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C hawk Trailer Question

DropTop5.0

DropTop5.0

Well-known member
Okay, I'm a bit of a dumb dumb and I'm sure y'all know that by now and thanks for all the help I get. Its greatly appreciated.

Problem de jour: I was going to play with the boat a week or two ago when the temps were more moderate. I went to my storage facility, backed the ole truck up and lowered the trailer down on the ball. The problem was the mechanism in the trailer would not move back enough to let the tongue drop down onto the ball.

I lifted the little flap thing on top that promotes movement but no luck.

CA235390-6EFB-4523-95E5-E595921C4036_zpsugsgbd5m.jpg

The heavy metal piece will not move back enough:
73BA325E-BED1-40C4-B9AA-CA54ED4FDB6D_zpsv8xhqoyh.jpg

Anyone ever have a problem like this? It almost feels like maybe that little shock thing is frozen or something.
82945CC1-38A8-4CD2-BE43-7317B32CDBCB_zpsrmd1gjdj.jpg
 
Yep, have had to pry and beat on some old trailers like that. Can be a real pain. Use a big pry bar, and move it back real slow while making sure the latch handle is properly set.
 
Had one like that. The release on top of the hitch needs to be raised up to about a 45 deg angle. The release mechanism is probably stuck from litte rust. The small shock in there is to return the ball hitch into up position, the end of ball hitch hinges down to apply pressure to master cylinder for surge brakes. Hope that makes some sense. Good luck.
 
Yes, I hate those couplers for that reason. One on my Eagle does the same thing constantly. Pry the coupler latch back with a screwdriver then lift the flap on top to hold it open. Just dear god keep your fingers out of the way while you lower it on.
 
So let me get this right. I lift the "Dick" as far as it goes. This disengages something.
e67d3b64-1cf7-470c-a233-8298fc4f3291_zpssfwnvobf.jpg

The red arrow items should be free to slide backwards. Because it isn't free, I'll get a crow bar in there and force it back gently with some extra leverage. What's that shiny thing do (blue arrow).
92e14b4a-7799-4aaa-9b69-da1b896115a1_zpsbj7pf7pt.jpg

Oh and don't forget lots of lube. :thumb:
 
Shiny thing pushes the actuator to engage the brakes. I'm guessing the brakes don't work and you should spend more money and replace it order me one too
 
Been there and done that last summer. All new master, wheel cyl. And brake line ran inside the frame. Not fun. But worth it.
 
I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed on this subject. The shiny thing doesn't move back and therefor I don't have enough room for the ball to fit up in side.

I have a one foot screwdriver that I was able to put quite a bit of force onto it but no luck. My three foot crow bar was too long. A little love from a hammer didn't help either.

My confusion is why do I need to push the piston in and apply the brakes to drop the coupler on the ball. Am I thinking of this all wrong. Is the master cylinder frozen?

I got frustrated and popped the bolt that goes left to right that holds the shock. Is there a tool to compress the master cylinder?

Is this the correct master cylinder? http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Atwood/85841.html

Thanks for any advice you can give me.
 
One easy conversion would be to convert to electric brakes. That is what I am doing with my Eagle trailer this year. I hate surge brakes with a passion. The complete kits can be had for the same if not less money as replacement surge parts. Best part is you can bolt/weld on a nice fixed coupler. No worrying about reverse lockout solenoids, blah blah. Just unplug them before you launch and heat shrink all wire terminals. Best part is you can dial them in with the controller to perfect feel.
 
DropTop, Looks like it's time for a complete rebuild/replace on that system. It's hard to offer advice without being there and seeing it. Two of my trailers had that design and they were a pain until I gave them the attention they needed. They worked great afterwards. Trailer maintenance isn't high on some guys priority list.

This link might help. I have purchased most of my trailer parts from them. Not sure if these are exactly the parts for yours. You'll want to use the numbers on your trailer tag.

http://www.trailerpartsdepot.com/it...ts+Atwood+6000+&8000#&iTpStatus=1&Tp=&Bc=
 
DropTop5.0 said:
Is this the correct master cylinder? http://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Atwood/85841.html

Thanks for any advice you can give me.
Click to expand...

That's the one I used. I would recommend getting a new boot also. That's were the water enters to rust and piston and freezes. When I was done with mine. Master wheel cylinders. Metal line and rubber line, converting to electic would have been less expensive. The trailer under the pursuader will probably get electric brakes. The tongue on the trailer is bolted on. My pulse trailer was like yours welded in.
 
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