Trailer hydraulic Brakes

I use my trailer about 2 times a year approx 1500 miles. On the last trip I noticed that the trailer seemed to stop fine but there was a hesitation a second after accelerating with a slight shutter. It seemed like the brake actuator may be compressed then pops open at acceleration. Any thoughts on the cause?

In addition, I should probably replace the fluid as it's original 2001 fluid.

Flush the fluid. Your master cylinder is probably pretty rusty at this point, though.

I know its time to replace it but would that be causing my problem. Perhaps the fluid level is low?

Any other input?

Is the problem developing just right now and is it getting worse? There will always be a slight shutter/jerk when going from braking to accelerating, especially at slow speeds. That's just the coupler moving in and out of the hitch assembly and should be normal to a certain point.

If your brakes have air in the lines then the actuator goes to the end of it's travel. It clunks and sticks and the trailer brakes don't really have any stopping power. When they're really bad, the brakes don't even clean the rust off the rotors and it's obvious they don't do anything. If your truck has good brakes you might not notice it. You might need to bleed the brakes and grease the actuator. You can manually pump the actuator with a flat screwdriver while someone opens and closes the bleeder screws. I've also heard you can gravity bleed by jacking up the trailer. I'll probably try that method next time.

I think I'm out of travel as I get a good clunk and my tow vehicle has more than enough capacity. Hopefully the process of changing the 8 year old fluid will resolve the problems. I've never greased the actuator that will get done also. Thanks for the input.

First thing is flush the brake fluid and make sure it is full.

If that is not the issue, then I would think you have an issue with your damper in your actuator. The damper is the part responsible for returning the actuator to the "no brake" position

Also, is your trailer drums or disk? If it is drum, you might also want to check to see if one of your wheel cylinders has gone bad or stuck.

They are disc.

Unfortunately I expect the worst. For the little use, the trailer itself has been a POS. It's always been on good roads and not abused but here's the list:

1. The first 100 miles one of the leaf springs inverted dropping the trailer onto the fender and ruining the tire.

2. The opposite spring broke two leafs.

3. A wood bunk flew off while returning from the ramp.

4. All bunks were lag bolted. None of the bolts were tight or installed square.

5. Under all the step and decorative anti-skid stickers the trailer rusted because they held water.

6. The lights ground wire was initially loose.

I guess I cannot hold the manufacturer responsible for the three blow outs or brakes because I have not changed the fluid.