What is the best way to free up frozen trailer brakes?
Tn. Truckers Wife
Well-Known Member
No, I don't see where your going with this.....lol.....What are you saying?....:numchucks:
heavyhaulerss
Active Member
dragging the brakes when empty may be hard to do without sliding the tires. you can pour just a couple capfuls of rubbing alcohol into the trailer brake glad hand. it will disperse moisture. also a lil hand help torch, witch I keep in my side pocket helps too.
2xr has the best idea.i never set my trailer brakes when parking for the night. mine will leak off and set but before they do they have time to dry off. if they do stick...big hammer. im gonna try the steel bar next time too. alcohol in the glad hand will help with the valves too. last resort would be the torch, but it will work.
terrylamar
Well-Known Member
A trucker friend of mine from MA, told me to keep a bottle of Diesel 911 on the truck during the Winter. Not only can you use it in your fuel, but he showed me how to take the air line off my compressor, pour some of the 911 in the hose and reconnect everything. He swears it will free up anything frozen in you air system in no time. A substitute would be rubbing alcohol. Like others, I never set my trailer brakes, especially during the Winter. Since I have to switch trailers frequently, that does me little good. I like the idea of the 2' section of rebar.
boone315
SPACE TRUCKING
I never used fuel treatment and rubbing alcohol would seem like it would get diluted to quick. I used the air line anti freeze, it seemed to do the job though it can be expensive. On my Pete, I had an old style air dyer that was about half full of oil and when it got cold, it would freeze up and not pass ant air so I would have to by-pass it, then of course it would not take long and I would have to worry about the trailer freezing up, that air line stuff worked pretty quick when the trailer did freeze up, get that stuff on the bare skin when it is really cold out and it does not feel to good. I know of a guy who swears by de-natured alcohol, he uses it on everything, I think he even puts it in his coffee.
R
Racer X 69
Guest
The air system anti freeze is alcohol based, but not the same kind of alcohol as rubbing alcohol. And rubbing alcohol is isopropyl alcohol which is 60 to 98% (give or take) alcohol and the rest is water. If I was trying to keep my brake system from freezing I wouldn't want to put rubbing alcohol in it. Air brake antifreeze is about 98% methanol and no water.
All that aside, the air line antifreeze will only keep the system components from freezing (valves and such). It won't keep wet brake shoes from freezing to the drum. The dragging the brake to heat up the shoes and dry them out intrigues me, but I would think you would need to drag them for a mile or so in a dry area to generate enough heat to dry them enough so they won't freeze to the drums should you set the trailer brakes.
Probably best to keep the trailer brakes released when stopping for the night or day in freezing weather, and if there is sufficient air leaks that the system bleeds down and sets the brakes, fix the air leaks.
All that aside, the air line antifreeze will only keep the system components from freezing (valves and such). It won't keep wet brake shoes from freezing to the drum. The dragging the brake to heat up the shoes and dry them out intrigues me, but I would think you would need to drag them for a mile or so in a dry area to generate enough heat to dry them enough so they won't freeze to the drums should you set the trailer brakes.
Probably best to keep the trailer brakes released when stopping for the night or day in freezing weather, and if there is sufficient air leaks that the system bleeds down and sets the brakes, fix the air leaks.
bigyellowpete
Town Bike
I know this thread hasn't been bumped since Feb, probably because the weather is warmer now, but I have been carrying wheel chocks to use instead of setting the brakes when I am worried about freezing up over night. Of course I also pull an RGN, and can ground the deck to keep from rolling off into the truck across the lot from me as well, if I feel lucky about being able to start the motor to pick it up again in the morning! Methylhydrate is what I buy in gallon jugs to use as brake line antifreeze. You can usually find a gallon in your local hardware store cheaper than a pint at the truck stop.
boone315
SPACE TRUCKING
I did not think of that, I usually just drag them long enough till they catch on fire and thaws itself out
heavyhaulerss
Active Member
I cary a small propane torch & have a bottle of 90% rubbing alcohol & I'll squirt from the alcohol bottle onto the brake assemble to thaw out any ice.
snowflake
Ow ya goin'
colohayhauler
Clutch Monkey
This might be a stupid question, but what about using a pipe wrench on the shaft that goes to the S-cam? Will it hurt anything? I tried this the other day, released trailer brakes, put the pipe wrench on the shaft and wiggled it a little and it popped free, easier than hammering on the things. Don't know if its a good idea or not, but it worked well for me
R
Racer X 69
Guest
I guess I don't get where you are placing the pipe wrench. The s-cam is inside a tube from the slack adjuster to the place where it sticks out and the rollers and shoes sit.
