Calipers/rotors: D.i.y. Pics

[sharphooks]

Had a local guy quote $ 1,900 for new rotors and new calipers on a dual axle Shoreland'r

That number gave me an instant nose bleed so I figured I'd try and educate myself with a few Youtube vidz and do it myself.

It was time consuming (getting the old rotors off with zero clearance for tools on the axle flange) but in the end, I was left with a warm fuzzy feeling of having been self-reliant (and an even warmer and fuzzier feeling for having saved some dough)

$ 550 for calipers and rotors + $ 30 for brake cleaner and DOT 3 fluid + $ 100 to my neighbor for helping me bleed the brakes = $ 680

Here's a before and after so you guys can see what things might look like behind the tires of your trailer after 5 years of salt operation:

[Sculpin]

Those old ones look better than mine did lol. Oh come on you could have got another year out them ha ha. The new ones look really good. What did you end up going with?

[Gypseas]

$100 for your neighbor? shame on the guy for taking your money

New brakes look sleek! Stainless?
cheers

[sharphooks]

hey Sculpin-- I ended up going with UFP---the Kodiak guys couldn't guarantee their calipers would fit the Shoredland'r flange. Would have been nice to try stainless (Kodiak) but pretty spendy equipment-- the UFP calipers are aluminum, the rotors zinc-plated--- just about 50% of the cost of the Kodiak stainless stuff.

hey Gypseas--I had to twist the guy's arm to take the hundred --I wanted to give him double that amount but no way he'd take it---he packed all the bearings and showedd me how to bleed the system

Same guy who helped me take the powerhead off my Honda 9.9 to retrieve a plastic hose that fell into the oil pan last winter. On that deal he just wanted me to buy him some cigarettes.... a hell of a mechanic but I'm not sure I'd want him managing my business....

[Enniberg]

I put new brakes on my trailer last year, trying to give them a good fresh water rinse after every dunk, but corrosion is still happening faster than I would like. Any good ideas on how we can keep corrosion at bay and make the brakes last longer?

[profisher]

I rinse mine after I launch and after I reload. No point in just rinsing after the trailer has sat all day in the parking lot and the salt has dried and baked on the trailer and brakes. Unless you scrub it won't rinse off completely. I have 2 - 2 1/2 gallon converted pressure water fire extinguishers with a hose and garden spray nozzle attached. They hold enough water to spray down the part of my trailer that gets wet each time I use the trailer. I concentrate most of the water to the brakes/wheels/springs and axles.

[sharphooks]

Submitted by staying alive in a different thread:

QUOTE

I take a can of Fluid Film with me to the boat launch and coat everything that looks vulnerable once I got the boat off

UNQUOTE

I'm not familiar with this coating. The portable wash-down system sounds great but maybe a bit difficult to use in some situations. I read about this same approach on The Hull Truth---the guy posted pix (tacked on to the tongue of his trailer)

Me, I'm going to maybe plumb a wash-down system into my trailer...... but I'm a realist---it'll only help so much and rust is just part of the salt water deal

As long as my calipers float unimpeded on the stainless pins, salt water use is what it is and you can only rinse so much of it off.

My mantra when trailering my boat anywhere--- every time I get out of my truck while on the road, I place my hand on each of the 4 hubs. Every time. No exceptions.

At least you'll have a clue to what the salt and rust is REALLY really doing back there if and when you feel more heat then you're used to feeling....

I ended up Shanghi-ed in Nanaimo last summer for 5 days with a puked caliper. But if I hadn't stopped for gas when getting off the ferry and hadn't felt what was obviously a hot hub when I made that gas stop, I would have nonchalantly kept towing all the way to Port Hardy..... and maybe thirty miles out of Nanaimo would have seen blue smoke come out of the hub at 60 MPH on the highway and maybe blown a tire (or worse)....

[profisher]

I'll take a pic tomorrow of my setup with the wash down fire ext. They sit on either side of the main frame rails up front and tucked to the inside in holders with latches and locks. I have one hose (about 4 feet long) that I switch back and forth to the one I'm using at the time. Just unlock it carry it with you around the trailer and spray away. Easy. The biggest pain is filling them again at home, firing up the compressor and recharging them for the next use. Not a pain but less fun than firing them off.

[cheech]

X2 profisher. I pressure wash my trailer after launch (when they finally hook up the system, Nanaimo). I also carry a hose that comes in handy. I did fry a bearing this week but (minor repair with the boat in the water). Brakes looked good with the drum off. 3 seasons and not much corrosion (aluminized back plates).
Saw a neat flush system: Guy had strapped a lenght of 3 or 4" drain pipe to each side of trailer. Plumbed some fittings with a pet cock near the axles and a threaded cap at the head. See if I can't get a pic. Very cool idea if there is no flushing available.

[profisher]

Here are a few pics of the system I described earlier.