Brake Locks Up...

[EscapeBoulder]

Let me set the stage: Our 2018 Escape 19’er has 16,000 miles. I just had the wheel bearings greased and brakes check. The shop indicated that the brakes auto-adjust (or some such), so I think they didn’t “touch” them.

We’re from dry Colorado. We were camped in south central Missouri along a backwater to a large lake. In the morning there was fog on the lake indicating a lot of moisture in the air. I’m not sure any of this is relevant to the brake locking up.

We had just departed our overnight campsite, and I was gently applying the brakes as we slowly came to a stop on a short down grade and one of the 4 wheel brakes locked up. The tire wouldn’t spin. Since we were in the middle of the intersection, I powered the trailer with the seized brake to the side of the road.

I, initially thought the break-away brake controller might have failed. And was checking that when a gentleman who we met at the campground stopped to help. I told him we had a locked up brake, he asked if we have drum brakes, and said... “just back up a little”. That’s all it took to un-seize the brake. And everything has worked fine since in over 1,500 miles.

So... I guess the moral is... If a brake seizes up, back up to release the brake shoe.

I’m very interested in any insight or experience you might have along these lines.

Thank you, in advance for your thoughts.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

Let me set the stage: Our 2018 Escape 19’er has 16,000 miles. I just had the wheel bearings greased and brakes check. The shop indicated that the brakes auto-adjust (or some such), so I think they didn’t “touch” them.

We’re from dry Colorado. We were camped in south central Missouri along a backwater to a large lake. In the morning there was fog on the lake indicating a lot of moisture in the air. I’m not sure any of this is relevant to the brake locking up.

We had just departed our overnight campsite, and I was gently applying the brakes as we slowly came to a stop on a short down grade and one of the 4 wheel brakes locked up. The tire wouldn’t spin. Since we were in the middle of the intersection, I powered the trailer with the seized brake to the side of the road.

I, initially thought the break-away brake controller might have failed. And was checking that when a gentleman who we met at the campground stopped to help. I told him we had a locked up brake, he asked if we have drum brakes, and said... “just back up a little”. That’s all it took to un-seize the brake. And everything has worked fine since in over 1,500 miles.

So... I guess the moral is... If a brake seizes up, back up to release the brake shoe.

I’m very interested in any insight or experience you might have along these lines.

Thank you, in advance for your thoughts.

First off - the brakes Escape installs are not self-adjusting.

Second - It sounds like your brakes need adjusting. The manual that came with your trailer says to adjust your brakes "after the first 500 kms of operation and every 5,000 kms thereafter." (PAGE 24)

https://escapetrailer.com/wp-content...ersManual1.pdf

I've been there too. I noticed one tire was wearing more than the rest on my trailer and sure nuff, one wheel was doing more of the braking. A little time with a brake tool and all was well.

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

Let me set the stage: Our 2018 Escape 19’er has 16,000 miles. I just had the wheel bearings greased and brakes check. The shop indicated that the brakes auto-adjust (or some such), so I think they didn’t “touch” them.

We’re from dry Colorado. We were camped in south central Missouri along a backwater to a large lake. In the morning there was fog on the lake indicating a lot of moisture in the air. I’m not sure any of this is relevant to the brake locking up.

We had just departed our overnight campsite, and I was gently applying the brakes as we slowly came to a stop on a short down grade and one of the 4 wheel brakes locked up. The tire wouldn’t spin. Since we were in the middle of the intersection, I powered the trailer with the seized brake to the side of the road.

I, initially thought the break-away brake controller might have failed. And was checking that when a gentleman who we met at the campground stopped to help. I told him we had a locked up brake, he asked if we have drum brakes, and said... “just back up a little”. That’s all it took to un-seize the brake. And everything has worked fine since in over 1,500 miles.

So... I guess the moral is... If a brake seizes up, back up to release the brake shoe.

I’m very interested in any insight or experience you might have along these lines.

Thank you, in advance for your thoughts.

Drum brakes can get sticky. I would have thought at a minimum that your service provider would have put a shot of lubricant on the pivot surfaces in the brake assembly. They can get rusty or a little corroded from moisture and road dirt and brake dust. Both our 19 and 21 would hang up once in a while. I spray them each spring with brake lubricant ( sounds counter intuitive I know) and it’s clear that the lube isn’t used on the shoes or the drums. Just my opinion and practice
Iowa Dave

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by EscapeBoulder

I just had the wheel bearings greased and brakes check. The shop indicated that the brakes auto-adjust (or some such), so I think they didn’t “touch” them.

Even self-adjusting brakes need an initial rough adjustment after removing and replacing the drum (which is required to inspect the bearings or to fully inspect the brakes).

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

First off - the brakes Escape installs are not self-adjusting.

Perhaps the brakes on the 19 are not self-adjusting, but the brakes on both our first axles and our replacement axles are self-adjusting. Once the Dexter warranty runs out they will be going in to our axle guy and have the self-adjusters removed and manual adjusters installed. He did this to our Lance axles and says he can do this to our Escape axles too.

Enjoy,

Perry