Trailer brakes pads stick to disk

K

Karl Konecny

Member
I have an annoying problem with my trailer. I replaced the non-functioning surge brakes with electric over hydraulic Kodiak disk brakes. They seem to work great with one issue. I leave my boat in the water (salt water) over the summer so my trailer sits unused (but covered). I rinse it well with fresh water before storage but when I get ready to use it to pick up the boat in the fall one or more brake pads are stuck to a disk. Is there anything I can do to prevent this??? Thanks for any advice.
 
Run the trailer. One revolution of that wheel will fix that. I too have pads that stick to the wheel, but they free up when I tow the trailer. Or, you could reach in there and pry the pad off the disk. Salt water does that.

Boris
 
Karl, immediately after pulling the trailer out of the water, do a good freshwater rinse and then use a spray bottle and spray the brake components as best you can with Salt Away. When you get home, in a perfect world, it would be best to keep the trailer in a dry enclosed building and/or pull the trailer once a month to exercise the brakes even if driven just a few feet.
 
Maybe, just storing the trailer up on jack stands and spin the wheels occasionally would do the trick. I have both axles up high enough so I can spin the wheels a few revolutions with my foot every time I go over to the trailer.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
Thanks everyone for the great ideas. Its good to hear others have experienced the same issue. I will store the trailer on jacks so I can spin the wheels every so often.
 
A squirt or two of Brake Clean from the can usually does the trick in cleaning and freeing up brake parts. I keep a can in the truck just for that. I wouldn't use anything oil based as it could/will soak into the pads.
 
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