Trailer Brake Maintence

GOA · May 26, 2015

My Grady 180 Sportsman sits atop a name brand roller trailer with disc brakes. The trailer is dunked in salt water at least 15 times a year and after EACH use the brakes are flushed with fresh water. Bottom-line every three to four years, I'm replacing the entire brake assembly. This year I also replaced the Bearings, Master cylinder/solenoid and the brake lines...about $800.
Getting back to the brakes, some boaters use a Liquid-Wrench product sprayed on the brakes, when not in use,to "prevent rusting". Has anyone had good experience with this or other products/procedures...my annualized trailer maintenance costs are rivaling my boat's!!! Given the age of the trailer, I'm not going to stainless at this time.
Thanks,
GOA

seasick · May 26, 2015

GOA said:
My Grady 180 Sportsman sits atop a name brand roller trailer with disc brakes. The trailer is dunked in salt water at least 15 times a year and after EACH use the brakes are flushed with fresh water. Bottom-line every three to four years, I'm replacing the entire brake assembly. This year I also replaced the Bearings, Master cylinder/solenoid and the brake lines...about $800.
Getting back to the brakes, some boaters use a Liquid-Wrench product sprayed on the brakes, when not in use,to "prevent rusting". Has anyone had good experience with this or other products/procedures...my annualized trailer maintenance costs are rivaling my boat's!!! Given the age of the trailer, I'm not going to stainless at this time.
Thanks,
GOA

You said you flushed the brakes. Did you flush the trailer frame also and I mean rinse everything.
Bearings are going to go after a time,other than keeping them full of grease there isn't much you can do. Iron disks will rust if left wet and that included rain. Brake lines will go eventually but if well rinsed will last longer. Solenoids are notorious for failing. The trick to making the master cylinder last is to flush, drain and refill the fluid every few seasons. Make sure the reservoir is up to the full mark too. If water/moisture gets into the brake system, internal corrosion can be quick. Putting a traffic cone or similar tub over the tongue when not in use will help keep the elements out of the coupler/solenoid/master cylinder.
I don't know the age of you trailer but they only last so long. That said, if you have had so many parts corrode, I would be on the lookout for frame corrosion. That occurs from the inside out in many cases and usually isn't noticed until something breaks like a cross rail or spring hanger bracket.

magicalbill · May 26, 2015

When I was trailering everywhere in my days of living in Indiana, 3-4 years on a set of brakes was about right. I replaced bearings & seals every year if they were the least bit questionable.
I felt the same irritation you do for the same reason. I flushed and rinsed the whole thing and stuff still corroded, rusted and wore out. I just kept replacing items as I went.

journeyman · May 26, 2015

First, let me say I was always religious about rinsing my trailer, thoroughly inside and out!

My first Grady had a trailer with drum brakes. Rebuilt every year. Very tiring, expensive and glad to be rid of it. My second Grady had disc brakes and after the first year I had to replace a frozen caliper. I then slipped the boat but started seeing the others sticking because of corrosion even with only 2 submersions a year. I started to spray WD-40 on my brakes liberally after rinsing (when dry) and never had a problem again! Sometimes I used other similar products, whatever I had in the garage. I caught a little grief here on another thread about it affecting the brakes but mine always worked fine. All I can say is that I did it and it worked. And so did my brakes!

gw204 · May 27, 2015

What are you towing it with? If your tow vehicle is a full size (especially a 3/4 or 1-ton) I think I would simply get rid of the brakes...

GOA · May 27, 2015

Thanks to everyone...so glad to hear that others are having the same issues. Also glad to hear that the spray lubricants work!!!

GOA :goodjob

SmokyMtnGrady · May 27, 2015

Brian, while a bigger truck helps stopping the trailer, by law in many states boat trailers are required to have brakes on trailers/boats above 3,500 pounds. So removing them is not advisable especially if one get s into an accident. If you are at fault and you remove brakes you could be facing legal issue a and insurance claim denials.

Trailers are a pain in the butt that is for sure.

ROBERTH · May 27, 2015

I am living the same nightmare this year!

I put the Tie Down G5 brakes which were greatly improved over their former brake systems for saltwater. They had Stainless Steel rotors, aluminum calipers with stainless steel pins and bronze bushings.

The first year, they did great! But after the first year, I noticed the pads were completely worn down. I put less than 500 miles on per year.

I discovered that the slider pins were frozen due to the aluminum calipers corrosion was bad enough to swell up the hole where the slider pin rides, causing the pads to drag on the rotors.

I also noticed that the rubber boot around the piston on the caliper is disintigrating.

