Acceptable trailer brake rotor temp.
 

Used a temp gun on my rotors when I got home today.I was seeing brake dust on the rims,I did not see this on my old trailer but it had almost solid rims and the brakes did not work that great so I might not have been able to see it.

Rotors 145-150
hub 112-115

Are these temps ok? I am thinking they are as the front rotors on my truck were 210.

Thanks

I'm not an expert , but those temps sound fine. If you want to get new bigger brakes or add more brakes, look on e-bay for a trailer brake kit. There not that tough to put on yourself.

Trailer is new and has pretty big brakes,stops great just a little concerned about the brake dust and heat.But like I said the rotors on my truck which is a 3500 dually were hotter so I think its ok.

Mine get hotter than that, but then again; I only check them right after I stop!

What about the brake dust,I never had a trailer with mag wheels before so I might not have been able to see it.Do you get dust also?

Not too much, but it is noticeable after a long trip.

my hubs are touchable (i.e. warm to the touch) can't say on brake temp.

I run synthetic Mobil 1 in the hubs, seems to keep the temps down.

Your temps sound fine. I have always been told that a good rule of thumb is you should be able to grab the wheel hub with your hand and hold on. It should feel very warm but not result in the impulse to yank your hand away.

Interesting comment about the brake dust. I used to get alot of dust on my rims with the surge brakes. Since I wnet to EOH, virtually none.

I agree, even on the hottest day you should be able to grab the hub and not jerk your hand back because of heat. Warm is OK. The touch test is the quickest way to detect a problem before your wheel falls off......

Everyone: Pick up a laser temp gun. They are fantastic tools. You won't believe how many uses you will find for it.

http://www.google.com/search?q=laser...w=1280&bih=643

I've had this one for close to 10 years; bought back when it was nearly $100 bucks. I don't think I've even replaced the battery.

http://lh4.googleusercontent.com/pub...3HzxNMMcDWx0iI
http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CG4Q8wIwAQ

What brand are the brakes? Some came with organic pads ... easy on rotor, but lots of brake dust and faster pad wear. I bought a Kodiak brake kit to replace the junk Tie Down disc brakes on a previous trailer and the box with the calipers said "loaded with new improved ceramic pads". Very little brake dust and they wore well. My latest Myco trailer, which was purchased new, had Kodiaks, but organic pads and significant brake dust :confused:

Ok came home today,walked past they were hot.Put a temp gun on them 550 degrees.So I have a problem.

Trailer is new been used about 8 times.
Came back from Michigan empty no problem
As soon as boat was on it started getting warm but normal
Brake dust keep increasing
Now they must be hanging up

Won't be able to pull it apart till Wen. night.Calipers stuck on the slides? Actuator? weird that its all four wheels.Let me know what you think

Thanks

Surge or EoH?

Surge

How hilly is it where you live Tim? Lots of downhill? The trailer can ride the Surge brake system by leaning forward on it, heating up the brakes.

If it's all 4 of them, I have to imagine it's in the actuator. There is a valve that comes in most of the couplers as this valve is needed for surge brakes. The valve needs to be either punctured or removed to use the same coupler for disc brakes. I know I've read about it, and it might be here:
http://www.championtrailers.com/techsup.html#techretro
Worst case, call Champion. They can talk you through checking your system.

Flat where I live,Talked to Rob from Manning he is sending me a new master cylinder.Will read through that link tonight thanks will let everyone know.

Sounds like your calipers are "dragging" on the rotor. Could be a faulty master cylinder or something in the actuator that is causing hydraulic pressure to be maintained even when not breaking.

I had a simiar issue with my trailer resulting in heavy accumulations of brake dust and hot to the touch hubs, although not 550 degrees of hot.

I made the swith to EOH and hubs run warm to the touch, almost no brake dust and much better braking performance.

Another comment to add. If your temps got to 550 degrees I'd have the axle seals replaced as they may have been compromised at that temp.

Tim, you've got a brand new, awesome trailer, and I bet you are not dumping your truck anytime soon. Go ahead and make the investment in an EoH system, and add a brake controller to your truck. It is the single best investment you can make in trailering your boat. I guarantee it.

Here is a bit more Ghee Whiz info. Just a suggestion, but it may help someone someday.

If you are going to check your hub temps by hand, do not try to grab them using the front or palm of the hand. Instead use the back of the hand. Just place the back of the hand near the hub and if you dont feel excessive heat then touch the back of the hand to the hub. If it feels OK you should be fine.

If you use the front or palm of the hand and try to "grab" the hub the bodies reaction could be to flex, grab and hold on. If temps are high this could cause significant burns.

If you use the back of the hand & temps are excessive your hand will pull away, reducing the chance of a burn. Plus the back of your hand is generally more sensitive to heat.

I'll second SYDWYZ's guarantee. I never knew trailering could be so much easier.

I had a local trailer company buy the Braker Rite II off the internet at a big discount. All said and done cost me $1,700, about $200 of that was re-wiring the existing pig-tail to a more heavy duty version. etrailer.com still has the Braker Rite II for $684. You'll need a mounting bracket and adapter/controller depending on how your truck is set up.

I was going to do myself, but figured I'd be better off letting an expert do it.

I also just purchased a trailer from Manning and went with EOH for an extra 500 bucks. I always had surge brakes but went with EOH mostly due to the recommendations here on OSO. What a difference. I'm amazed at how fast I can stop now.

