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Dealer called..now the trailer has problems


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Took the boat up to the dealer in St. louis which is about and an hour and 20 minute drive from our house. It seemed to pull fine the entire way and I even had my windows down and did not hear anything out of the usual. Dropped the boat off and I received a call from the dealer the next day saying that on the port side of the trailer BOTH calipers were loose unbolted and the bolts were broken? Does anyone know if the trailers would be covered under warranty? Kind of sounds like my dealer is just trying to do work that they can charge me for. Below is a pic of our trailer, I believe it is an extreme but I am not 100% sure.

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Edited by BlitzedVLX
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That doesn't look like an Extreme to me. Looks more like a Boatmate to me. You will need to check with them for warranty info. Doubt it is covered at this point, timewise.

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I think your right about it being a boat mate. I have yet to see the actual damage but hopefully getting replacement parts and fixing it myself will not be too difficult.

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:plus1: on the boatmate. Call Jerry Jones at Boatmate, I think some of the trailer components have 5 years on the warranty, certainly worth asking.

Will do as soon as I figure out whats wrong with it. Could you post his number or pm me.

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BOTH calipers were loose unbolted and the bolts were broken?

The maniac e-thug mechanic thinks that sounds fishy. Which is it? Are the bolts loose, unbolted or, are they broken?

I did have a calipher failure once on my trailer where the single mounting bolt did shear. With the UFP set up, the floating or sliding bolt is the only thing that is holding the calipher on. They did come out with an updated wire to help prevent the whole calipher from shifting so much. I'm sure your late model trailer has this set up if you have all UFP brakes on the trailer.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The maniac e-thug mechanic thinks that sounds fishy. Which is it? Are the bolts loose, unbolted or, are they broken?

I did have a calipher failure once on my trailer where the single mounting bolt did shear. With the UFP set up, the floating or sliding bolt is the only thing that is holding the calipher on. They did come out with an updated wire to help prevent the whole calipher from shifting so much. I'm sure your late model trailer has this set up if you have all UFP brakes on the trailer.

Since you have over 5,000 posts you must know if those trailers have brakes on both axles. Any way I agree with the fish smell. If both port side calipers were bad, that thing would be handful to keep straight when breaking.

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Since you have over 5,000 posts you must know if those trailers have brakes on both axles. Any way I agree with the fish smell. If both port side calipers were bad, that thing would be handful to keep straight when breaking.

His 5000 posts shows that brakes on 1 or 2 axles is an option, and varies between the numbers trailer manufactures used by Malibu dealers all over the country.

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His 5000 posts shows that brakes on 1 or 2 axles is an option, and varies between the numbers trailer manufactures used by Malibu dealers all over the country.

what about that specific trailer? I agree with Pete, seems fishy

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I don't know what kind of trailer Blitz has, whether it's single or tandem or, which axles have brakes.

All I know is that the UPF brake system is super popular for ski boat surge brake systems.

I guess we'll never know what happened unless Blitz'd gets back on here.

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I don't know what kind of trailer Blitz has, whether it's single or tandem or, which axles have brakes.

All I know is that the UPF brake system is super popular for ski boat surge brake systems.

I guess we'll never know what happened unless Blitz'd gets back on here.

the dealer said both port side calipers were bad, this would make me think it was tandem with calipers on each axle but what are the odds of both shearing , breaking or loosening bolts at the same time. With only the port side being bad, you would think the trailer would pull to the right when braking. sumpin seems weird.

Edited by footnlongline
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The trailer looks like mine and I have a Prestige. Not sure about the brake set-up on it though. I also have a 2008.

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the dealer said both port side calipers were bad, this would make me think it was tandem with calipers on each axle but what are the odds of both shearing , breaking or loosening bolts at the same time. With only the port side being bad, you would think the trailer would pull to the right when braking. sumpin seems weird.

I have a 2006 trailer with UFP braking system and have had to replace two calipers in the last year. It is a very easy repair. The caliper piston's can pit as it is stored over the winter. It is recommended that you pull forward or manually release the braking system when the trailer is not in use and being stored. If your plug isn't connected properly while towing or becomes loose while towing your brakes will not function properly and can overheat. Learned all of it the hard way unfortunately.

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I have a 2006 trailer with UFP braking system and have had to replace two calipers in the last year. It is a very easy repair. The caliper piston's can pit as it is stored over the winter. It is recommended that you pull forward or manually release the braking system when the trailer is not in use and being stored. If your plug isn't connected properly while towing or becomes loose while towing your brakes will not function properly and can overheat. Learned all of it the hard way unfortunately.

Ouch thats no good at all! The trailer was stored all winter but it was rolling just as it should when we pulled it out and it was not making any noises. The dealer told me that upon inspection BOTH calipers had a bolt missing and the other bolt had been sheared off causing the caliper to just sit on top of the rotor and rub against it. I have no seen the damage yet but he said that there were some scratches on the wheel and rotor from the wear. He said that the trailer company was nice enough to send new bolts but the shop wants to charge me 1.5hrs worth of labor to drill out the old bolts and install the new. This will not be covered under warranty because we are the second owner. The trailer is rarely used since we live on the lake and once its in for the summer it stays in. Sounds to me like someone was not doing their job at the factory, I dont inspect the bolts on the calipers on my car at the beginning of the year, these bolts should not have come off!

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The caliper piston's can pit as it is stored over the winter. It is recommended that you pull forward or manually release the braking system when the trailer is not in use and being stored. If your plug isn't connected properly while towing or becomes loose while towing your brakes will not function properly and can overheat. Learned all of it the hard way unfortunately.

