Cobra Trailer Emergency Brake Experience

AS wrote on 3/10/2019 9:44 AM:
All this brake/bearing/tire burning up could be drastically reduced by installing a TPM (tire pressure monitoring) system with a temperature warning. The alarm would go off way before you would see smoke because the heat transfers into the air of the tire quickly. Mine is so sensitive that it will react to the trailer rolling on black-top vs. light concrete surfaces.

What brand TPMS did you get? I very much doubt the externally mounted (screw onto
valve stem) ones I use react quickly to internal temperature changes. Of course,
if the internal temperature goes up, the pressure will go up proportionally, and
that does immediately show on the TPMS.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf

On Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 8:36:42 PM UTC-4, Eric Greenwell wrote:
AS wrote on 3/10/2019 9:44 AM:
All this brake/bearing/tire burning up could be drastically reduced by installing a TPM (tire pressure monitoring) system with a temperature warning. The alarm would go off way before you would see smoke because the heat transfers into the air of the tire quickly. Mine is so sensitive that it will react to the trailer rolling on black-top vs. light concrete surfaces.

What brand TPMS did you get? I very much doubt the externally mounted (screw onto
valve stem) ones I use react quickly to internal temperature changes. Of course,
if the internal temperature goes up, the pressure will go up proportionally, and
that does immediately show on the TPMS.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorg...ad-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/...anes-2014A.pdf


Hi Eric,

I use this one:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I needed one that can handle eight wheels.

Uli
'AS'

After a number of brake incidents over the years, I added a TPMS to my Cobra trailer last summer before I drove from NJ to TX (Bellacorp from Amazon). It worked as advertised most but not all the time (initially sensors would stop reporting but tightening them on the valve stem mostly resolved that).. I could see the difference in tire pressures and temperatures throughout the day, on dark vs. light pavement, and sometimes even from one side of the road vs. the other (angle of the sun). I didn't see much difference nor did it set off an alarm when the trailer brakes locked on after a hard stop. The temperature didn't climb all the way up to dangerous; I didn't drive very far before I stopped to check and then, a few miles farther, to disable the brakes. But maybe a really hot drum/brake hardware/spindle/bearings assembly, such as would have been the case if I hadn't pulled off quickly based on experience, would have goosed the temperature/pressure alarms. I suspect I would get a warning if the brakes locked on but possibly not in time to save the bearings. That's why I carry a full set, including grease seals, available online from several sources.

Chip Bearden
JB