I have to have brakes in working order on both axles due to the near 10K load I am towing. My V10 Excursion has a tough enough time stopping itself, much less this extra load!

So, I am going to bite the bullet this year and slurge for the best out there….the Kodiak full Stainless Steel kit. It has SS rotor, SS calipers, brackets, etc. They have a 6 year warranty so if I get 6 years out of them, I will be very happy.

The other issue I am having, that I can't seem to solve is the grease slinging past the seals. I put new spindles, seals, repacked bearings and it is still slinging grease. This time, only on the rear axle which is weird. I wiped up the slung grease from the rotors and axle, took out some grease thinking it was pushing out due to expansion, but travelling 160 miles down to the coast today, I have grease all over the rotors again on this same axle.

I carefully checked the seal connection on the spindles when I put this all together new and they had good contact. So not sure why the grease is pushing out! That has to be solved before even the Kodiak's go on.

I can't seem to find anyone that knows the cause to this. I am now strongly considering switching over to the oil bath system. I have used it in the past with good success on a former trailer. I never had oil slinging out of the hubs like I am having with this grease deal.

Tie down has been good to me replacing the pads per their 3 year wear warranty, but they are going to find more issues coming soon from others that find this issue with corroding aluminum calipers. The write up on Kodiak's design is superior, just have to pay the price! They also claim 40% stronger braking pressure on the rotors over the competition which sounds great to me!

GOA · May 28, 2015

ROBERTH said:
I am living the same nightmare this year!

I put the Tie Down G5 brakes which were greatly improved over their former brake systems for saltwater. They had Stainless Steel rotors, aluminum calipers with stainless steel pins and bronze bushings.

The first year, they did great! But after the first year, I noticed the pads were completely worn down. I put less than 500 miles on per year.

I discovered that the slider pins were frozen due to the aluminum calipers corrosion was bad enough to swell up the hole where the slider pin rides, causing the pads to drag on the rotors.

I also noticed that the rubber boot around the piston on the caliper is disintigrating.

I have to have brakes in working order on both axles due to the near 10K load I am towing. My V10 Excursion has a tough enough time stopping itself, much less this extra load!

So, I am going to bite the bullet this year and slurge for the best out there….the Kodiak full Stainless Steel kit. It has SS rotor, SS calipers, brackets, etc. They have a 6 year warranty so if I get 6 years out of them, I will be very happy.

The other issue I am having, that I can't seem to solve is the grease slinging past the seals. I put new spindles, seals, repacked bearings and it is still slinging grease. This time, only on the rear axle which is weird. I wiped up the slung grease from the rotors and axle, took out some grease thinking it was pushing out due to expansion, but travelling 160 miles down to the coast today, I have grease all over the rotors again on this same axle.

I carefully checked the seal connection on the spindles when I put this all together new and they had good contact. So not sure why the grease is pushing out! That has to be solved before even the Kodiak's go on.

I can't seem to find anyone that knows the cause to this. I am now strongly considering switching over to the oil bath system. I have used it in the past with good success on a former trailer. I never had oil slinging out of the hubs like I am having with this grease deal.

Tie down has been good to me replacing the pads per their 3 year wear warranty, but they are going to find more issues coming soon from others that find this issue with corroding aluminum calipers. The write up on Kodiak's design is superior, just have to pay the price! They also claim 40% stronger braking pressure on the rotors over the competition which sounds great to me!

Over many years of trailering, I have NEVER worn out my brakes...they just rust away...and stainless rotors have not made much of a difference.
Like everyone, I have heard great things about Kodiaks...I also read that two former employees started their own company with more reasonable prices!
GOA :lol:

Parthery · May 28, 2015

The offshoot from Kodiak was Deemaxx. If you look at the components they look very similar.

My last 3 trailers have all had Deemaxx....they are just as good as Kodiak. My trailer manufacturer of choice (Owens and Sons) has switched to them exclusively as their warranty support is much better than Kodiak -- at least that's what they've told me. My guess is you can't go wrong either way.