Sorry Glenn,

I don't know you from a hole in the wall but, that sounds like a bunch of B.S. to me.

Ouch thats no good at all! The trailer was stored all winter but it was rolling just as it should when we pulled it out and it was not making any noises. The dealer told me that upon inspection BOTH calipers had a bolt missing and the other bolt had been sheared off causing the caliper to just sit on top of the rotor and rub against it. I have no seen the damage yet but he said that there were some scratches on the wheel and rotor from the wear. He said that the trailer company was nice enough to send new bolts but the shop wants to charge me 1.5hrs worth of labor to drill out the old bolts and install the new. This will not be covered under warranty because we are the second owner. The trailer is rarely used since we live on the lake and once its in for the summer it stays in. Sounds to me like someone was not doing their job at the factory, I dont inspect the bolts on the calipers on my car at the beginning of the year, these bolts should not have come off!

Blitzed,

You need to re-read my previous post...

I did have a calipher failure once on my trailer where the single mounting bolt did shear. With the UFP set up, the floating or sliding bolt is the only thing that is holding the calipher on. They did come out with an updated wire to help prevent the whole calipher from shifting so much. I'm sure your late model trailer has this set up if you have all UFP brakes on the trailer.
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Tell you the truth Glenn,

I don't really care. The UFP surge brake system is, IMHO, a lousy system. I've replaced just about every freakin' brake component on my trailer twice.

Meh.

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If one of the guide pins seizes, and the other one doesn't seems like a good way to break a caliper bolt. Can't really compare this system to an automotive system in terms of reliability....an automotive system doesnt get dumped in the water every other day and then left to sit.

Very important to keep trailer brakes lubed as part of normal maintenance.

I think there is a good chance the dealer is being honest in this case if the failure rate of UFP brakes are as high as Pete suggests.

Mine have never had a problem but my tow distances are usually very short except for a few extended trips every year. The previous owner towed a lot more than we did though.

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You have a DB 35 brake system, different from Pete's DB-42 braking system. The older DB-42 used a mounting plate that bolted to all 4 holes in the brake flange. The new DB-35 system bolts to only the 2 rear holes in the brake flange. These bolts came with a loctite patch on them. Unfortunately not all patches work identically so they must be maintained by checking periodically that the bolts are tight. The torque is 55 ft lbs. It's a good idea to monitor any bolts on the trailer as part of a regular maintenance program. The single bolt on the DB-42 system is torqed to 17 ft lbs. If you had 2 calipers come loose on one side, I'd certainly be checking the torque on the other side too. There is no such thing as too much loctite. The red 242 works good. When you get a chance, call me at the office, 931-967-5101 ext 16 and we'll see what we can do to get you back up and running again.

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DABS, I emailed the dealer for the manuf # or any other identifying #'s on the trailer. I will get ahold of you as soon as I get more info on the exact trailer I have for you.

The thing that bothers me is the trailer was stored all winter and we only used the trailer twice the following summer. With what the original owner used plus small trips this thing has only 500 miles of use on it. It was rolling smoothly when we picked it up from storage and it was a tight squeeze with people directing us where to go inside the yard and we nor them never heard the brakes making any noise. I even had my windows down on the way to the dealer and never heard a single noise from the rotors once..

Edited by BlitzedVLX
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You have a DB 35 brake system, different from Pete's DB-42 braking system. The older DB-42 used a mounting plate that bolted to all 4 holes in the brake flange. The new DB-35 system bolts to only the 2 rear holes in the brake flange.

Dabs,

I appreciate your insight on this matter.

Are you saying that my DB-42 brake system may have some known problems? Should I or, could I, upgrade to the newer DB-35 system?

Reason I ask is this...

I pulled every receipt for every single UFP brake part I've ever replaced on my trailer for the past 10 yrs. I've got 8 reciepts from DHM trailer totalling almost $700. On top of that, I've got a hand full of packing slips from UFP for "warranty" replacement parts over the years. (I had been dealing with Brian and Len back in the day).

This is why I say what I say about UFP's surge brake system. Currently, I have a leak in my surge brake system somewhere in the actuator. After I parked the trailer from it's last voyage, (in July) DOT 5 brake fluid starting dripping out of my trailer tongue a few days later. I'm at the end of my rope with this brake system. I'll probably never sell this boat but, I'm really sick and tired of replacing brake system parts at the beginning of every season. I may just lock out the brake system completely due to the problems but, I'd like to retain the brakes for some stopping power. I'm a former ASE master technician and have seen and worked on my fair share of brake systems.

My proposal to you...

Since it seems that you may be somehow related to UFP, how would you like the opportunity to turn me around and make me a believer in UFP again? As it stands now, I'm pretty fed up with my brake system. How about I ship you my actuator and you go through it and make it right? I've had the actuator out of my trailer tongue so many times I can do it in my sleep. I'm also open to any other proposals from you.

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LOL, Pete....I bet I can beat you at taking them apart and putting back together again. Your DB-42 system has been upgraded to the newer DB-35. Very easy changeover should you decide to upgrade. Simply strip your axle down to the spindle removing your brake mounting plate from the flange also. Install the new rotor and drop the caliper over the rotor. 2 bolts hold the caliper to the 2 rear holes on the flange. Add loctite and torque to 55 ft lbs and bleed. Feel free to ship me your actuator: UFP 1041 Baxter Ln Winchester, TN 37398. Be sure to let me know when it is coming so I can watch for it. You can call me @ 1-800-835-9211 ext 11, or emai [email protected].

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