Dealer called..now the trailer has problems

[BlitzedVLX]

Looks like this thread is working well for more than just me. Excellent customer service from Dabs at UFP!!

Anyone have a manual with how to bleed them?

[Pistol Pete]

Should be in here somehere.

[BlitzedVLX]

Should be in here somehere.

Perfect thanks Pete! These trailers have quite a bit going on inside of them.

[Pistol Pete]

Soooooooooooo,

Since you now seem to have a rattle in your drive belt system, I suspect you have the boat back.

Mind telling us what, exactly, was wrong with the trailer brakes?

[jackson]

I stumbled across this older thread looking to see if someone else had the same problem that I have been dealing with recently.

I have a 2006 VLX on a boatmate trailer (sames as the OP) and have had several issues with the DB-35 caliper bolts falling out. Granted this trailer has the older star washer bolts and I just found out about the new locktite coated bolts that UFP is using now so I'll probably give those a try.

Anyway, for whatever reason, the top bolts on the left side calipers tend to fall out. Had it happen three times now. Luckily, the first two times I saw the caliper move in the side view mirror of the truck as I was slowing down (I could see the flexible brake line jump up when the brakes applied). Luckily that was on a short trip. The second time I noticed it when I went to back up the trailer and it wouldn't move. Fortunately, again, I was pretty gentle when I was backing up and didn't try to force it. When the top bolt fell out, the caliper was able to drop back and jam against the wheel, stopping the boat from backing.

This past weekend, the same thing happened, even though I checked the torque on all caliper bolts this spring. This year I was towing with a new diesel, didn't feel the boat stopping quite the same way and this time sheared off the one remaining bolt. It bent the caliper in the process and possibly, but hopefully not the backing plate and wheel. I'll know more soon.

So the moral of the story seems to be to check the UFP caliper bolts with some regularity and if you have an older (if 2006 is old) trailer that may have the star washers on the caliper bolts, it may be worth changing them out for the new bolts with the locktite ($1.95 a pair from Pacific Trailer) or at least locktite the existing bolts.

I'll probably drop UFP a line and see if they have heard of this before and if they are willing to do anything. I certainly realize that the warranty is up, but it is an unusual issue.

Just wanted to add a bit to this post since it seems related to what I have had happen. If the trailer is backed up with a missing top caliper bolt, it WILL shear the remaining bolt and then still roll normally since the rotor still glides in the caliper. Obviously it can get pretty messy quickly if it isn't noticed that something is wrong and the brakes are applied.

[Rechromed2]

Just saw this post today as it was brought back to the top. This exact thing happened to me this weekend on our trip back from Shasta. Looks like the first bolt backed all the way out and was lost somewhere between the lake and Eugene. Went to back up and sheared the 1 remaining bolt after the caliper seized. Had to tie it up to the axle to get 200 miles to home. Waiting on a reply now if it will be covered by warranty. These are the DB35 style UFP brakes. This trailer is driving me nuts!!!

[jackson]

Just saw this post today as it was brought back to the top. This exact thing happened to me this weekend on our trip back from Shasta. Looks like the first bolt backed all the way out and was lost somewhere between the lake and Eugene. Went to back up and sheared the 1 remaining bolt after the caliper seized. Had to tie it up to the axle to get 200 miles to home. Waiting on a reply now if it will be covered by warranty. These are the DB35 style UFP brakes. This trailer is driving me nuts!!!

Yup. Exactly the same thing. I also tied the caliper to the frame after realizing it was bent. I'm out of warranty but I'm interested to know if others get it covered. I had a warped rotor on this boat when it was brand new. I mean from the day that I picked it up. That started a finger pointing session between UFP and BoatMate as to who was responsible. My dealer ended up taking care of it and all has been good with that issue. Until this repeating caliper problem started 2 years ago, I haven't had any issues with the trailer and the brakes have been quite good compared to other trailers I have had. That may be because until recently we lived on a lake and put maybe 500 miles per year on the trailer. It's another debate if more miles or less miles per year is better for a trailer.

I think UFP does make a general recommendation for checking all bolts for tightness on the trailer, blah blah blah, but if there is an issue with the caliper bolts, it should be specifically stated that the caliper bolts should be checked and torque specs given in the manual.

Edited July 12, 2011 by jackson