Yeah, And you have brakes while backing down the ramp! No more front wheels sliding.

I know this is the rule for checking for live wires, but never heard it used to check for heat. Whenever I touch a hot surface, my reaction has always been to jerk my hand away, not grab onto it tighter.

Fixx
 

years ago i had a customer that had another place convert his trailer to disc brakes,,he put about 500 miles on it and when i got a hold of it the pads were worn down to nothing.. Yhe place he had install the conversion kit (morons) ran a steel line to the caliper and not rubber lines.The steel brake lines were keeping the calipers from floating which wore the inside pads out to the rotor:eek:

After i ran new brake lines and rubber hoses the calipers were staying on, so i pulled the master and low and behold they never drilled out the center of the fluid hole inside the master (check valve).. the pin hole size in the master is for drum brakes and the larger hole is for disc brakes..

they may have put a drum brake acuator on your trailer and all you have to do it open up the fluid hole in the master( check valve)..:drink:

My Eagle trailer has steel lines going to the calipers.

Fixx
 

i have seen on some trailers that the lines going to the calipers looked like steel lines but were painted plastic lines..take a closer look or run a magnet over them and see if it sticks.

They are steel. No question there. They have enough of a loop in them that they move freely at the caliper. Not fastened close to the caliper, but a foot inward on the axle tube.

Thanks,lots of good info.I have not looked at it yet been crazy busy.Kinda leaning toward the hole was not opened up in the master so will check that first.If thats not it will get a new actuator sent out.Might convert to EOH this winter but thats a fall project not July,will let everyone know what I find.

Ok,finally got to look at this
I jacked the trailer up wheels were free,using the safety brake engaged fine and released.Removed back up solenoid and inspected master for problems and to see if it was for drum brakes,seemed fine.Reassembled, bleed tested brakes with trailer still jacked up worked fine.Hooked my truck up took out for about 10 miles on a back road hit the brakes a few times then stopped rotor temp was 170 which is fine
The only thing I did was greased the actuator it has a fitting on the top roller I also changed my driving style so when starting off hit the throttle a little harder so I know brakes are disengaged.The only part I am questioning is the reverse solenoid as the brakes did not want to disengage backing into the driveway.I am wondering if it is holding pressure sometimes either way I am changing it.Other than that I was in traffic last Monday on and off the brakes a lot so its possible that as the actuator was never greased it was sticking.Don't know but if it does it again after I change the solenoid I am changing the actuator.I am also going to try a new trailer harness connector I have one and doubt thats it but will use it tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for there input and help

Ok just tried the new connector,everything worked but the brakes would stick one in a while backing up

My question is truck is a 7 pin round going to 5 pin flat trailer.Current connector is 7 truck side and 5 trailer side.The new one I had is 7 truck side but 2 are dead no metal in hole and 5 trailer side.

Which one should I be using does it matter?

Do you have the basic BU solenoid, or the one that will bleed off the pressure? The basic one will hold brake pressure in the line if you put the truck in reverse when the trailer brakes are active. Almost impossible to disengage the trailer brakes if you put the truck in reverse when backing up a hill. The deluxe solenoid bleeds off line pressure regardless. This model is required on disc brake trailers, the standard can be used for drum trailers since those can be backed up with brakes working. For the coulpe $$$ more, install the deluxe solenoid, or go all out EOH.

I believe I have the one that should close completely in reverse.I will find out Monday.It only does it sometimes mostly on stone when the resistance is more.This is why I think its leaking pressure.

Right out of the Kodiak Trailer Components manual, page 13, preventave maintenace item 5,
"5) Periodically, during each trip, check hub and assemblies to make sure they are within normal operating ranges (130-175 deg F). Do not touch brake components as they may be much hotter than the hub or wheel, especiall after recent braking."

I have a 1 yr old trailer, just switch to Amsoil greas this spring. Hubs run about 115-135 normally. Never checked the rotor itself. Also be sure you have the right emissivity setting for your heat gun. Typically stock settings read high if wrong.

I noticed my surge brakes (disc) were dragging on my last trip out. Prior to this trip they were working fine. When I put the boat in the water some steam came up.

I jacked the trailer up and the wheels will spin a few times and then stop, making a dragging noise the whole time.

I read about the reverse selonoids maintaining pressure. So, I cracked open the fittings on both sides of the selonoid and the master clyliner. The brakes are still dragging.

Is there a way to manually realese the pressure as a short term solution? I'm down to only a few more local outings this yr. and would rather fix them in the off season.

You can adjust the drums. Turn the wheel on the back of the drum up a few clicks. The brakes shouldn't drag. When they drag they heat up a lot and wear out fast.

They are disc brakes. I'm wondering if the pads are getting too low causing issues. I'm goig to replace them asap.

Make sure your slide in the tongue is greased,I think that might have been part of my problem.It was hanging up and not retracting fully.

Worn pads may not sit right in the calipers. Also, the caliper slide bolts could be sticking. And lastly, the brake piston could be sticking. I would take the slides out and grease them a little bit when you change the pads. If the sticking persists you may need a new caliper.

Lastly, make sure you aren't pinching the brake line anywhere. I have caught straps on mine a few times.

If you had steam when dunking the trailer you better go through your brake calipers. Your pistons may rust if water got in there. I second greasing the caliper slide pins.