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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Surge Brakes on C-250 Trailer on Long Descents?

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MartinJW
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USA
241 Posts

Initially Posted - 09/28/2008 : 00:28:58

Hello Everyone,

We recently bought a new Chevy pickup truck with 8,500lb towing capacity, and we used it to move our C-250 from Lake Tahoe to a winter storage yard about 50 miles away. This went very well, but I have one item I'm concerned about.

We have a Road King trailer (that came with the boat) with dual axles and 4 big disc brakes that are surge-actuated. Part of the towing trip involved a moderately steep descent of nearly 20 miles. I kept the truck in a low gear, and cruised along at about 45-50mph (the speed limit along this route is 50mph). The brakes worked great, and the truck+trailer+boat felt very stable during the descent.

However, at one point I pulled over to double check the brakes, and we noticed some smoke coming from the brakes/wheels. This lasted for a minute or so. When I touched the rotors, they were very hot (I suffered a minor burn). We waited about 10 minutes, and the brake rotors were back down to ambient temperature.

We continued on down the remaining 5 miles or so of the descent and again noticed a puff of smoke from the wheels/brakes after we came to a complete stop. The smoke stopped after about 30 seconds during this second stop.

Should I be concerned about this?

Could I safely tow the boat as long as I stop every so often to allow the brakes to cool?

Should I convert to electric brakes? (How much would this cost?)

Any other suggestions, advice, thoughts about this?

As always, THANKS!

Martin

C25/250 Int'l Ass'n Member
2008 C-250 WK #973
"Bluebell"
Lake Tahoe, CA/NV

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atgep
Master Marine Consultant

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1009 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2008 : 00:51:49

Your brakes are doing thier job. If you keep moving, it will help cool. My single axle brakes got real hot in the passes in WA. There is no way to stop the surge brakes from working and as a preventive measure, you could bleed the brakes to see if you cooked the fluid.

Tom

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2008 : 07:46:03

Do surge brake equipped trailers have any type of brake sensitivity adjustments?

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ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2008 : 10:08:05

"When I touched the rotors, they were very hot"

Hot rotors are fine and a little smoke when you stop is fine.
A continual stream of smoke underway = problem

If you want to stop on a long downhill, try to find a flat spot or little uphill to stop in. After you stop, pull ahead slightly to remove any hydraulic pressure on the pucks. Stopping with hot disk brakes and letting them sit 'applied' (under pressure) can do bad things... lots of heat starts transferring from the rotor to the wheel cylinders and can boil the fluid or cook the pucks. Unless you have a problem or other need to stop, keeping moving is a good option.

>"Do surge brake equipped trailers have any type of brake sensitivity adjustments?"

None that I've seen. I have seen aftermarket brake 'biasing' valves that are used to reduce the pressure going to the rear brakes. (Used to be found on trucks to reduce rear-wheel lockup).

IMHO: The very best setup for trailer brakes is an electric/hydraulic actuator (commonly called 'electric over hydraulic'). An electric acutuator mounted on the trailer tongue generates the hydraulic pressure to the brakes. Best of both worlds.

That way you won't have to mess with your trailer brakes... (further IMHO) 4 wheel hydraulic disks is as good as it gets on a C25 trailer.

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stampeder
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1608 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2008 : 10:49:42

I have surge brakes and have towed both ways over the Rocky Mountains. (Rogers Pass 4300ft, Calgary 3400 ft, Pacific ocean 0 ft)

The surge actuator, if operating properly on a descent should be neutral or not fully engaged. there is an adjustment that can be made on the surge actuator.If it needs to be adjusted, I would have a brake pro do it. I generally stop every half hour to do a walk around and to check for heating when driving through the mountains - takes about 8 hours of driving to get over the Rockies from here - your brakes should not be getting any hotter than your truck brakes.
When starting out, the Admiral takes the wheel of the truck and hits the brakes a couple times while I watch the surge actuator. The actuator should compress about 3". You will see travel (wear) marks on it.
Your surge actuator has a grease fitting, if you haven't greased it, it may have gotten stuck.
Were all your rotors smoking or just one axle pair or just one rotor?
I've had the experience where a trailer that sits for six months has developed brake problems due to inactivity.
And, you need to ensure that your brake fluid is at proper level. Inactivity causes brake fluid to get gunky.

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ClamBeach
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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2008 : 11:01:29

"Inactivity causes brake fluid to get gunky."

Good point... as a 'best practice' brake fluid should be changed every year or two. This means bleeding each brake cylinder until fresh, clean fluid comes out. It is not that hard to do. A variety of tools and gadgets are available to make it easier, but the old two person pump and bleed works fine too.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brake_bleeding

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pastmember
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2402 Posts

Response Posted - 09/28/2008 : 11:45:33

I thought the only adjustment on a surge system was changing the orifice in the mast cylinder. Doesn't mean I am right but it is what the voices are telling me.

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The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.