Trailer Issue I need help with.

[Dan]

Put my boat away last year and as I put it in storage we notice the passenger side front tire on my BassCat dual axle trailer was quite hot. Left it over the winter and about a month ago we ordered bearings from BassCat and replaced all the bearings, seals, the whole enchilada. Well went to take it home today and test drove it. Same wheel got hot again. Pulled the wheel off and checked the brakes and the drum came right off so I don't think it's a brake issue. So, we replaced the bearings, races, and seals a second time. Test drove it and it seemed hotter than ever.  Any suggestions??

[dartag]

Find a Thermal Digital Thermometer.   Pull the trailer then shoot it and see what is hot.   Still seems like a dragging brake to me.  Could be when you are pulling the trailer the surge brake is on.  Another thing maybe wheel alignment of the trailer wheels. 

[Jay-MadWags]

Check the cable for the emergency brake that comes out around the tongue of the trailer. See if it accidental got released. I had that happen before.

[Dan]

We suspect it's a brake and have looked at the cable but am not sure how to tell it's released. Messed with it again this morning hoping it was a cable issue. Bought a new truck and the cable doesn't have much slack so we tried pulling it without it attached and the wheel was hot again. It does appear that the drum gets hot first. Giving up. Now I have to find somewhere close that I can get it to. Stored it at my son's who lives out in the country south of Charlotte. 

[dartag]

Does the trailer have Disc Brakes.   Jack up the trailer and see if you can spin the wheel after it gets hot. 

[fiker]

Some trailers have a way in the tongue to disconnect the brakes.

[thedude]

my old trailer had disk brakes. i just took them off - after a while it just makes more sense to just re-do the whole thing (lines and everything).  i have a 8000lb truck, so i didn't worry about it too much.
drum or disc, seems the likely culprit. If the drums were dragging and got hot, they probably warped and now drag even worse. as mentioned, jack it up and try to spin the tires. i assume they are surge brakes, the master cylinder in the tongue can get messed up and also if it has any rubber lines, they can develop bulges inside the lines which slows the brake from opening back up after you accelerate.

[Dan]

As always, there is great advice on this site from very knowledgeable folks. Thank you and I'll keep you posted. Problem with this whole deal the boat and trailer are in storage at my son's who lives three hours from me. He's going to see if a friend of his who works at a car dealership as a mechanic will give the brakes a look. I have asked my son to see if he would put new brake lines and brakes on. We'll see. Thanks again.

[Waterfoul]

Dan, I have a laser thermometer if you want to borrow it.  It works pretty slick.  Let me know and I'll toss it in my truck...

[Dan]

Had a skilled old fishing partner drive 3 hours with me down to my son's where I had stored the boat for the winter. After telling him what the problem was, he too thought it was a brake hanging up. So we stopped at auto zone and got a plug for the brake line. He disconnected the line on the wheel that was getting hot and walla no more hot wheel. Drove the boat back north to White Cloud where my buddy lives and he's going to put new brake lines on and redo the brakes. I have brakes on all four wheels. Not all trailers have them on both axles. Hopefully, I'll be back on the water soon.  Thanks again for all the input from folks on this site. It is always spot on and very helpful.

[djkimmel]

Glad to hear you're heading in the right direction!