Almost locked trailer wheel

[MarkandMary]

Hi

I have a problem with my BRE trailer (CLH - single axle, braked, Knott hubs, 3 years old).

We stopped sailing at the end of October and brought the boat home for the winter.  After a couple of weeks 'winterising' everything I put the boat/trailer on axle stands and removed the wheels.  I noticed the nearside wheel would only rotate freely forward and backwards 10 cms or so - completely locked otherwise.  I checked the handbrake operation and this locked it completely (no movement).  The offside wheel rotates freely with the handbrake off.   

I replaced the brake cables at the beginning of the season and we have had no problem trailing since (probably 2500 miles)

Given the wheel moves freely for a few cms it doesn't seem as if it would be the calipers rusted to the hub.

Anybody else had this problem?.  Google hasn't been my friend and our local trailer servicing business has recently closed down :-(

Mark

[Sea Simon]

If the unit is already on axle stands, it should be relatively  easy to remove the brake drums from the hubs and have a look inside?
You may need to manually  adjust the brake shoes in to "off" so as to allow the drums to come off over the shoes.
How to in Alko sheet attached.

I had problems with drums locking in a way similar to yours,  which I found to be caused by shoe linings becoming  de-bonded from the steel shoe itself. They then wedged between  the shoe and the drum. I renewed all (and one wheel bearing too - found to be rumbling, not seized at all. Probably water ingress and subsequent rust?) while stripped. Time consuming, but not too hard.
I recall an axle set of pads was about £50. One wheel bearing similar?
Shoes come as an axle set, c/w springs. Bearing and axle nut both separate  line items.
Try to buy from a shop, and take the old parts with you so as to compare, I also recall several possible parts configs.

Pic below shows the de-bonded linings, as found. NOT the steel carrier shoes themselves, which remained mounted.

There are no "calipers".

It always seems to be difficult  to get trailers serviced/fixed nowadays. I've had many requests to do this work, having done my own (declined!)
What do caravanners do? Guess the dealers might do an empty trailer? Hereabouts they seemed keen to stick to branded vans only.

[Sea Simon]

Found a few photos  etc which might help?

Just like old-school car rear brakes really...(wife's 2018 Skoda still has v similar).

Note the long breaker bar, and HD (6 flat) socket needed to get the bearing hub nut off!   'kin tight! Big lump hammer just out of shot, bottom  right 
Be sure boat is very well supported! You could lift it if going the "wrong" way,  up.

Pic 2.
Manual adjuster at top. Hand/overrun brake linkage at bottom.

Recommend you photo as you go, the linkage is fiddly if you are not familiar, and liable to fall apart as you disassemble.

Can provide more detail on changing a wheel bearing if needed.

[Llafurio]

Trailer brakes hate seawater, absolutely. Freshwater also. Even just having the trailer outside over winter may cause the brakes to lock next spring. You are not alone there.

i had locked brake mechanisms inside the rim, often, but on one trailer I also had a rusted and immovable trailer coupling mechanism. To get that moving again, you need to tie the trailer to a tree, and pull and push the coupling in and out, with brute force, many times, with some hammering to ease it, and with a generous flow of WD 40 to flush out the rust.

Therefore, avoid immersing the trailers hubs, and the coupling, ever, and better learn how to service the hubs and brake mechanisms on a regular basis.

[MarkF]

Agreed - it took me months to be able to find someone who can mend/service trailer brakes. Eventually received a recommendation - the guy services campervans, so you may get lucky if you broaden your search.

Once he’d finished laughing at the state of my brakes, he offered two pieces of advice (you may know already).
You must replace the hub nut every time you remove it. It’s elliptical when new, so it deforms to grip tightly, hence single use only.
Also, store with the handbrake off to avoid seizing over winter or if unused for a while.

[Graham W]

store with the handbrake off to avoid seizing over winter or if unused for a while.

