Working on Steel 2005 Mac Trailer

[BlueSky Sailor]

Cleaned up a ton of corrosion and primed and painted this 2005 Mac steel trailer.
Working now on the brakes.
It appears that the sliding unit is a UFP A60 and the calipers are UFP DB35. Can anyone with first hand knowledge confirm? I intend to replace rather than rebuild. Not worth my time and effort to have something un-intended to go wrong.
Rotors and bearings are fine, but brakes are a mess. Full of water and pistons are seized in the calipers. Probably not worked for years.

Larry

[adudinsk]

Some fyi working on "all things metal"
If your looking for a FANTASTIC anti- rust product, try POR15
its a 3 step process:
1) remove flaking rust as best you can and clean with their product "MARINE CLEAN"
rinse and remove all cleaner
2) Soak area (and keep wet for 15-30 min) with their product METAL READY
this puts a zinc coating on the metal . once coated, rinse and 100% dry (super important to dry)
3)paint in POR15 epoxy paint (black/white/clear only as pigments allow for water to penetrate)

Result is like porcelain, almost impossible to scratch with a nail.

They also have kits, especially for fuel tank repair, and many other restoration purposes.

AD

[adudinsk]

I have a steel 2005 trailer, and the brakes were upgraded for Canadian approval/road worthy.
If memory serves it uses bearings and pads from a Hyundai car.
Replacing pads is EASY.

There will be 2 bolts (often torx) on the caliper, remove
THen lift up the entire assembly

Pads pop out.
put some anti-squeal (often comes with pads) on all places pad touches piston/caliper (NOT on pad material)


if one is worn and the other not, you need new caliper pins (or need to polish the old ones out) this is what the two pads slide on.

Also there should be a rubber boot to keep crud off the caliper pins. Replace that as well.

Check the rotor with a caliper to see if its thick enough. The "run-out" is stamped on the rotor (inches/mm etc)
If the rotor is too thin, it needs to be replaced as well.

Be warned, if you get them turned to make them smooth, MANY places will just turn them all the way down to min rather then machine them just enough to make them smooth/flat. This guarantees them they took all the warp/etc out.. and guarantees that you need new rotors next time.

[BlueSky Sailor]

Still looking for answer on the surge brake UFP number and the caliper number for 5 lug rotors?

[Tomfoolery]

Have you tried Bluewater Yachts? They're a sponsor and advertiser here. Also, try the old MacGregor website 'suppliers corner', which is on here somewhere.

[BlueSky Sailor]

Thanks Tom,

I'll Give BWY a try.

[Tomfoolery]

Go to this thread https://macgregorsailors.com/forum/view ... =9&t=27521 and slide down to the third from the bottom post. There's a link to a pdf file with all the suppliers information, like raw material specifications and such. Since MacGregor built their own trailers (I've been told), the hitch and brake bits should be in there somewhere.

[Herschel]

I, too, have been restoring and repainting my 1998 steel trailer. This was my second go at this since I bought my boat in 2003. First time was about 7-8 years ago, and it needed more work from sitting out all these years in Central Florida humidity. All of my actual boat supporting beams/cross pieces were just rusted too much, especially at the "V" in the middle to trust. I had a mobile welder and metal fabricator give me an estimate to cut out the old and replace with new. This included all four of the short supports, two at the outer stern and two at the bow. Cost installed was only $700, which, when compared to new trailer costs, seemed prudent.
The rest of the trailer was in pretty good shape because I used POR15 that my neighbor gave me the last time I did this. The breakdown at the bunk supports was because (1) I did not research that first redo 7-8 years ago just how to do POR15 correctly and just used it sparingly as a primer, and (2) the carpeted bunks retained moister right next to the steel. This time I know better and did it according to POR15 protocol (scrape/grind, clean/degrease, acid metal prep wash down, with two POR15 coats 2-6 hours apart, followed by two coats of topcoat) with absolute total POR15/top coat coverage. This time I will put 2 or 3 strips of 1/4 inch x 3 inch starboard under my bunks to keep a small slit of open space to let moisture evaporate better. I am in the process of putting on the top coats now. OBTW, I used a wire brush taped to a long piece of PVC to get off surface rust inside the 4x4 tube at the tongue and a straightened paint roller taped to same long PVC to apply the whole POR15 protocol inside the long tube. So far, very pleased with progress. A lot of work, but necessary. I keep my boat at a marina slip so I have total access to all parts of the trailer. that really helps.