ROBERTH · May 28, 2015

I checked the pricing and compared deemax with the Kodiak's. I can get the Kodiak full SS kit for $200 less per axle. It appears that they have the same warranty....6 years.

trapper · May 29, 2015

Hi Guys, I also have the Kodiak disk brakes on my boat trailer. I dunk into the salt over 20 to 30 times a year. I cannot prevent corrosion but I do slow it down. A 2 gal pesticide pump up sprayer filled with the correct mix of Salt Away and water. After launch (takes about 4 minutes) and on pulling out, I spray all sides of the brakes components. You have to have access through your tire rims. Mine are aluminium and have holes (spaces) all around the hub to get the spray in and around. Anyway, that works for me and I managed to get so far, five years from my Kodiaks. Cheers, trapper

GOA · May 29, 2015

Thanks again guys...GREAT information coming in!!!
GOA :nicethread

Mwills98 · Jun 4, 2015

I got five years out of my first set of basic disc brakes. Dunking the trailer 20+ times a year in salt water. I usually take a gallon jug of water along and rinse the brakes after unloading. Then first thing I do when back from the ramp is rinse the trailer and brakes with salt-off. Into my second season with the new G5 stainless package with high hopes.

grady23 · Jun 9, 2015

I like many have had my share of brake issues. I now keep a 2Gal garden sprayer on the trailer with a Salt-Away mix. Spray the brakes down each time it comes out of the salt water. Its helped considerably but NOTHING is going to stop rust. I've also spoken to Kodiak and they tell me that NO maker will warranty corrosion --- NOT even after only 1 year. I might try the WD-40 trick as well. I have a Chevy Duramax 2500HD so I have plenty of truck to stop the rig.

ROBERTH · Jun 11, 2015

Well, after getting the boat back down to the coast for the season, and after replacing the brake pads and working over the calipers, it seems they are not working correctly and as result was hard to stop.
At this point, I am pretty much done with the G5's that I swore were going to be great brakes.

Thought I would show you an example of one of the calipers after 2nd year. The first year caliper is near this stage as well.
This pic is the caliper piston boot deteriorating. Not sure if this in some way is affecting the movement of the caliper, but it sure didn't feel like I had much in braking power on this trip.
The slider pins were so tight due to aluminum corrosion on the outside of the sleeve, that it was compressing the slider pin, so that too is likely not allowing movement once they heat up some.

Will be moving to Kodiaks Full SS this fall unless sooner is required.

GOA · Jun 12, 2015

ROBERTH said:
Well, after getting the boat back down to the coast for the season, and after replacing the brake pads and working over the calipers, it seems they are not working correctly and as result was hard to stop.
At this point, I am pretty much done with the G5's that I swore were going to be great brakes.

Thought I would show you an example of one of the calipers after 2nd year. The first year caliper is near this stage as well.
This pic is the caliper piston boot deteriorating. Not sure if this in some way is affecting the movement of the caliper, but it sure didn't feel like I had much in braking power on this trip.
The slider pins were so tight due to aluminum corrosion on the outside of the sleeve, that it was compressing the slider pin, so that too is likely not allowing movement once they heat up some.

Will be moving to Kodiaks Full SS this fall unless sooner is required.

Robert
Wow...That is a very powerful image...especially since I just paid big money for a "G5 Complete Kit". It appears that my only shot is to continue using the Liquid Wrench rust inhibitor spray after each fresh water wash down...in the hope of maybe getting 4 years out of the G5s. At the end of each season I put about 250 miles round trip on the trailer, it needs to be safe!!!
Frustrated,

GOA

ROBERTH · Jun 12, 2015

Yes, I am quite frustrated as well! I had high hopes for these newly improved with all the aluminum and Stainless Steel components.

It would be a much cheaper route to just get new calipers as the rotors are pretty good in regards to corrosion, but, would be right back in the same position in less than 2 years again. Not to mention, they are wearing out the pads within a year with very low mileage accumlated.

At least you can plan on what to do in another year or so.......

magicalbill · Jun 12, 2015

I have been trailering Grady's for 18 years. I just make sure whatever needs replaced at the beginning of the season is attended to and go. These problems are part of trailering.
In many cases the trailers are undersized; they go over rough roads, usually at 60+ MPH with the weight of the boat flexing the trailer frame, springs & axles and they get dunked in saltwater.
When you think about it, it's surprising the parts last as long as they do. If I get a year out of bearings & seals, and a 2-3 out of the brakes, I'm happy.

wrxhoon · Jun 13, 2015

I started using Kodiak full S/S brake kits about 10 years ago and never looked back.
The last trailer I had for 5 years in that time I only changed brake pads, the rotors were well warn when I sold it though.
I never have any problems with bearings, I use B/Buddies and check them once per year or just before a long trip.
I trailer the boat all year around up and down the coast from Sydney Australia, I never leave the boat in the water.
The S/S Kodiaks will show some rust marks after a couple years but they seem to last the distance better than anything else I used before including hot dipped gal calipers.
D/Max are just as good but about the same price, the last time I bought them I paid about $1200 for 4 wheels, we have to have brakes on all wheels here if the combo weighs more than 4400 lb.

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