New Trailer- Hot Hubs

[JoLin]

Hi, all-

I recently purchased a brand new Tidewater tandem axle trailer with surge disk brakes (Kodiak) at all 4 wheels. I pulled it home empty, and though there was no smoke, the hubs got hot. All are lubed up and the brake master cylinder is full. My old trailer with drums on 2 wheels would only get slightly warm when towed.

I know disk brakes have very little clearance between pad and rotor, and tend to "drag" a little bit, so is this possibly due to the fact that the brakes haven't bedded in yet?

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: New Trailer- Hot Hubs

Yup.

 

[nlain]

Re: New Trailer- Hot Hubs

I have surge disc brakes on my trailer and the hubs just get warm. I would not think that an empty trailer would get hot, maybe warm a little.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: New Trailer- Hot Hubs

As it's a brand new trailer I would expect it to be OK especially as you've bought premium Kodiak brakes. The Stainless steel rotors tend to get hotter and stay hot longer than their steel counterparts.

Just to be sure I'd jack it up and see how well the wheels rotate. It's possible they put a drum brake surge coupler on it.. They should spin freely and have almost no brake noise. If they noticibly drag I'd be looking at the coupler to ensure it's designed for disc brakes.

 

[JoLin]

Re: New Trailer- Hot Hubs

As it's a brand new trailer I would expect it to be OK especially as you've bought premium Kodiak brakes. The Stainless steel rotors tend to get hotter and stay hot longer than their steel counterparts.

Just to be sure I'd jack it up and see how well the wheels rotate. It's possible they put a drum brake surge coupler on it.. They should spin freely and have almost no brake noise. If they noticibly drag I'd be looking at the coupler to ensure it's designed for disc brakes.

I think I'll do that just to make sure- there is a big yellow sticker near the master cylinder that says it's "ready for disk brakes" or something to that effect (I'm at work now). I've read a little online and understand that's something I should see there if the right coupler is in place.

Thanks

 

[dingbat]

Re: New Trailer- Hot Hubs

Disc brakes that are not bleed well will drag and cause excessive heat like you describe.

I love my Kodiaks but they are notoriously hard to bleed. The first thing I would do is bleed them again. If that doesn?t do the trick I?d look at the coupler to make sure they installed the right coupler.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: New Trailer- Hot Hubs

My Kodiaks bleed like a dream. I have the little lady press on the surge actuator and slowly opent the top bleed screw on the caliper. Then I have her pressurize it and I let it go until I get good clean fluid out of the screw. When I'm happy I tighten down the screw (while she's pressurizing) do the next one and they work great.

Why do you say there hard to bleed? Maybe I'm missing something