More trailer tire/wheel issues

On Monday, July 22, 2019 at 4:05:54 PM UTC-7, wrote:
Temporary (!) ways to disconnect the surge brake on my 1992 Cobra:

1. The aft end of the long brake rod under the trailer (just ahead of the axle) is threaded and attaches to the "splitter" plate that pulls the Bowden cables, one for each brake. IIRC, there's a nut and a lock nut: just remove these and pulling on the brake rod will have no effect on the brakes. Make sure the aft end of the brake rod can't fall down and drag if the emergency brake is actuated. If so, cable tie it to the bracket under the trailer.

A Pfeiffer and Komet we owned for years were troublefree. I can't recall whether the Komet had the automatic feature that allowed you to back up without locking out the surge brake but the Pfeiffer did not. Maybe the added complication makes the system a bit sensitive.

When the system works, as it normally does, it works well. But when it doesn't, the failure mode can be catastrophic: failed bearings and cooked brake lining crumbling off the brake shoes (I've never had a tire fail because of it). It's probably something simple. But it's not because of neglect, lack of knowledge of conventional brake systems, or motivation.

Chip Bearden