Surge Brake Stuck On

[BrennanK]

I went to pull my bout out today to get it ready for our 4 hour journey this up coming weekend, to my surprise I was unable to move the boat around by hand. I noticed that the port side tire was "sticking", so I assumed it was the surge brakes.
I proceeded to pull the trailer out of the garage thinking that the pulling force would release the brakes. While pulling out the boat I didn't really notice the drag. I surged my shoulders and moved on.
I trailed to the gas station and came back. When putting the boat back in the garage I had the same problem, I was again unable to move it by hand by myself.
I feel that brakes are not full engaged, as 2 people can move it as well as the car with out any noticeable drag.

I looked for a brake release and found none. I need to get this problem fixed this week as I will be taking my boat on a long drive this weekend.
It is a 1997 Ram-Lin single axle trailer with the DICO brake coupler.

Any advice is appreciated, if I can't fix it myself, I have to get it done quick!

[j2nh]

Here goes.
Disclaimer. I am not a brake or trailer mechanic.

I am assuming that given the year of the Ramiln it has drum brakes.
On the backside of each wheel is a "star adjuster" and that will have to be turned through the opening with a large screwdriver to back the pads off the drum. Tons of articles on the net give detailed instructions.
or
Since your trip is coming fast and you are traveling some distance see if you can get someone who does this for a living to go through the brake system. Maybe repack the bearings as well. Ounce of prevention and all that.

[bkhallpass]

It's hard to know what is wrong without pulling the hub. If the actuator is stuck at the tongue, you should be able to see that.

If it's in the hub, I would guess the wheel cylinder is sticking. Water gets in the lines, creates rust and gums up the
wheel cylinder. It's only about a 20 dollar part, but you need to remove the hub to get to it.

It could be lots of things. I had a brake spring break a couple of weeks ago and lock up the hub.
5 bolts to take off the wheel, remove the pin, back off the nut and the drum will pull off. Be prepared for a mess, and be prepared to repack the wheel bearings.

If the brakes were working fine before, I would not guess it is the adjustment, but I suppose anything is possible.

Same disclaimer. I'm not a brake mechanic. I did however have the pleasure of doing the brakes twice in the last 4 months.

BKH

[BP22]

I had the surge brakes stick when backing up on my SB trailer last year. One of the wires that run through the swing tongue had been pinched and cut. Fixed the wire, no more issues.

[BrennanK]

I opened up brake fluid reservoir on the hitch and saw it was bone dry and rusty. Apparently the previous didn't take care of his trailer.
I made a phone call to Ram-Lin and he told me that I have been towing without brakes for several years now and my brakes are shot due to the lake of care. He recommended that I just change over to disc brakes, which I was planning on doing anyways.

So I just bit the bullet and found a boat dealer that was close and could get disc brakes installed by Friday. To my surprise they are also a new Nautique dealer.

[bkhallpass]

I had the surge brakes stick when backing up on my SB trailer last year. One of the wires that run through the swing tongue had been pinched and cut. Fixed the wire, no more issues.

Worth a look, but for a surge brake system, only relevant if you have a 5 wire setup. 4 wires are for lights. They have nothing to do with braking. Fifth wire is an electronic lockout to prevent the brakes from engaging when you backup. Not all set ups have this. It is the only wire that could be impacting the braking. Otherwise, the system is purely hydraulic/mechanical.

There are electric brake systems, but more common on house trailers, not so much on boats. BKH