brake chamber blows, gets replaced and you get back to base. what procedure should take place to ensure the trailer is roadworthy?
incidentally, the affected wheel got so hot that it melted all the pointers to what appeared to be candle wax on the wheel nuts
If im reading you right , yopu had it fixed at the road side ,then drove it back then noticed the pointers ?
could be the fitters over adjusted the bakes when hes refitted the new chamber
it needsthe wheel jacking up and spinng by hand to see if its binding at all
if it is it just needs slacking off a touch other than that just check all yer nuts are still tight after a few km
it was the melted pointers that indicated the problem initially (along with the burning smell which i didnt notice while i was driving).
the brake chamber in front of the front o/s axle (tandem 40 footer) blew. it was fixed at the roadside and the brakes were adjusted. the problem occured with the rear o/s wheel. the fitter followed me up the road for a few miles to his base and checked the heat and…he went underneath the trailer 
i got the ok and completed my journey back to base, took it straight to the fitters bay and they adjusted the brakes again, checked the cams werent seized and fitted some nice new pointers.
is this enough or should further checks have been carried out?
oh yeah, they also said, tell the next driver to keep an eye on it in case there is another problem that we havent found 
better than the usual “let it develop drive”
but if theyve checked it at the workshop (depending on the type of spanner chuckers youve got) it should be ok theyre not complicated things and only so many things can go wrong with them and its usually obvious what it is when you get it apart
mezzzz1211:
its usually obvious what it is when you get it apart
i would think so but what about when they dont actually take anything apart? this is the point that i am driving at. assuming the wheel has to be removed to take the brakes apart, they werent. it was all done with the axle jacked up but the wheel was not removed at any point
In an ideal world the only thing I would have done would be strip and re-pack the bearing because the bearing grease would have got pretty warm. But if there was no discernable play detected by the “swap jockey” and a visual examination of brake function was carried out I would be happy enough 
Of course it goes without saying that I would also re-torque the wheelnuts even if the wheel had not been removed
You have already had the fault fixed by replacing the brake chamber. The reason the brakes are hot is the diaphragm has burst and a decent driver would have felt the wheel dragging
It is a common fault for chambers to let go, just look at the new shiny ones you see as you follow trailers down the road.
I use to keep a few spare diaphragms and sealing rings in the truck until the assortment got too large.
Wheel Nut:
a decent driver would have felt the wheel dragging
as in a driver who drives the same unit every day with the same trailer?
somerfields arent impressed with the contractor either. i had a chat with one of their drivers at the burger van yesterday. their fleet is maintained by the same crowd
mezzzz1211:
If im reading you right , yopu had it fixed at the road side ,then drove it back then noticed the pointers ?
could be the fitters over adjusted the bakes when hes refitted the new chamber
it needsthe wheel jacking up and spinng by hand to see if its binding at all
if it is it just needs slacking off a touch other than that just check all yer nuts are still tight after a few km
just open it the adjuster,start engine to have enough Air and step Brakepedal 100 Times down.Shall adjust himselfe if automatic adjuster
It depends a bit. Spring brake chambers can bind if the diaphragm splits but ordinary chambers just leak when the pedal is pressed or the parking brake applied, (always assuming the handbrake applies the trailer brakes as well.)
The only reason the brakes can get hot is through too much use or because they are over adjusted. Any contact with the drum will soon warm them up so it could be a lining is letting go but this sounds like it got hotter than that.
Anything newer than (I think) '92 must have automatic adjusters so either the adjuster is giving up the ghost or the fitter wound it up too tightly. A wheel bearing can give the smell of hot brakes and they will get hot, but they don’t normally get that hot if a bearing is worn and you would soon know about it anyway.
What more can anyone do other than check the adjustment and make sure everything is as it should be visually? There aren’t really any safety checks you can do without stripping it out.
you just hit my main concern Bob. i thought they should have stripped the brakes to make sure everything is ok but i dont really know enough about it which is why i asked. as a driver it isnt easy to tell whether or not one specific wheel is braking effectively or not
scanny just put it through an mot each day before you take it out
the problem was fixed at the roadside end of
no need for that alix. my main concern is a VOSA/police spot check. the trailers are random so any driver could be stopped with it and know nothing about the recent problem. if checks should have been done by the fitters and havent been then where does that leave the driver and operator?
NB the company are not popular with somerfields drivers either. same contractor
that matters not one bit it was fixed at roadside maintinence records would show this
there would be no need for any other checks apart from if the brake started binding. the advice given from the fitters is correct just keep an eye on it