[BlueSky Sailor]

This trailer rebuild thingy has caused me to loose just a little sleep over the last few weeks. Hopefully, I'm getting to the end zone soon?
Turns out the brakes are UFP35's and I got new calipers, pads, mounting bolts and slide surge brake unit. I think it was UFP 60. Rotors are fine.
Everything was either corroded, rusted or otherwise in-operative.
Not wanting to spend money and time on rebuilding, only to have more wrong, I'm just replacing the key components.
Wheel bearings and spindles were in very good shape. Lots of grease, smooth bearings and no marks on the races. Only thing I'm replacing on those is the seals.
Total bill will be about $480 for parts and I'm going to bill myself about $4,000 for labor! Just to remind myself how much I hate taking on the "grimmy" projects. Would be a lot less trouble if it wasn't mostly 40 degrees out. LOL

Larry

[Tomfoolery]

Wheel bearings and spindles were in very good shape. Lots of grease, smooth bearings and no marks on the races. Only thing I'm replacing on those is the seals.

You probably know this already, but make sure you get double-lipped seals. I learned that the hard way, after replacing the bearings on one of my axles every spring. The other I’ve never had to change.

Turns out the single-lip seals are just dandy for holding grease in, but useless for keeping water out. Tricky to install properly onto the spindle, as the outer lip tries to fold inward, but doable with just a little patience.

[Herschel]

Does anyone have any advice on actually using bearing buddies. I installed them on my trailer a few years ago and, as I suffer from the "if some is good, more is better" syndrome, I promptly pumped in too much grease and "blew" the inner seals. Had to have a trailer pro redo my whole job. How does the old grease get removed, if you do put in the right amount of grease with your bearing buddy? I thought these things would make it easier to keep the bearings "up to snuff" but they seem to raise more questions and problems. Any advice?

[Tomfoolery]

Does anyone have any advice on actually using bearing buddies. I installed them on my trailer a few years ago and, as I suffer from the "if some is good, more is better" syndrome, I promptly pumped in too much grease and "blew" the inner seals.

You're only supposed to pump grease in such that the spring loaded plunger lifts off its seat. Any more than that, and the grease runs out of expansion room. Once it's hydrolocked, and has no where to go, it takes the next weakest path, which is the seals.

I don't know where the grease goes, by the way, other than slowly leaking out since it's under small pressure.

[Russ]

Does anyone have any advice on actually using bearing buddies. I installed them on my trailer a few years ago and, as I suffer from the "if some is good, more is better" syndrome, I promptly pumped in too much grease and "blew" the inner seals. Had to have a trailer pro redo my whole job. How does the old grease get removed, if you do put in the right amount of grease with your bearing buddy? I thought these things would make it easier to keep the bearings "up to snuff" but they seem to raise more questions and problems. Any advice?

Great question.

I have yet to add grease to mine and now after reading this, I'm afraid to break something. I thought these bearing buddies were idiot proof. I guess not.

Tom's response helps. I guess I'll just add a little.

BTW, what kind of grease should be used on trailer bearings? I have marine grease I use on engine grease points.

[Tomfoolery]

I guess I'll just add a little.

Just enough to lift the spring-loaded plunger with the grease fitting off its seat. It should still have travel left over.

BTW, what kind of grease should be used on trailer bearings? I have marine grease I use on engine grease points.

My preferred grease. Good for slow joints like OB hinge and pivot points, and for wheel bearings. Though there are others, of course.

I should add that if you routinely travel mountainous roads and have disc brakes on your trailer, you might need a high-temperature wheel bearing grease so it's less likely to boil out. I've had that happen even with drum brakes, but that was when I first picked up my boat and the drum brakes were partially seized and dragging. Arrived at my driveway with all four wheels smoking, and the bearings dry. I can't believe I didn't lose a wheel.

[Russ]

That's the exact grease I have and been using on engine pivot points.
Thanks for the tips. I'll just squeeze in enough to lift the BB.