Tie down brakes (GRRRRRRR) long post sorry

[BarryTurano]

I have read about Tie Down Brakes being not the greatest. I would like to share my experience.

Bought my boat in October of 07. The boat was in a wet slip in Boston. The fella that I bought it from did not trailer the boat. So when I decided to buy it I bought a trailer. I bought a 6000# Load Rite aluminum I beam with torsion bars. Picked up the trailer on a Friday night set out at 4am to Boston. Met the seller at 9:30 am loaded up and left Boston. Not wanting to drag this monster all the way down 95 and over bridges and through the Bronx I pulled my truck and trailer with the boat on the New London to Orient Point ferry.

Splashed it once before winterizing. Now comes the fun part. In 08 I ran the boat 6 times that means the trailer got wet 12 times that year. In 09 I ran the boat 3 times so the trailer was in salt water 6 times this year.

Please note that I wash down the boat, flush the motor and wash down the trailer after every use. This last time when bringing the boat back I start hearing squeaking noises. I'm saying this can't be good especially since the boat is taking a 650 mile trip to Wilmington on the 25th.

So I bring it to a trailer shop and tell them what I am hearing and to please go over the trailer to make sure it is "road ready".

Total wear and tear on this trailer as best as I can calculate:

Dunked 21 times
Traveled about 650 miles (250 miles without a load)

Here is what was found on a 2 year old trailer with very little use:

Calipers frozen
Pads worn to rivets
Seals blown out (my fault for being to aggressive with the grease gun)
1 tire needed to be replaced due to dry rot.
The tire makes no sense because why only one tire? There are 4 on the trailer. The trailer was bought new. The shop seems to think that the manufacturer may have put an "old unused tire" on with 3 new ones.

Any way I now have to agree Tie Down Disc Brakes SUCK


After this trip, the boat will be in a wet slip and will be trailered twice a year dropping in the spring and hauling in the winter. Other wise I would be getting different brakes.
__________________

Born to fish...Forced to work
No Regrets.... EdgeWater 247cc

[Avenger]

All tires should have a date code on them, so you can compare the tires to see if somebody stuck a clunker on your trailer.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=11

As far as the brakes, well.... did you ever notice that when they do a corrosion analysis on a product they're rated by a salt-spray test. Salt water is about the most corrosive thing you can put on something. This, coupled with the fact that the trailer isn't being dragged around once a week or more is a major factor in your problems. The only advice I can offer you is that you need to go fishing a lot more.

[BarryTurano]

[QUOTE
The only advice I can offer you is that you need to go fishing a lot more. [/QUOTE]

Amen to that I plan on a lot more Time On The Water starting this spring down south.

[Avenger]

Well, yeah, good for you, but.... if you leave, who's going to pay the taxes up here?

Don't tell me.... I already know.

[BarryTurano]

Well, yeah, good for you, but.... if you leave, who's going to pay the taxes up here?

Don't tell me.... I already know.

Believe me I feel your pain. I just don't understand why my taxes up here are 400% more than my taxes in Wilmington? When my property in Wilmington is 2x the size and my home a lot bigger? Why are utilities more than double up here? Why are so many other everyday items and services more up here than they are 650 miles south?
The argument can be made that salaries are higher, but they need to be higher in order to survive. As more people move out there is less of a tax base. With less of a tax base the remaining people pay higher taxes and subsequently move away. Starting the cycle all over again, until Long Island becomes a ghost town.
I guess the answer is greed and corruption that has been rampant in New York since way before me. Sorry to leave you holding the bag Avenger. I can tell you if you make it down south either permanently of just passing through look me up we can get out on my boat and talk about Long Island. You will not be alone, there are plenty of us (transplanted Long Islanders) down there.
Barry


____________________________
Born to fish...Forced to work
No Regrets.... EdgeWater 247cc

[Avenger]

I guess the answer is greed and corruption that has been rampant in New York since way before me. Sorry to leave you holding the bag Avenger. I can tell you if you make it down south either permanently of just passing through look me up we can get out on my boat and talk about Long Island. You will not be alone, there are plenty of us (transplanted Long Islanders) down there.
Barry

That's exactly it. We've got too many people in this state and on the island with their hands in the cookie jar, and it's growning every day. In my profession I end up working with government agencies and the local utilities and let me tell you, if the people really knew what was happening there would be a revolution. OTOH people are so complacent they'd probably just change the channel.

Sorry, didn't mean to get us off on a rant. Thanks for the offer of the hospitality Barry. You never know, one day I might just chuck it all and split. If I do, I'll pay you a visit. Good luck with your move. Uhhh, you're not trailering the boat down there are you?

[BarryTurano]

No i contracted Interstate Haulers. They are hooking up my trailer to a dually and are towing it down to Wilmington. They are charging $1.25 per mile ($818.00) + tolls. That is why I am having Cross Country Trailers go over the entire thing. Plus the fact that I started hearing that noise to begin with. I guess all things have a way of working out.

[BTH284]

Same brakes here too. Minor fluid drip at the surge head. 1/2 bottle fluid in a years time. 5 years and shoes indicators just starting to squeak. Discs still smooth with some edge rust. Replacing shoes soon. Have pin disabled brakes until then.

[Ultralite]

Have always heard lots of negatives on Tie Down Disc Brakes. Try the Kodiak disc brakes and get the stainless calipers with the cadmium clad rotors (avoid the pricey stainless rotors). The calipers are easy to rebuild. It literally takes minutes to rebuild them and the seal kits are like $5. The zinc clad rotors will last about 4 years.

I can't say I've been completely without problems with the Kodiaks, but I've come to expect that with trailer brakes dunked in the salt. This summer I had a ceramic pad blow off and chewed up a rotor. Next trip after replacing that rotor, the caliper on the other side locks up and the pad was literally on fire. Rebuild kits, some work and on the road again in short order. Again just par for the course with brakes in saltwater. You just need to become self sufficient mechanically when it comes to trailer brakes, or the costs will eat you up.

I realize that you have a torsion bar axle set-up, but I cannot emphasize enought that the ideal set-up are the Spindle Lube axles sold by www.championtrailer.com. No more bearing buddies falsely convincing you that you've pressure filled your hub with grease, only to have air voids which condense and suck in water when dunked. No more lost bearing buddies. I've literally been on the same Chinese bearings for 4 years since I switched to the Spindle Lube axles. They are the real deal.


Steve

[donald/tri-again]

took six years of abuse to wear mine out , no flushing no yearly maint, just grease the hubs before each trip probably 60 dunkings a yr. hang 4 new loaded calipers and buff the ss rotors new seal cost $400 for 6yrs of service beat that. drums had to replace every other year. most tie down problems reported are from people who bought a trailer with them those of us who converted installing our own had no problems. they must be shimmed so they dont bind and prematurely wear out. or you dont have enough brake surface for the weight you are stopping or you have wrong actuator setup