Trail King TK130HDG 10' wide 4 axle lowboy trailer. Trailer came in for regular service. First axle brakes looked low. Noticed the p/s brake chamber rod was bent at an almost 90 degree angle and part of the end of the s-cam was chipped away. I've never seen this. Would anyone have any idea how this would have happened? My initial thought is he backed into something bending the chamber rod and the s-cam chipped from the impact. The driver did not notice any brakes issues either.
That's an expedited pre trip right there . . .
That is a driver not at all in touch with his equipment. That "S" cam rode in the "cam over" position a long time after the brakes burned down off the wheel end. Probably going to need a drum also and possibly bearings as things probably got very hot.
That's why a man needs 600hp . . .
Lets see the drum--it wasn't cammed over brakes that took the end off the S-cam. As far as the damage--not uncommon for a lowboy if set up to the bottom side of axle, top side not so much. * As with most stories on here---just wait half a day and more info enters the fray. That way there's no guessing, less posts, shortens the thread.
Where's the slack adjuster? Missing, broken, bent?
Slack adjuster was fine and working. Brakes also worked okay. The stroke was definitely not right because of the bent rod. The s-cam was closer to the cammed over position due to the rod, but they never did cam over.
I've seen cams with the ends broken off in the past and it's been from the brakes being worn so thin they just about cammed over. We had a set of very rough tracks near where I worked and it was brutal on spring ride suspension trailers. Brakes worn thin, extreme stroke of the chambers, drums worn near or through limit, etc. would snap the ends of the cams with the rollers riding on such a small bearing surface.
I wish you'd have snapped a pic before taking things apart. I'm struggling to imagine things were still connected, and the slack adjuster wasn't damaged.... Do you have a good understanding on how these brake systems work? Your comment about the relation of the rod and an s-cam "cammed-over" doesn't make sense. A bent rod will reduce the stroke, but not necessarily change operation. More likely scenario is there won't be enough action to allow the slack adjuster to ratchet. So, once the shoes wear down, that's it. Probably why it wasn't cammed over, it couldn't.