Another M-105 Recovery - Another Lessons Learned!

[brasco]

I almost had a perfect recovery today of the M105A2 that I bought out of Indy. I got to the lot a little ahead of schedule and got the paperwork done with no problems. I found the trailer and was able to back right up to it with my M923A2. The GL guy met me there and told me that I was good to go. After a few minutes I was able to get everything hooked up with no problems.

Before pulling away I double checked to make sure the hand brakes were released and nothing missed. As I pulled out of the the parking spot, my awesome wife helped me verify that the wheels were trailer turning with a big thumbs up! (I have issues before with locked brakes on trailers). We pulled out of the GL lot where I did another double check of everything before hitting the road.

It was lunch time so we started looking for a place to eat. We went about 15 miles and stopped at a Wendy's. My wife went inside and I decided to check on the trailer. I was really surprised to see that the brakes were SMOKING! My first thought was that they were on fire so I started checking for flames but found nothing.

After looking around, I discovered a small leak in the emergency air hose on the trailer. I moved the hose a little and it became a BIG leak. So, I disconnected both air lines thinking this was causing the brakes to drag. After eating lunch, the smoking had quit and we decided to move on on down the road to see if disconnecting the hoses worked.

We stopped at the next exit, about 3 miles down the road. The brake drums we still hot but at least not smoking anymore. We stopped again at the next 2 exits and no more smoking brakes but they were still pretty hot. We went another 45 miles with no more smoking brakes.

When I got it home the brakes were still very hot - I thought they would have cooled a bit. I unhooked the trailer and wan't able to move it around by hand like my other trailers so it looks like it had just enough drag on the brakes to get them really hot. This was 2009 VSE rebuild and apparently never put in service. I assume that the brakes were never adjusted properly??? I'll check adjustment this weekend if weather allows.

I've done some research this evening and found that this is a common problem. Too bad I did not read about it before today or else I would have been more prepared. I just hope I didn't do more than just burn the paint off the drums. I'll take them apart when I have time.

Another recovery and another lesson learned!

 

[juanprado]

I could not get one to operate correctly as the brakes would lock but never release. I drained the air tank at the petcock and drove with no brakes. The relay valve would not work the way it should. It is a common civy older air brake valve but available commercially.

 

[wreckerman893]

I never put air on an empty trailer if it is lighter than the prime mover. The M105's were bad to get the brake lines crossed up and make the brakes engage. Almost never charged them (opened the valve on the truck) when I was in the Army for that reason.

 

[brasco]

I can't edit my original post...the next to last paragraph should read:

"I've done some research this evening and found that this is a common problem. Too bad I did NOT read about it before today or else I would have been more prepared. I just hope I didn't do more than just burn the paint off the drums. I'll take them apart when I have time."

/Update/ I can now edit post... thanks to the Moderator who fixed it.

 

[Recovry4x4]

More often than not, mud dobbers get up inside the relay valve rubber discharge flap and cause the brakes to stick. Even if you cut the air supply, the air in the trailer tank will still keep the brakes applied until the air is bled off. The dobbers also will pack mud in the petcock of the tank drain leading you to believe the tank is empty. Trust me, many of us have been to the same rodeo.

 

[FloridaAKM]

The first time I did a recovery on a M105A2, the previous owner told me not to hook up the air lines until I had a chance to check out the brakes internally. His words were that the Deuce & a half was heavy enough to stop the empty trailer without the air brakes to help. My 50 mile recovery was without any problems, so I learned a lesson just by listening to the voice of experiance. I also learned on the M1102 series to jack up the wheels & make sure they turn freely before starting a recovery trip home. There is so much good information here to be learned from members if folks just listen & heed it.

 

[brasco]

The first time I did a recovery on a M105A2, the previous owner told me not to hook up the air lines until I had a chance to check out the brakes internally. His words were that the Deuce & a half was heavy enough to stop the empty trailer without the air brakes to help. My 50 mile recovery was without any problems, so I learned a lesson just by listening to the voice of experiance. I also learned on the M1102 series to jack up the wheels & make sure they turn freely before starting a recovery trip home. There is so much good information here to be learned from members if folks just listen & heed it.

FloridaAKM,

You are correct about the information on here! This is a fantastic site with tons of knowledge at your fingertips. I wish I could read it all. I've also met more like-minded people in the last year that I've met in the last 10 years.

I try to share my successes and lessons learned as much as I can so that others can learn from me and my posts. I know that I'm still a newbie compared to others but I've done a lot of learning in the past year thanks to SS. Even when things go awry, I'm still glad that I've made the plunge into these big green trucks.

Now I'm off to do more research on these $%&@ M105A2 brakes! I'm hoping a little adjustment and fresh coat of paint on the drums will be all I need. I'm also thinking a new coat of high temperature paint on the brake drums is in order.

 

[brasco]

OK... I've done more research and I'm definitely going to add drain cocks to all my M105A2 trailers. Thanks to others who recommended this. I'm still not sure if my problem started with the broken air hose or if the controller is bad too.

I could not find it in the TM but, apparently, there is no way designed into the system to release to air brakes once the air is applied and then disconnected. You need to drain the air from the tank if you want to move the trailer by hand or let it leak out over time. If I'm wrong on this I'm sure others here will let me know!

I'll be replacing the two hoses that connect to the truck. They apparently were not replaced as part of the VSE rebuild. Once I do that, I'll test the controller - or just replace it anyway.

I've recovered 2 other M105A2 trailers with no issues but in thinking back, we didn't connect air hoses during those recoveries. We tried but on one trailer, the hoses were too short and on the other, the rubber seals on the glad hands were missing. We lucked out on those recoveries and avoided this particular issue.

I jacked up both left and right wheels and they spin freely. I did a quick check and the hand brakes still work with very little pressure. When I connected emergency line air, the brakes lock up immediately and stay locked until air is drained out of tank.



I'm hoping for not too much wear on the brake shoes and drums. If they were new brake shoes, they should be good and broken in! I'll pull the drums in the spring when it gets warmer and repaint the outsides with high temp paint.

Another word of caution to others. Check lug nut torque on trailers you pick up from GL. Mine were only about 20 FT-LBS and very easy to remove.

 

[brasco]

I was able to find very affordable petcocks at my local Rural King. My first thought on obtaining new air brake hose was to go to my local NAPA store and have some made. But after doing some more research, it appears that the ends of these hoses may be "reusable" I haven't taken the hoses apart yet. Is it possible to repair your own if you have the "reusable" ends? What is the good source for new 3/8" rubber air brakes hose other than maybe NAPA?

I've also found repair kits online (and at NAPA) (part # RN10HL) for the emergency relay valve. Has anyone done a rebuild on these?

 

[rustystud]

I was able to find very affordable petcocks at my local Rural King. My first thought on obtaining new air brake hose was to go to my local NAPA store and have some made. But after doing some more research, it appears that the ends of these hoses may be "reusable" I haven't taken the hoses apart yet. Is it possible to repair your own if you have the "reusable" ends? What is the good source for new 3/8" rubber air brakes hose other than maybe NAPA?

I've also found repair kits online (and at NAPA) (part # RN10HL) for the emergency relay valve. Has anyone done a rebuild on these?

You will need to use new brass ferules, as the old ones will be crimped on the old hose. Clean up the brass threads as best you can as they are easy to cross thread and use a lubricant like LDS 1 spray or even WD-40. We reuse our hose lines all the time, just make sure you have enough hose as you have to cut off the end that has the old crimp ferule on it. As far as rebuilding the relay valve goes, just clean it up real good and use a good lubricant like "molykote" on the seals.