Questions about 26X trailer brakes and heating problem

[ChrisNorton]

Hi all,

Love the site and the group. Hoping someone can help a less than mechanical 1999 26X owner. When trailering my X on the highway, I have been getting unusually hot temperatures transfering to the wheel fenders. They get so hot rain drops sizzle on the fenders after 50 miles on the highway. The trailer is a 1999 and has original everything. I bought the boat and trailer two years ago and have only used it twice (the past owner only used it twice a year as well.) I am worried about what is causing the heating and suspect the brakes. I don't have the ability to change the brakes myself so I want to bring it to my local garage but they need to know what parts to use and don't have a clue about what is causing the heating. The guy who delivered the boat to me two years ago also experienced this problem and told me he had to loosen something on the highway but I am still experiencing the same problem.

So, any ideas on what is causing the heating?

And, any suggestions on what I should tell my garage to fix. If it is brakes, what parts do I need and where can I get them? Should I do something with the wheel bearings besides grease them?

Thanks for any help,
Chris Norton
'99 26x Chameleon

[Jack O'Brien]

To have the fenders get hot is amazing, unless the tires are rubbing. You are lucky it hasn't burned up. Get it fixed at once.

The first thing to check is the tightness of the bearings - especially since the previous owner said he had to loosen something for the overheating.

Jack up one side of the trailer to remove weight from the wheel. Remove the center cap in the center of the wheel, usually by pounding it from alternate sides with a block of wood or rubber mallet. Remove the big cotter pin from the big castellated nut. Turn the nut counterclockwise two flats, or holes, and reinsert the cotter pin. Replace the cover and see if it helps.

Oh, if there is a grease fitting on the axle pump grease into it until it starts to come out by the big nut. If there is no fitting, unscrew the nut completely and remove it and the washer and put them down someplace clean. Pull the wheel/tire out an inch or two and push it back grabbing the outside bearing before it falls in the dirt. Now pull the wheel/tire clear off the axle and press grease, by hand, into the inside bearing until it is full. Replace the wheel/tire on the axle. Pack the outside bearing with grease and replace it, the washer and big nut. Tighten the nut with a little firmness and spin the wheel. Back off the nut two or three flats (holes) and reinsert the pin and replace the cover.

If the overheating is caused by the brake shoes dragging, rather than the bearings, any brake shop can take them apart and readjust as needed. A boat trailer shop would be a better bet, especially for parts.

[Patrick Gilbert]

Please check the tire to fender clearances. These clearences can also vary depending on how heavy the boat is loaded with supplies. The tires can be rubbing the fenders intermitently on the highway. Look under the fender to see evidence of rubbing. If they rub, the tires will also get HOT.
I have always been concerned with the tire temperatures while traveling through the California desert. I have blown out the drivers side trailer tire at 65 mph while passing a semi. The tires should never be hotter than you can touch contiunously by hand. The hubs can run hotter if you have been breaking frequiently. The fenders should never be hotter than if they are just sitting in the sun.
I have converted to 15 inch wheels with Goodyear Marathon tires and have installed longer shackel straps to incresase tire to fender clearances. There is now a 2 to 3 inch clearance between the tires and fenders. Much better than from factory. 15 tires have a higher weight carry capacity and run cooler. Good luck.

[Frank C]

Chris,
Your boat's name, Chameleon, is interesting - you should add that to your profile info;
<== appearing just left of here. (my Chamelea might like to meet Leon)!

I think "here" is a better spot to post your question that the other ... definitely don't need both. REgardless, on a '99 that's been little used, I'd first stand well behind the trailer and look for lopsided-ness. It is possible that a spring is broken letting the trailer rest on the fenders. Very bad situation to be towing. Be careful, and welcome aboard.

[ChrisNorton]

That is great information from everyone (and humor is always good.) The tires are still the stock tires that came with the trailer. I did check the underside and there doesn't seem to be any wheel rubbing marks. The guy who delivered the boat to me said he had to loosen the brakes so maybe the shoes are sticking and rubbing causing the heating. If the bearings were burning out wouldn't I have smelled that? I did whif around when I discovered the heat and couldn't smell anything.

I am going to take it to a trailer repair place and have them check it out. The only thing that frightens me is that when I called the guy, all he wanted to talk about was replacing the single axle for a double which I can't afford and considering I tow the boat twice a year, don't think that's really necessary. He insisted the boat was too big for one axle (even though he never heard of a Macgregor). I told him I've read about many people adding a second axle but I've heard equally from people who tow it across country with one axle (and the trailer was made by the manufacturer no less.)

Thanks to all,
Chris

'99 26X Chameleon

[craiglaforce]

Sounds like the brakes are dragging. THe bearing would probably have burnt out by now if they were overheating.
There is a star wheel adjuster on most brakes that you have to make sure is backed off enough to let the brakes come off. The main thing though is probably corrosion keeping them from releasing. Probably just needs to be opened up, cleaned and replaced or lubricated as needed.

Also make sure the emergency brake trip wire did not somehow get activated and left that way. (that thin wire that goes to the lever on top of the master cylinder. Sometimes it is the simple things that get overlooked.

[kmclemore]

I'm with Chip on this one - sounds fishy - there's no way for that much heat (enough to "sizzle water") to transfer from a bearing or the brakes all the way up to the fenders, particularly as they are a large surface which, when moving, would be more or less 'in the wind', tending to cool them off. You'd have to virtually melt that stuff to get that much heat up there.

The only explanation for sizzling fenders I can think of is that somehow the tire is rubbing - perhaps on an inner edge you can't see. Pull the wheels off and carefully examine the rubber to see if there's any polished surfaces.

Only other choice is that you've got un-fused wiring that's shorted and heating up, but that's pretty unlikely and even so, I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have the energy to heat the entire fender.

[Moe]

That's why I underlined "fenders" in my reply in the other forum. Dragging brakes or seizing bearings aren't going to transfer enough heat up the axle, through the springs, shackles and frame, to the fenders to even get them more than warmer than the sun would. They can get the hubs hot enough to blister you though.

If you have hot fenders, the only logical explanation I can think of is tire rub.

--
Moe