Trailer Brakes

Having stuck another 4500 miles on to the trailers mileage so far in 2015 and with a similar mileage planned for 2016 and with Tra Bhui temporarily off her trailer to allow other works to be carried out November proved to be an opportune month to service the bearings and brakes on the trailer.

Tra Bhui's trailer originates from the MOD and is extremely well engineered, but even well engineered equipment needs some maintenance and so every year I strip the bearings and brakes, inspect, clean, re lubricate and re assemble them. This is a fairly simple process and is something that every boat owner should consider doing:-

• After loosening the wheel nuts the trailer was jacked up and supported on the jack and an axel stand.
• Once clear of the ground the wheel was removed
• With the wheel removed there was easy access to the brake adjusters and the grease cap on the end of the axel
• Once the brakes shoes had been slackened off - something that needs to be done to allow the brake drum to be removed - the grease cap at the end of the axel was removed and the castellated hub nut slackened.
• Once the castellated nut was removed the thrust washer and tapered roller bearing could also be removed, allowing the brake drum to be removed.
• Before inspecting the brakes and mechanism, any remaining grease was removed from the stub axel as it was being replaced and by removing it it lessened the risk of contaminating the brake shoes or the internal surface of the brake drum.
• Despite the mileage of recent years the brake shoes showed little wear. My policy of never submersing the brakes when launching was certainly paying off as the drums had little external rust (original paint still intact) and the mechanism and shoes inside were in an excellent condition.
• After brushing some brake dust out of the drums the back plates were cleaned and the movement of the shoes checked to ensure everything was working as it should. 
• Re assembly was simply a reverse of the dis assembly procedure. The castellated nut was tightened to ensure no play in the bearings while the wheel was still free to turn, before the brakes were re adjusted.
• Having cleaned the bearings and bearing seats and cavities new water proof grease was injected into the assembly using the grease nipple on the drum.

With wheel removed and trailer supported on jack and axel stand

With the drum removed it was apparent that the shoes and brake mechanism were still in very good condition

Brake adjuster - 13 mm hex on the outside of the back plate allows simple adjustment with a spanner