Can I / should I service my trailer's brakes?

[skotl]

My ~2012 Indispension trailer has served me well for the two years that I've owned it. The previous owner claimed that he serviced the brakes before I bought it and I don't have any obvious complaints:

1. The wheels turn freely when jacked
2. The handbrake locks on solidly
3. The momentum brake works, albeit slightly aggressively when the trailer is empty

But I presume I should be getting the brakes serviced. Some pics below.
As someone who has never done any home maintenance on vehicle brakes of any sort, is this a task I should be contemplating myself? I'm guessing the average garage doesn't want to touch trailers, right?

Any tips as to where to start - I don't mind buying a kit from Knott or Indispension (they seem reasonably well priced at around £70 for the pair) if the safest route is to bin and replace.

 

[RWD3M]

Hi @skotl ,
I have a great little I for Williams car trailer and for the want of about £80, I just have mine serviced by my local trailer centre in Devizes. Well worth it for me.

 

[skotl]

Hi @skotl ,
I have a great little I for Williams car trailer and for the want of about £80, I just have mine serviced by my local trailer centre in Devizes. Well worth it for me.

Well, whaddyaknow - there's an indispension branch in Edinburgh!

Never thought of that - will give them a ring

 

[RWD3M]

My lot even put the pressure washer over it every time.

 

[m_c]

I'd be taking the drums of for a look to make sure the brake linings are still intact, and that the cables are moving freely.
Just knock the hubcap off, remove the nut, and take the wheel/drum off as single unit. Remember to catch the wheel bearing on the way off though.
And remember they're likely to be a ye olde taper roller bearing, so nip up to remove play, then slacken off until you get the split pin hole lined with a nut slot, at which point there should be noticeable play if you shake the wheel.
(there is a possibility it might be a preloaded bearing, in which case you just torque the nut up and it doesn't have a split pin)

Parts can be had cheaper from other sources, as Indespension are not exactly cheap for spares.
We use Trailparts at work for spares.

 

[cocker]

They are Easy to service yourself , the bits are cheap enough and it's a nice steady job for a wet day !

 

[skotl]

I'd be taking the drums of for a look to make sure the brake linings are still intact, and that the cables are moving freely.
Just knock the hubcap off, remove the nut, and take the wheel/drum off as single unit. Remember to catch the wheel bearing on the way off though.
And remember they're likely to be a ye olde taper roller bearing, so nip up to remove play, then slacken off until you get the split pin hole lined with a nut slot, at which point there should be noticeable play if you shake the wheel.
(there is a possibility it might be a preloaded bearing, in which case you just torque the nut up and it doesn't have a split pin)

Parts can be had cheaper from other sources, as Indespension are not exactly cheap for spares.
We use Trailparts at work for spares.

I'll tentatively give that a try at the weekend - at least I'll get to see how much of the components are still there!

Point taken re indispension - doesn't seem to be any other trailer servicing bods in the area. My neighbour was under his old mini at the weekend - I suspect a 6 pack of cider might get me some assistance from him.

 

[James1979]

I stand to be corrected but also check the handbrake lever.

When it’s on and adjusted properly this bit should be vertical

There’s a good bloke on gaztube who does how to about servicing.

I’ve no idea why but it comes on my feed now and again. I’ll see if I can find him……

Edit. This dude.

knows his stuff.

 

[T5 TDI]

You'll need a gun for those grease nipples. My Alko caravan chassis has two of them nicely hidden underneath! Your Mini guy will have a grease gun.

 

[8ob]

3. The momentum brake works, albeit slightly aggressively when the trailer is empty

I would be checking the coupling damper in the hitch.

Bob

 

[Neilj]

For some peace of mind knowing what you've got, it's easy enough to pop off a hub cap, undo the nut and remove the drum for a peep. The handbrake should be vertical when pulled on as mentioned above by @James1979 and there will be manual adjusters on each brake drum to take up shoe wear. These should be adjusted first, so that the shoes scrape slightly when rotated, prior to thinking about any adjustments with the brake rod / linkage underneath. As @8ob says, if it's snatching when braking, check the damper inside the coupling hitch, it could be dead.
Also, there are a few different brake manufacturers (Al-Ko and Knott are common ones) and also different size / width drums. Pulling a drum off and taking a couple of photo's will help identify what you've got in the absence of any obvious markings on the back plates. That will all be second nature to a bloke with an old Mini which has very similar rear drums to what you have there

 

[skotl]

I stand to be corrected but also check the handbrake lever.

When it’s on and adjusted properly this bit should be vertical

View attachment 401524

Thanks for the vid.

Good spot - the handbrake is off in this pic and is in fact vertical when applied. I jack it up onto wooden blocks at the rear when it's resting, handbrake off and wheels off the ground, as I figure that's better for both the tyres and brakes. Could be wrong of course!

 

[KimB]

Defo service. I serviced two of ours. Both had seized cables. They’re simple systems.

 

[skotl]

There’s a good bloke on gaztube who does how to about servicing.

I’ve no idea why but it comes on my feed now and again. I’ll see if I can find him……

Edit. This dude.

knows his stuff.

Brilliant video - totally demystified it for me. Thanks for digging this up.

 

[James1979]

Brilliant video - totally demystified it for me. Thanks for digging this up.

It’s not hard. But if you’ve never done it you won’t know.

Half the ‘fun’ on gaztube is siphoning out the utter ****e from the few useful videos by people who know what they’re on about!

 

[cocker]

Just mind you don't drop/lose the stupid little bit of metal that holds the spring ( that holds the brake shoes on ) !
Some patience is required to get them back on with sausage fingers !

 

[octo0072000]

@Skoti try searching for mobile caravan service near you

 

[addjunkie]

Defo service. I serviced two of ours. Both had seized cables. They’re simple systems.

Those cables in your picture are very prone to seizeing espescially if its not used very often!

 

[skotl]

Well! Emboldened by all of the great advice on here, and the excellent video that @James1979 posted I figured - the sun is still out, so let's get a hub off and see what we're dealing with!

Turns out to be nowhere near as painful as I'd expected (and y'all said!) and hopefully the brakes aren't in terrible condition. Very quick clean of the roller bearings and they look ok (I'll give them a proper clean at the weekend):

Everything seemed well lubed (pics are after I took off most of the grease), the arm moves back and forth ok and the pads seem to have plenty of life left:

It definitely is a Knott system with the reverse, which is handily the model that James' video showed

What I couldn't tell was what size it is - what dimension would you measure?
Edit: the same trailer guy on youtube has a vid to tell you this, too!

And the key question: what's the learned collective's thought on what is there - regrease and refit, or would you replace any of it?

(the cables probably do need replacing as they are bulging, but that looks like an easy fix)

 

[James1979]

When you measure shoes it’s normally width x length of friction pad.

Could be in inches or mm to compound things!

They’ll be 8”x2” or something along that lines I think. I fitted some on a chipper a month or two back and that was about the size but I can’t remember exactly……

Hard to advise what to do without feeling any of it. The springs and clips that hold the shoes can relax so make sure they are nice and strong and holding the shoes well.

Same with bearings. If they feel ok then clean well, re pack and refit. I tend to grease all the bits where stuff pivots with high temp brake grease.

If you have any, fire some aerosol cable lube (dry Teflon) up the brake cables via the half shells.

Do the same from the compensator plate end.