Trident Trailers Bloga tumblelog

I’ve just had a conversation with a customer who went to move his Horse Trailer & found that the brakes were seized on. This is a common problem where, if left for a period of time with the handbrake applied the brake shoes bind to the inner drum wall, it rarely effects all wheels & is normally just the one. A lot of people try to just snatch them off with the tow vehicle but this can rip the linings from the shoes resulting in far more damage and danger should you tow the trailer & the wheel seize in transit. We advised the customer to first work out which brake was seized on, then to get a thick block of wood and a hammer, place the block of wood against the back plate behind the locked wheel & give it a sharp whack with the hammer. 9 times out of 10 this will release the brake shoes & free the wheel. It will then be safe to move your trailer. Be careful not too hit the hammer directly on to the back plate or hub face as this can result in damage to either.

A simple way to avoid the brakes seizing when the trailer is left for long periods of time is to not apply the handbrake & use wheel chocks instead. The handbrake is mainly used for securing the trailer while hitching up or unhooking and storing for short periods of time.

In this instance the customer had a Horse Trailer but this is the same for any braked trailer from small goods up to large Car Transporters. Trailer manufacturers recommend an anual service to keep your trailer in a road worthy condition. Many trailers are left for long periods of time unused & people assume that they will not require servicing. Unfortunately this is rarely the case as the brakes will also come out of adjustment over time as well as use, unlike your car trailers are not fitted with self adjusting brakes, so regular servicing, brake adjustment & bearing checks are essential to ensure that you are towing safely on the public highway.