Are you putting the wrench on the slack adjuster?
And really, I don't see how that would help release the brake shoes, as they are stuck to the drum from being pressed there by the s-cams and then freezing. And the springs that hold the shoes together and pull them away from the drum aren't strong enough to break the bond created by the moisture that has the shoes stuck to the drum.
The only real problem with whacking the drum and shoe with a hammer is the risk of something chipping off and getting in your eyes, and if your hammer is large enough and you are a big enough guy you could break the drum or damage the brake lining.
Are you putting the wrench on the slack adjuster?
And really, I don't see how that would help release the brake shoes, as they are stuck to the drum from being pressed there by the s-cams and then freezing. And the springs that hold the shoes together and pull them away from the drum aren't strong enough to break the bond created by the moisture that has the shoes stuck to the drum.
The only real problem with whacking the drum and shoe with a hammer is the risk of something chipping off and getting in your eyes, and if your hammer is large enough and you are a big enough guy you could break the drum or damage the brake lining.
bigyellowpete
Town Bike
I always figured backing off the brakes and giving the drums a couple raps until they sing and the shoes are clear is the easiest way to go. Then ratchet the slacks back up and carry on down the road.
Of course most of the big companies would probably fire you for screwing with your brake adjustment, so take the big company way out and free up your brakes with your cell phone by calling dispatch and letting them arrange for a service truck to come see you while you sit in the cab all toasty warm logged in here and posting like the happy driver you are.
Of course most of the big companies would probably fire you for screwing with your brake adjustment, so take the big company way out and free up your brakes with your cell phone by calling dispatch and letting them arrange for a service truck to come see you while you sit in the cab all toasty warm logged in here and posting like the happy driver you are.
Sinister
pari animositate
I have a friend who leased on with Knight for a bit. Just about every other trailer he'd find something small wrong with, and he would do exactly that.
I have an impact wrench, a 50' air hose, and a pile of other tools of my own that I carry. They expect us to fix lights, change tires, and at least attempt to troubleshoot anything we run up against before calling anyone.
And calling people here is pretty useless. Ever heard someone shrug on the phone? You almost can here...
I have an impact wrench, a 50' air hose, and a pile of other tools of my own that I carry. They expect us to fix lights, change tires, and at least attempt to troubleshoot anything we run up against before calling anyone.
And calling people here is pretty useless. Ever heard someone shrug on the phone? You almost can here...
R
Racer X 69
Guest
Good points.
Actually, when the automatic slack adjusters became the standard the word was that if there is any reason to turn the adjuster manually, don't do it.
As a mechanic I questioned why the hell is there an adjustment screw if you can't turn it.
Really though, the ratchet mechanism can be damaged from excessive manual turning, and some types are not supposed to be rotated any direction but to tighten them (again I have to question the logic here, what are you supposed to do if you go a click or two too much? Drive the dam thing around the parking lot until you wear enough lining off to get the damn brakes where they need to be?).
Back to freeing up frozen brakes. Like BYP says, release the trailer brakes, (back them off if you dare, oh come on, live a little!) and give a brisk, sharp rap on the drum until you hear a nice ring. No ring means the shoes are still stuck to the drum.
Or use the cell phone method.
And then stop driving trucks, because truck drivers are supposed to know how to do things like check and adjust brakes, replace burned out lights, troubleshoot electrical problems, deal with moisture in the air lines, etc.
And free up stuck brakes when they get set in freezing weather. (who does this anyway? The only time I set the trailer brakes is when I drop the trailer.)
Quick question!
How much free play should you have at the slack adjuster?
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