Man, I am about to do this project tomorrow with new brakes and drums and you are a life saver, I can't tell you how awesome it is that you walked me through the whole process! Thank you so much sir
Great 3-part series on a very critical and a too common problem with surge brake trailers yet the process is very unfamiliar to many of us, hence the appreciation for it. Between the bearings and the brakes, you've done a great job explaining things without all the added jibbily boobily and unnecessary crap talk and just got down and dirty and explained everything really well and the filming was great quality and very informative and helpful. This inspires attempting to tackle this project on one's own. Thanks again.
Great video. Strong work, and for me..probably a two day job. You're right there is nothing clean about a brake and bearing job and it usually turns out to be both but it is so important to do it.
For anyone interested in replacing their Atwood surge brake coupler, someone on ebay has them as new old stock, bought up the last of what the manufacturer had.
The only other tip I’ve picked up is to spin the wheel as you’re using the bearing buddy.it makes sure. That it’s spread evenly. The rest of this is great
Thanks very much :) Though, I'm more a "paperwork guy", so might send this to my local trailer repair guy for a brake service. Cheers for the videos, they were very interesting to watch :)
Great video. I have just replaced all shoes, cylinders etc and actuator and tent trailer I just bought. Really nice to be able to check and make sure I did everything that was needed. Bob
Excellent information! I am going to apply what I learned from you to my tent trailer I just bought. Same deal, they do not work at all! They will when I get through. I especially liked your extremely helpful tip about pulling your receiver hitch out and using it like a brake pedal. Nice work, and very appreciative!
Excellent video. I would have added that not any grease will work. It has to be high temperature grease or it will melt. Also, I would only use marine brake spindle grease for a boat trailer.
No doubt, that's one of the first things I noticed is that he doesn't waste time making it about himself like so many Hollywood wannabes on YT and no stupid waste of time joking around just plain old honest get her done with a touch of professionalism and great explanation which helps greatly in the learning process. Good stuff.
Great video. Only point I would ask (and recommend) is did you use Marine Grease??? I would especially on a trailer goes in and out of the water often. I don't use a hammer on a screw driver because sometime they will break. Good video. Thanks. :)
I purchased a new Malibu 180 boat and decided to have the dealer do the spring and fall maintenance. After about 3 years I was driving along and the brakes seized. I checked and there was just a rusty mixture of water and brake fluid. Result whole system needed to be replaced. When I complained to the dealer he said they only do maintenance on the boat not the trailer. And didnj't tell me. So $600 because they didn't check the fluid level. You might want to check this yourself if someone else is doing the maintenance. Bob
One piece of advice: put a thin coat of grease around the outside of the bearing buddy before you put the cap on, it helps keep water out of the area where the zerk fitting is.
Those bearings should have a very slight amount of play. I don't know the proper spec, but to do it by the book you put a magnetic dial indicator on the hub, and check for play. When the bearings heat up they expand and that play goes away, with no play, when they heat up they overheat. Whenever I do this I always make sure I have slight play. Nice job on the brakes though, I am doing the same right now.
With surge brakes it uses the weight of the trailer to actuate the brakes. Electronic brakes are the only ones that you must hook to the vehicle for power.
Nice shade tree mechanic how to video. Saltwater is the toughest on trailers and their brake systems. Not much you can do about that if you boat in the ocean. The only issue was installing the bearing races. Maybe best to take them to a tire and brake shop and have them pressed in vs. risk buggering the edges where the bearing rides. They usually charge about $25 for that.
Be careful using a grease gun to add grease to the bearing buddies because you can push grease out the back ruining the seal. If you ruin the seal then water has a way in which will lead to failure. An alternate method (and my preferred method) is to fill the bearing buddy w/ grease before you install. Then you will know your seals are not compromised. Good video.
Personally, I am not a fan of bearing saver systems. Some time ago I purchased a brand name set for my trailer and checked them routinely. I went to a lake 150 miles away for vacation and as I was pulling up I found that one of my wheels were about to fall off (single axles trailer). Long story short, I determined that the bearing saver had too much pressure in it and caused the rear seal to blow out. Of course this cause grease to go everywhere, parts to overheat and basically detonated the bearings. I literally grabbed the tire, still attached to the hub, and pulled it off the axle right over the castle nut and remaining parts of the outer bearing. The bearings, races, seals and bearing savers were only 1 season old and I'm confident that I did not over fill them - as soon as the "indicator" was fully popped out I stopped filling the grease and gave the tires a few spins. Since then I've only packed the bearings as you normally would and fill the hub (with marine grease) and use a normal hub cap. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, just my experience. Good videos though.