I now avoid using the handbrake for any length of time at all. I had a wheel on my CLH braked trailer seize completely once.  To the extent that when I drove off, it made a loud dragging noise and I ended up with a flat patch on the tyre.  I unseized it by reversing, which released the wheel with a bang.  The tyre had to be replaced.

I worked out afterwards that somebody in the club had moved the boat on its trailer and then instead of chocking it had applied the handbrake, which remained on for two weeks during the summer.

I’ve been recommended a trailer service company near Biggin Hill but haven’t tried them yet https://www.saxonstrailers.co.uk/trailer-servicing/.

[MarkF]

If it’s of any help, we used:
http://ptscampersandcaravans.co.uk/
He’s based between Reading and Oxford.

[Sea Simon]

Excellent advice above re freeing off the overrun brake hitch head ( mine had grease nipples), and NOT using the handbrake! I do both, they work.

It is often best to make the initial  movement away from parked, backwards if poss, imho.

I think the Alko service sheet mentions the one-time nut?

As an Engineer, it was a relatively straightforward job (i've done many, cars too), but OK for a capable DIYer with the right tools.
However, I pressed on as i was unable to find anyone willing/able to service within required timescales, despite parts being available off the shelf from my local dealer (TMS,  at Par, Cornwall).

My trailer had never been immersed, and after launching, it was my habit to take the MT trailer for a bit of a run to get some heat into the hubs/brakes. Still failed!

[MarkandMary]

Thanks for all the responses regarding my hub problem.  Looks like I need to dig out some tools and at least get inside the hub to see what is up.


Mark

[TheOldDuffer]

I've had my CLH trailer hubs lock up a couple of times; the first I dismantled the hub, the second, when it would rotate backwards only a few degrees, a good few wallops with a bit of 2x4" that was lying handy did the job. I've never submerged the hubs.

The post about the linings coming adrift was a problem I had with a previous trailer; water got underneath the linings and the rust lifted off the lining from the shoe, then to get jammed. I took the shoes to a relining place and asked them to both rivet and glue the new linings.

[MarkandMary]

That sounds exactly like the problem I have - working perfectly then after only a couple of weeks stationary at home it locked up with only a few degrees of backwards rotation.  Finding a piece of 2" x 4" won't be a problem.  Any suggestions on where to wallop the hub?

Mark

[Rob Johnstone]

I had the linings come off the brake shoes on Vagabonds trailer (2012 vintage) after winter storage with the same symptoms. However, a new nut was not required after pulling the hub off for the  the hub nuts were castellated and held secure by a split pin through a hole in the hub. A new split pin was advised.

In the "good old days" you didn't have this problem because the linings were held on to the shoes by countersunk rivets. You knew when they were worn out by the screeches.

[Sea Simon]

... hub nuts were castellated and held secure by a split pin through a hole in the hub. A new split pin was advised.
In the "good old days" you didn't have this problem because the linings were held on to the shoes by rivets....

Good old days indeed!

Too much "planned obsolescence" type of behaviour  by manufacturers, imho. Bonded shoes and one-time nuts for example, easier/cheaper to make, and yet sells more spares too. No-one I know has ever worn out a set of these brakes.

VAG cars are bad at this with one-time fasteners in some ridiculous applications...imho...

[TheOldDuffer]

That sounds exactly like the problem I have - working perfectly then after only a couple of weeks stationary at home it locked up with only a few degrees of backwards rotation.  Finding a piece of 2" x 4" won't be a problem.  Any suggestions on where to wallop the hub?

 Anywhere and everywhere!

Mark

I bought some new hub nuts but to be honest, I'd put the old one back on the side I removed the hub while I waited for the replacements and it was really tight, so I never got round to replacing it. It was a bugger to get off in the first place. I only tow it 200 m to the slip so it's not an issue at the moment, but if I go further afield.....

[MarkandMary]

Marvellous - two hefty swipes with a mallet fixed the problem.  Who would have thought it was that simple a fix - and why did it not appear anywhere in a google search -  .

Thanks so much - now I can get the trailer to our local trailer servicing place in the new year.

Merry Christmas

Mark