Trailer Brake and Bearing Questions?

(mikea) · (mikea) **Join Date: Mar 2005** 08-15-2009, 12:04 PM

I have a 2006 Boatmate trailer and had the brakes overheat while towing.
I have since corected the overheating problem, and replaced all bearings and seals.
I took the trailer out for a test drive and the hubs did get warm after ten miles at 60 mph. I could keep my hand on the hub indefintly (warm but not hot). I did this twice more on the same trip with the same results. When I returned home I stopped and checked the hubs again and they were "warmer".
Is this due to the stop and go driving through town? The brakes making the hub warm up?
Once I backed the trailer into the driveway the hub was even warmer, almost hot. I could keep my hand wrapped around the hub for about 5 seconds before I wanted to take it off. I could keep my hand on the hub longer without getting burned, but it was hot.

I know that my trailer brake lockout was working. I am just wondering if there could have been "some" pressure on the brakes and that made the hub feel warm/hot?

Do I need to correct this, or is this normal?
Am I being over concered about this?

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!
Mikea

(bdavis) · (bdavis) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 08-15-2009, 2:59 PM

I had previous problems with my brakes and replaced all my calipers. Since then I usually feel my wheels whenever I stop for gas. I mostly just compare them to each other trying to see if one is much hotter than the rest. They were all hot enough to make me wana take my hand off the other day, but it was a hot day with a long hilly drive.

(imx) · (imx) **Join Date: Jul 2009** 08-15-2009, 4:35 PM

Wheel hubs will get some heat into them just by rolling, yours sound OK. If you are using the brakes a lot that will increase the amount of heat, again normal unless you have a brake jam then you will feel it quite a bit hotter than the other side. One thing about bearings and seals, you see a lot of people drive down to the ramp and reverse their trailer straight in, BIG MISTAKE, hot hubs dunked into water will create a gap in the seals and allow water to penetrate. A good practice is to do your pre-launch checks and give the hubs time to cool a little.

(ktm525) · (ktm525) **Join Date: Mar 2009** 08-15-2009, 6:02 PM

Check the tightness of the nut holding the rotor on. If it is too tight it causes friction and will get hot. They should spin freely when off the ground.

(mikea) · (mikea) **Join Date: Mar 2005** 08-18-2009, 4:16 AM

Thanks!
The manual gives a torque rating of 20" pounds. I did not have a torque wrench that read "inches", so I just went just a little more than finger tight. I figured the bearing will seat itself and loosen a bit.

(trace) · (trace) **Join Date: Feb 2002** 08-18-2009, 6:51 AM

Disc brakes just run hot, or at least the older non-vented type rotors definitely do. I tow in traffic a lot, and have to run high-temp grease in my hubs or it will boil out. I can't keep my hand on the hub for more than 3-4 sec after a 20 min tow in traffic.

Is anyone running the newer vented rotors? Are they better?