Bearing buddies really are only meant to have a very minor positive pressure to assist the inner seal and the outer nut area to prevent water from entering if I'm correct. They aren't truly a "sealed system" of any sort. I think when it comes to boat trailers that get lots of ramp use, the best practice is to pull them apart more often and replace the seal, repack grease etc. Maybe overstated but theres too many folks out there that have problems with them and they always say, "I just had them serviced" meaning maybe a long ago as a year or so.
I never seen you adjust the brakes ?? , you said it got hot but works beautiful,, old grease you said smelled burned,,, could it be you never adjusted the pads with the star screw on the back where the rubber capped windows are? theres a brake adjust there,, did not see you perform that,,, perfect adjustment out of the box,, nice. Watched all 3 vids was hoping to see that adjustment.
When bleeding the brakes (i have a double Axle as well), do you need to bleed all four in a particular order? Or just pick one of the two in the back? Or how does that work? Thanks!!
Please let me know how it turns out because I have a pretty brand new EZ Loader tandem axle trailer for my boat and despite having the brakes bled by a pro, I don't think they're working because it's not breaking that easily as this fellow mentioned at the end of the video so I know something is not right. Gonna have to check those cylinders like he did (replace them too if necessary) and then bleed the breaks AGAIN and see if it makes a difference. This, all, after checking the bearings and hopefully not needed to replace them but by the time you take the wheel hub apart to get the bearing out, shit you might as well replace them anyway because you're putting everything back together so why not put knew ones back on instead of the same old ones?! The only difference is the races don't have to come out. I guess if the bearings and the races are in MINT condition, then that's the only time I would not replace them and instead just put them ones back on. So I'd like to hear how it goes with you and I'll also let you know.
GoMiGman Absolutely, I will let you know. I am buying two new axles complete and installing all brand new components Plus brakes and lines. Hope I dont screw something up. Good Luck
Interesting side note...Surge brakes are designed NOT to grab when backing up even though the tow vehicle may be putting 300 or 400 lb thrust on the master cylinder.
Great job and video. Only thing I would add is...1. Wear gloves, man! Grease under your nails is NOT cool, and very difficult to remove.2. Lay down some heavy paper so you don't grease up your concrete. 3 To operate a grinder without safety glasses/goggles is just plain crazy. The reason they call them accidents is cuz you don't know when your'e gonna get creamed. 4 Why not take all the stuff apart first and then decide what you need to buy? Of course, I suppose you can always take back what you don't use. 5. Buy the cheapo brake tool so you don't have to go blind or bust a gut. All in all a great job. Here's your ATTABOY !
Do you know the manufacturer name of the master cylinder attachment you had replaced on the tounge of the trailer , I have the same on mine but it is not in great condition and can't find a name or part number on it, but looks exactly the same
![เกิดใหม่ทั้งทีก็เป็นสไลม์ไปซะแล้ว ซีซั่น 3 - ตอนที่ 66 [ซับไทย]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qcaUguFlwdM/mqdefault.jpg)
Great Videos! 9 years later and still helpful.
Great to hear!
Man, I am about to do this project tomorrow with new brakes and drums and you are a life saver, I can't tell you how awesome it is that you walked me through the whole process! Thank you so much sir
Great 3-part series on a very critical and a too common problem with surge brake trailers yet the process is very unfamiliar to many of us, hence the appreciation for it. Between the bearings and the brakes, you've done a great job explaining things without all the added jibbily boobily and unnecessary crap talk and just got down and dirty and explained everything really well and the filming was great quality and very informative and helpful. This inspires attempting to tackle this project on one's own. Thanks again.
when you tried to find something about surge for deployment and now you're here... haha
Great video. Strong work, and for me..probably a two day job. You're right there is nothing clean about a brake and bearing job and it usually turns out to be both but it is so important to do it.
