www.iFourWinns.com

Greetings! First time poster here!!! Bought my new 2008 H220 Frenzy (5.7L VP) over the winter and recently begun trailering it to and from my favorite lake. But, I need some advice with what to do about the trailer brakes. It's quite obvious they are in need of adjustment. I get a good "jolt" whenever accelerating or deccerlating, almost to the point of discomfort (the hitch receptable is rock solid with zero slop). First, will my factory warranty cover this adjustment if I drop the boat off at the nearest FW's dealer (it's not the dealer I bought it from though)? Second, I've heard some people say it will never go away, as long as, it has surge brakes. Is that a fair and accurate statement? Other than that, the freakin' boat ROCKS!!!

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2008 H220 Frenzy - 5.7L VP SX Drive
2013 Tahoe LTZ Tow Vehicle (admiral's ride)
2011 Ford F150 XLT Ecoboost Tow Vehicle

Congrats on the new boat - not sure about the brakes - good luck

Unless a defect or brake fluid leak can be found, it may not be considered routine maintenance. When working properly, surge brakes will give you a "little" jolt if taking off abruptly. But if you're getting a hard jolt when stopping or taking off slowly, your master cylinder and/or brake lines are probably low/empty.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

You can't really adjust disc brakes, they are self adjusting, but low fluid level or air in the lines can cause more than normal clunking with a surge system...I'd have them check that the fluid is not low and they may need to bleed the system...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

On mine, I found one of the union couplings on the brake lines was not tight and leaking fluid. Tightened it up and bled the brakes and things were much better.

As Lou correctly says, there is no adjustment. You are probably out of brake fluid. I think the trailer warranty is 1 year, and I imagine a problem like this could be easily rectified by any FW dealer as I would consider it a safety issue to tow to the dealer you bought it from. Just take it to the closest. Even if you had to pay to have the brakes bled, it would not be much...

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

Thanks guys! I haven't noticed any leaking brake fluid so there must be some air in the brake lines. I've never bled brakes before, and to be honest, I'd rather not attempt to do it on my own (since it is a safety issue). Therefore, I would think the dealer should do it for me since it is still under warranty. That said, will the dealer laugh at me when I call him and tell him to bleed my trailer brakes under warranty? It's a 2-hr drive to my nearest FW's dealer but I have a business trip nearby in a few weeks so I could kill 2 birds with one stone, so to speak. Your thoughts?

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2008 H220 Frenzy - 5.7L VP SX Drive
2013 Tahoe LTZ Tow Vehicle (admiral's ride)
2011 Ford F150 XLT Ecoboost Tow Vehicle

If your brakes are working other than takeoff and stopping I would think this is normal and something you just aren't used to. Have somebody slowly back up your trailer and see how much the actuator moves before you start pushing the trailer. Do the same pulling it from the fully back position. I would think this "takeup" is going to be somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2" any more than that and you'll need to dig deeper. My trailer clunks as I accelerate from a stop due to this take up but I don't recall any clunking when braking unless I seriously hammer the tow vehicle brakes.

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Marc, Kathlin & Nathalie


'89 Chaparral Laser 32

'93 Vista 245, 5.8L w/ King Cobra

Former Boats
'01 H260, 7.4 VP Duoprop
'98 H200, 5.0 GL w/VP SX drive

That takeup is a lot more than 1/4" on my trailer. Probably more like 1 inch +. Don't know the answer as to whether brake bleeding is covered by the trailer warranty. I'd like to think the dealer would be willing to do it for you in an attempt to build some goodwill. Unfortunately, not all dealers are interested in that, though.

If you have doubts, it is not all that difficult to check the fluid, add fluid, or even bleed the lines. There is a bleeder screw you can loosen and let gravity bleed the lines as you fill it will brake fluid. Collect what is drained out and add it back in. That should flush out any air (if you even have any). I think that the first step before even starting bleeding would be to check the cylinder and make sure it is full of fluid with the actuator not being compressed at all.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

Any local auto mechanic or brake shop can easily do it - might actually be cheaper to pay the local guy to do this than the cost of the extra gas to tow the 2 hours each way..!

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Alec

2006 Horizon 190
VP 4.3GL/SX, Sunsport

+1. If you have a decent trailer shop nearby, they'd probably do it for $20. You're right about it being a safety issue, but this is something you really should consider learning how to do because it'll need done every 1-2 years for one reason or another.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I don't recommend collecting and re-using the fluid. If the problem is contaminated fluid (water, dirt, grime, etc.), you're just putting the problem back into the system (and possibly adding to the problem). All you've done now is remove the air bubbles. Water in the system is compressible and will cause spongy braking, besides rusting the system from the inside. Buy enough new fluid, and just keep adding. Collect the used fluid in a container and dispose of properly.

Here's a link to bleeding your brakes
Brake Bleeding

Rick