home.

Chip Bearden

> J.J.
> I know you were trying to make light of the situation and I didn't
> take the comment ofensivly. I found a brake shop in Riverside that
> will turn the drums reline the shoes, they have the seals in metric.
> They havn't located a perfect match for the return springs yet, close
> but not exact. The bearings were in good shape not blued or chipped
> and the same with the races. I'll look closer tomorrow. In the
> meantime I've been watching awsome Q's and lenticular clouds over the
> Big Bear and San Gabriels and can't get the trailer to roll!!
> Russ

[Paul Repacholi]

(R Barry) writes:

> I know you were trying to make light of the situation and I didn't
> take the comment ofensivly. I found a brake shop in Riverside that
> will turn the drums reline the shoes, they have the seals in metric.
> They havn't located a perfect match for the return springs yet, close
> but not exact. The bearings were in good shape not blued or chipped
> and the same with the races. I'll look closer tomorrow. In the

Toss them, they have possibly been hot enough to draw the temper and
will fail a short way down the track. It is only a few extra minute to
replace them before they eat the wheel, and your trailer :(

--
Paul Repacholi 1 Crescent Rd.,
+61 (08) 9257-1001 Kalamunda.
West Australia 6076
comp.os.vms,- The Older, Grumpier Slashdot
Raw, Cooked or Well-done, it's all half baked.
EPIC, The Architecture of the future, always has been, always will be.

[bart w]

Sounds to me like it would be a good practice to secure the brake
handle in the down position by some means while hooked up. Mine does
pull up rather easily and I'd hate to find out there's a problem by
some fellow honking and gesturing from the next lane!

2NO

[Eric Greenwell]

bart w wrote:
> Sounds to me like it would be a good practice to secure the brake
> handle in the down position by some means while hooked up. Mine does
> pull up rather easily and I'd hate to find out there's a problem by
> some fellow honking and gesturing from the next lane!

Does it use a gas cylinder on the handle? Perhaps it needs to be replaced.

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[Tom Serkowski]

(bart w) wrote in message >...
> Sounds to me like it would be a good practice to secure the brake
> handle in the down position by some means while hooked up. Mine does
> pull up rather easily and I'd hate to find out there's a problem by
> some fellow honking and gesturing from the next lane!

That's part of the non-US disconnect protection. A gas strut keeps
the handle down by over-center pressure, then if the cable attached to
the bottom gives a tug on it, the handle lifts up and the gas strut
ensures the brake is applied. Older trailers didn't have the gas
strut and just rely on the safety cable to apply full brake.

In the US, chains are required to attach the trailer to the tow
vehicle. I have the chains a bit longer than the brake actuation
cable, so if the hitch comes off the ball, the cable will actuate the
brake, and the chains will keep the brakes-on trailer attached to the
vehicle.

-Tom

[Eric Greenwell]

Tom Serkowski wrote:

>
> In the US, chains are required to attach the trailer to the tow
> vehicle. I have the chains a bit longer than the brake actuation
> cable, so if the hitch comes off the ball, the cable will actuate the
> brake, and the chains will keep the brakes-on trailer attached to the
> vehicle.

That sounds like a good plan, especially since many/most US folks have
inadequate chains. Until you've seen a trailer connected to the tow
vehicle by only the chains, you have no idea how violent the swerving
and bucking can be. Having the brakes applied should dampen it considerably.

Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
describes, and how did it work out?

--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[Andy Blackburn]

I use the same setup, but have elected to satisfy myself
with theoretical rather than empirical proof.

9B

At 04:00 15 July 2004, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>Tom Serkowski wrote:
>
>>
>> In the US, chains are required to attach the trailer
>>to the tow
>> vehicle. I have the chains a bit longer than the
>>brake actuation
>> cable, so if the hitch comes off the ball, the cable
>>will actuate the
>> brake, and the chains will keep the brakes-on trailer
>>attached to the
>> vehicle.
>
>That sounds like a good plan, especially since many/most
>US folks have
>inadequate chains. Until you've seen a trailer connected
>to the tow
>vehicle by only the chains, you have no idea how violent
>the swerving
>and bucking can be. Having the brakes applied should
>dampen it considerably.
>
>Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked
>up like Tom
>describes, and how did it work out?
>
>--
>Change 'netto' to 'net' to email me directly
>
>Eric Greenwell
>Washington State
>USA
>
>

[Tim Mara]

I have Cobra Brake drums in stock with bearings for some
trailers......please contact me with your drums in hand and I can tell you
which ones here are direct replacements.
thanks
tim
Wings & Wheels
www.wingsandwheels.com

"Paul Repacholi" > wrote in message
...
> (R Barry) writes:
>
> > I know you were trying to make light of the situation and I didn't
> > take the comment ofensivly. I found a brake shop in Riverside that
> > will turn the drums reline the shoes, they have the seals in metric.
> > They havn't located a perfect match for the return springs yet, close
> > but not exact. The bearings were in good shape not blued or chipped
> > and the same with the races. I'll look closer tomorrow. In the
>
> Toss them, they have possibly been hot enough to draw the temper and
> will fail a short way down the track. It is only a few extra minute to
> replace them before they eat the wheel, and your trailer :(
>
> --
> Paul Repacholi 1 Crescent Rd.,
> +61 (08) 9257-1001 Kalamunda.
> West Australia 6076
> comp.os.vms,- The Older, Grumpier Slashdot
> Raw, Cooked or Well-done, it's all half baked.
> EPIC, The Architecture of the future, always has been, always will be.