For anyone interested in replacing their Atwood surge brake coupler, someone on ebay has them as new old stock, bought up the last of what the manufacturer had.
The only other tip I’ve picked up is to spin the wheel as you’re using the bearing buddy.it makes sure. That it’s spread evenly. The rest of this is great
Thanks very much :) Though, I'm more a "paperwork guy", so might send this to my local trailer repair guy for a brake service. Cheers for the videos, they were very interesting to watch :)
Great video. I have just replaced all shoes, cylinders etc and actuator and tent trailer I just bought. Really nice to be able to check and make sure I did everything that was needed. Bob
Excellent information! I am going to apply what I learned from you to my tent trailer I just bought. Same deal, they do not work at all! They will when I get through. I especially liked your extremely helpful tip about pulling your receiver hitch out and using it like a brake pedal. Nice work, and very appreciative!
Glad to see you decided to tackle this yourself. Told ya it was nothing compared to what you have done so far. Now you know its done right too.
Thank you for the video. I was searching everywhere to find out how to "pump" the brake to bleed the lines.
Excellent video. I would have added that not any grease will work. It has to be high temperature grease or it will melt. Also, I would only use marine brake spindle grease for a boat trailer.
Love the down to earth video but still professional to make it right. Thanks!
No doubt, that's one of the first things I noticed is that he doesn't waste time making it about himself like so many Hollywood wannabes on YT and no stupid waste of time joking around just plain old honest get her done with a touch of professionalism and great explanation which helps greatly in the learning process. Good stuff.
Great video. Only point I would ask (and recommend) is did you use Marine Grease??? I would especially on a trailer goes in and out of the water often. I don't use a hammer on a screw driver because sometime they will break. Good video. Thanks. :)
I purchased a new Malibu 180 boat and decided to have the dealer do the spring and fall maintenance. After about 3 years I was driving along and the brakes seized. I checked and there was just a rusty mixture of water and brake fluid. Result whole system needed to be replaced. When I complained to the dealer he said they only do maintenance on the boat not the trailer. And didnj't tell me. So $600 because they didn't check the fluid level. You might want to check this yourself if someone else is doing the maintenance. Bob
One piece of advice: put a thin coat of grease around the outside of the bearing buddy before you put the cap on, it helps keep water out of the area where the zerk fitting is.
Those bearings should have a very slight amount of play. I don't know the proper spec, but to do it by the book you put a magnetic dial indicator on the hub, and check for play. When the bearings heat up they expand and that play goes away, with no play, when they heat up they overheat. Whenever I do this I always make sure I have slight play. Nice job on the brakes though, I am doing the same right now.
With surge brakes it uses the weight of the trailer to actuate the brakes. Electronic brakes are the only ones that you must hook to the vehicle for power.
@ldericks It is a Shorelandr. The 230 is almost the exact boat I have. For some reason Sea Ray changed the name is 1996 from 220 to 230.
Nice shade tree mechanic how to video. Saltwater is the toughest on trailers and their brake systems. Not much you can do about that if you boat in the ocean. The only issue was installing the bearing races. Maybe best to take them to a tire and brake shop and have them pressed in vs. risk buggering the edges where the bearing rides. They usually charge about $25 for that.
Be careful using a grease gun to add grease to the bearing buddies because you can push grease out the back ruining the seal. If you ruin the seal then water has a way in which will lead to failure. An alternate method (and my preferred method) is to fill the bearing buddy w/ grease before you install. Then you will know your seals are not compromised. Good video.
Get a hand pump vacuum assist for bleeding lines. $25 and saves you time, people, and effort. I'll never go back to two man manual manual method.
The bearings are greased before also, and instructions state that you are supposed to do so.
Personally, I am not a fan of bearing saver systems. Some time ago I purchased a brand name set for my trailer and checked them routinely. I went to a lake 150 miles away for vacation and as I was pulling up I found that one of my wheels were about to fall off (single axles trailer). Long story short, I determined that the bearing saver had too much pressure in it and caused the rear seal to blow out. Of course this cause grease to go everywhere, parts to overheat and basically detonated the bearings. I literally grabbed the tire, still attached to the hub, and pulled it off the axle right over the castle nut and remaining parts of the outer bearing. The bearings, races, seals and bearing savers were only 1 season old and I'm confident that I did not over fill them - as soon as the "indicator" was fully popped out I stopped filling the grease and gave the tires a few spins. Since then I've only packed the bearings as you normally would and fill the hub (with marine grease) and use a normal hub cap. Not sure if anyone else has experienced this, just my experience.
