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#11
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trailer wheels won't turn
Darryl Ramm wrote:
Where I keep my trailer in relatively dry conditions everybody leaves the brakes on, the larger fear is the occasional strong wind, even if the trailers are also chocked and well jacked. I've had several pilots from the UK tell me that it is common at their clubs is to keep the brake off because of this chance of seizure. In Europe where manual gearboxes are still popular, most people know that leaving the handbrake on for extended periods is not recommended. In the USA with their authomatic gearboxes, this knowledge seems to have got lost. Mostly the problem is not corrosion of the cable but that the brake shoes tend to somehow get "glued" to the drum. Forcing your trailer backward may loosen the brakes, if you can do so without engaging the override mechanism. Otherwise you may have to open the brake drums and losen the shoes by hand. |
#12
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trailer wheels won't turn
Chris,
I missed seeing you at Cordele. As Matt said, the previous owner of his trailer left the hand brake on, and parked outside in the North Carolina rain and humidity for a long time, the brakes seized. Backing off the star adjusters will hopefully work. If not, you might end up having to take a torch to the drum to try and break the grip that the rust has on the shoes. Big hammer and a torch. Maybe. Get professional help! Before seeing that trailer end up with locked brakes, I didn't set my hand brake. After seeing the trouble the previous owner went through and the expense of finally getting it fixed, I NEVER set my hand brake for more than a few hours. Now, I just use the hand brake when maneuvering the trailer on a slight slope for a few inches as I connect it to the car. When I have the trailer where I want it, I'll chock it and tie it down. But I'm not setting the hand brake! Good luck! Ray Lovinggood Carrboro, North Carolina, USA |
#13
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trailer wheels won't turn
Many good suggestions. If the star adjuster route doesn't work my
suggestion is to jack up the trailer, remove the wheels and use a 10 lb hammer to strike the circumference of each drum. I've used this many times to remove brake drums on cars. Good luck, George |
#14
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trailer wheels won't turn
You say the brake rod is free to move. Can you determine if the
cables are under tension? Is the hand brake lever nearly vertical when the brake is engaged? I once had exactly the same symptoms with a relatively new Swan Trailer. There is a rod that connects the brake lever in front to the flat bar that distributes brake force from the rod to the cables. Due to run - in wear of the brake pads the rod moved too far forward when pulling the brake lever and popped out of its support and jammed. It took me some time to find that ... Michael |
#15
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trailer wheels won't turn
I used a 1 lb /.45kg hammer and hit both brake mounting plates before
7am to the neigbors delight. The first side released after hammering. The second side was harder, I hammered but it did not release until after rolling the trailer back and forth. The top shoe was jamming on that side. I could see that the lower shoe was not in contact with the drum. All in all it turned out to be just a few minutes and all is good now. I did not have to jack up the trailer or take the wheels off. Thankfully I got lots of good advice from RAS. I should get better gas mileage with wheels that turn. The trailer has been sheltered from rain. All this rusting must have just been from 2 months humidity [in ample supply]. I did not find a slot to adjust a star wheel. I have done that on cars in the past so I know what to look for. This design has 2 slots but they are for the spring to hook through. I never did figure out what the bolt was for, shown in the 2 o'clock position in the photo: http://gliderpilot.org/Temporary On both sides there were small viewing holes to see if the shoe was in contact with the drum [shown in the 10 & 5 o'clock position] I suppose I should soon take the drums off and lubricate the sides of the shoes/mechanism [not the face that touches the drum]. I don't know if the mechanism or the face of the shoe and the drum surface that rusted together. Thanks guys! Chris |
#16
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trailer wheels won't turn
chris wrote:
I used a 1 lb /.45kg hammer and hit both brake mounting plates before 7am to the neigbors delight. The first side released after hammering. The second side was harder, I hammered but it did not release until after rolling the trailer back and forth. The top shoe was jamming on that side. I could see that the lower shoe was not in contact with the drum. All in all it turned out to be just a few minutes and all is good now. I did not have to jack up the trailer or take the wheels off. Thankfully I got lots of good advice from RAS. I should get better gas mileage with wheels that turn. Good to hear that it worked out well. The trailer has been sheltered from rain. All this rusting must have just been from 2 months humidity [in ample supply]. I did not find a slot to adjust a star wheel. I have done that on cars in the past so I know what to look for. This design has 2 slots but they are for the spring to hook through. I never did figure out what the bolt was for, shown in the 2 o'clock position in the photo: http://gliderpilot.org/Temporary nice shot. Your brake seems to be in a very good state, compared to others I have seen here in Germany. You have KNOTT brake. The bolt opposite the cable inlet is for adjusting the brake, e.g. to compensate for pad wear. It has the same function as the star wheel used on other types. The instructions (partly) from KNOTT to do the adjustments are as follows: Make sure that the rod and cables are under no tension. Turn the adjustment bolt clockwise until the wheel cannot be turned any more or turns very hard. (Turn the wheel only in Forward direction, as the brake loosens itself automatically when turning the wheel backwards) Then loosen approx. 1/2 turn counter-clockwise until the wheel turns free again. a slight scratching noise doesn't harm, A complete inscruction as well as diagrams of the inside ofthe brake can be found here (only german, I'm afraid): http://www.boeckmann.com/pferdeanhae...ein_66564.html Peter Scholz ASW24 JE On both sides there were small viewing holes to see if the shoe was in contact with the drum [shown in the 10 & 5 o'clock position] I suppose I should soon take the drums off and lubricate the sides of the shoes/mechanism [not the face that touches the drum]. I don't know if the mechanism or the face of the shoe and the drum surface that rusted together. Thanks guys! Chris |
#17
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trailer wheels won't turn
Peter Scholz wrote:
You have KNOTT brake. I have a KNOTT trailer, which I presume has KNOTT brakes as well. Sometimes after standing over a humid winter one or both brakes locks on. The solution is a hammer (I now keep a 4 lb club hammer in the trailer). Jack up the offending wheel, give the head of each wheel nut a firm tap, rock the wheel, repeat until it frees. I've had the brakes checked out by a garage (auto repair shop in US?) and all is fine, but this still happens. My guess is that somewhere in the brake mechanism is a narrow clearance which tends to lock up with corrosion. The wheel won't free up if I don't jack it off the ground (well, not without hitting it harder than I care to), but jacked up it usually frees before I've tapped every wheel nut. Obviously, hit the nuts square-on so as not to round them over. |
#18
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trailer wheels won't turn
"Chris Reed" wrote I've had the brakes checked out by a garage (auto repair shop in US?) and all is fine, but this still happens. My guess is that somewhere in the brake mechanism is a narrow clearance which tends to lock up with corrosion. Most all drum brakes on automobiles have strong springs that forcibly pull the brake shoes away from the drums, nearly all of the way. Only a small part of the pad would be touching the drum in one small area of each shoe. That is when the adjusters are working well and are keeping the pads out as far as they are able. Most are not working well, and have a good bit of slack that the brake piston has to take up when you press on the brakes. A shoe in this condition does not have enough contact area with the shoe and drum to rust together. I am not familiar with this particular model of brake, but with most cable actuated brakes, there can not be a lot of clearance from the drum, or the cable movement would be too small to take up the slack and apply the stopping pressure. It is the nature of the beast that the design must have the shoes in closer contact to the drum, thus increasing the likelihood of the two parts rusting together. It might be a good idea to back off the adjusting nut, or star wheel (whatever your model would have as an adjuster) before parking the trailer for the winter. -- Jim in NC |
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