[bart w]

On the subject of the safety chains, I've noticed that the metal tab
attached to the front underside of the trailer that anchors one end of
the chain doesn't appear to be that strong. It looks to me like if
the trailer came off the ball, the chain would yank that tab right off
the trailer...

[Paul Repacholi]

Eric Greenwell > writes:

> That sounds like a good plan, especially since many/most US folks
> have inadequate chains. Until you've seen a trailer connected to the
> tow vehicle by only the chains, you have no idea how violent the
> swerving and bucking can be. Having the brakes applied should dampen
> it considerably.

> Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
> describes, and how did it work out?

You cross the chains over. Left chain to right shakle on the tow bar,
and visa versa. This keeps the trailer centred when it comes off the
tow ball. Bit of noise, and slow down *SLOWLY*. You dont want your
trailer chewing on the boot!

If you rub the chains straight, it can whip around like a demeted dog!

--
Paul Repacholi 1 Crescent Rd.,
+61 (08) 9257-1001 Kalamunda.
West Australia 6076
comp.os.vms,- The Older, Grumpier Slashdot
Raw, Cooked or Well-done, it's all half baked.
EPIC, The Architecture of the future, always has been, always will be.

[Eric Greenwell]

Paul Repacholi wrote:

>>Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
>>describes, and how did it work out?
>
>
> You cross the chains over. Left chain to right shakle on the tow bar,
> and visa versa. This keeps the trailer centred when it comes off the
> tow ball. Bit of noise, and slow down *SLOWLY*. You dont want your
> trailer chewing on the boot!
>
> If you rub the chains straight, it can whip around like a demeted dog!

I've seen this advice many times in the RV group, but the alleged
purpose is always to the tongue off the pavement, without much comment
of reducing disconnected stability. Perhaps keeping the tonque off the
pavement increases the stability of the combination, even it the people
repeating the advice don't realize it.

So, two questions now:

1) Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
describes (chained and with handbrake cable connected), and how did it
work out?

2) has anyone had a trailer come off the ball with the chains crossed,
and how did it work out?


--
Change "netto" to "net" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

[Tom Serkowski]

(bart w) wrote in message >...
> On the subject of the safety chains, I've noticed that the metal tab
> attached to the front underside of the trailer that anchors one end of
> the chain doesn't appear to be that strong. It looks to me like if
> the trailer came off the ball, the chain would yank that tab right off
> the trailer...

Bart, you may have an older trailer... Mine's 3 years old and has two
large
bolts attached to the body of the trailer on either side of the tongue
and underneath. You may want to take a look at a newer trailer for
ideas on how to make a strong setup.

Another poster mentions that the two chains should be crossed for best
stability of the trailer in case of disconnect. I can't do that as
there's a large skid under the tingue to protect the brake handle
mechanism. A crossed chain passes almost underneath this and I'm
afraid it could catch as the slack is taken up in a turn. My chains
will actually drag in the ground during braling as the tongue
collapses. With the tonngue extended, the length is about as short as
I am comfortable with. I will take another look at my setup this
weekend and see if crossing the chains is an option, as it does make
sense.

I use a very sturdy chain and check it often. Looks like after about
5-6,000 miles, I'm getting a bit of wear and may replace the chains.
Other than that, it works great.

-Tom

[Duane Eisenbeiss]

"Eric Greenwell" > wrote in message
...
> Tom Serkowski wrote:
>
> Has anyone had a trailer come off the ball while hooked up like Tom
> describes, and how did it work out?
>
>

I have had two trailers come off the ball over the years. The first was
with a trailer with NO brakes. After hooking up, the trailer was driven at
least a half mile over a very rough dirt road leaving the airport (the old
Marfa airport). And then it did not come off until 30 - 40 miles. The
second was with a trailer that had a cable actuated brake. Again, a rough
dirt road was used to exit the airport. After about 10 miles the trailer
came loose. The brake did get set, but not strongly (lack of adjustment for
previous wear).

The solution for both cases was the same. I was able to feel that the
trailer had come loose. In a motor home this might not be possible. I then
slowed the car until the trailer came into contact with the rear bumper.
The car was then slowly braked to a safe stop. The trailer stayed stable
while trying to "push" the car (both cases).

This procedure may scratch the rear of the car, but, that is much better
than scratching the sides and top in a roll over. And is much preferable to
having the trailer break away and possible go into another car.

Duane