Good videos though.
Bearing buddies really are only meant to have a very minor positive pressure to assist the inner seal and the outer nut area to prevent water from entering if I'm correct. They aren't truly a "sealed system" of any sort. I think when it comes to boat trailers that get lots of ramp use, the best practice is to pull them apart more often and replace the seal, repack grease etc. Maybe overstated but theres too many folks out there that have problems with them and they always say, "I just had them serviced" meaning maybe a long ago as a year or so.
I never seen you adjust the brakes ?? , you said it got hot but works beautiful,, old grease you said smelled burned,,, could it be you never adjusted the pads with the star screw on the back where the rubber capped windows are? theres a brake adjust there,, did not see you perform that,,, perfect adjustment out of the box,, nice. Watched all 3 vids was hoping to see that adjustment.
Any idea what the part number is for the new trailer tongue/master cylinder you used?
No, it is called surge brakes. When you step on the brakes, the weight of the trailer pushes against the hitch and that actuates the brakes.
When bleeding the brakes (i have a double Axle as well), do you need to bleed all four in a particular order? Or just pick one of the two in the back? Or how does that work? Thanks!!
Great Video, thanks for the info. I will be attempting this very shortly
Please let me know how it turns out because I have a pretty brand new EZ Loader tandem axle trailer for my boat and despite having the brakes bled by a pro, I don't think they're working because it's not breaking that easily as this fellow mentioned at the end of the video so I know something is not right. Gonna have to check those cylinders like he did (replace them too if necessary) and then bleed the breaks AGAIN and see if it makes a difference. This, all, after checking the bearings and hopefully not needed to replace them but by the time you take the wheel hub apart to get the bearing out, shit you might as well replace them anyway because you're putting everything back together so why not put knew ones back on instead of the same old ones?! The only difference is the races don't have to come out. I guess if the bearings and the races are in MINT condition, then that's the only time I would not replace them and instead just put them ones back on. So I'd like to hear how it goes with you and I'll also let you know.
GoMiGman Absolutely, I will let you know. I am buying two new axles complete and installing all brand new components Plus brakes and lines. Hope I dont screw something up. Good Luck
Interesting side note...Surge brakes are designed NOT to grab when backing up even though the tow vehicle may be putting 300 or 400 lb thrust on the master cylinder.
When backing uphill it was having issues
Great vid, i need to do this next spring!
@daledozer Thanks for the info. I am going to check them again.
Does this trailer have brakes on both axles or just one
Without looking through all the comment how much did this cost you I need to do it for my Rinker boat trailer
Thanks for the videos Hoss!
Nice videos very informative
Great Job! This helped me a lot!
Where did you get your brake master cylinder? Did you reuse your bearing buddy’s that you took off or got a new set
Thanks!👍
Great job and video. Only thing I would add is...1. Wear gloves, man! Grease under your nails is NOT cool, and very difficult to remove.2. Lay down some heavy paper so you don't grease up your concrete. 3 To operate a grinder without safety glasses/goggles is just plain crazy. The reason they call them accidents is cuz you don't know when your'e gonna get creamed. 4 Why not take all the stuff apart first and then decide what you need to buy? Of course, I suppose you can always take back what you don't use. 5. Buy the cheapo brake tool so you don't have to go blind or bust a gut.
All in all a great job. Here's your ATTABOY !
Nice job. Have a like and a comment!
Thanks so much, very helpful.
Well done....
Great job and thanks for the info.
Very helpful, thanks!!
Do you know the manufacturer name of the master cylinder attachment you had replaced on the tounge of the trailer , I have the same on mine but it is not in great condition and can't find a name or part number on it, but looks exactly the same
Andrew R @fris
Thanks so much for the info.
Well done! Thanks
thanks
I am sure the best plans is on inplix website
Pretty well done video, but you are the messiest guy I've seen. You made a mess of your driveway too.
Thanks for the view