210 Horizon Trailer

1baddoggy · **Posted:** Fri May 12, 2017 8:38 am

Good morning all!

I've got a 2007 Horizon 210 with the factory trailer. It's dual axle with surge brakes. When I took possession of the boat, it was bone dry on brake fluid. I added some, and it was leaking up around the reservoir somewhere. I took it in and they said they fixed a leak and bled the brakes. When I got it back, there was brake fluid everywhere. I wiped up all the excess fluid (which I learned will take the paint right off the trailer) and let it sit overnight. I went back this morning and there was fluid leaked all over the floor. I called the shop back and they said the seal probably needs to be replaced and that they'd have to cut in to the tongue to do that. Does that sound correct to you?

Thanks for any thoughts and advice!

Jamie

rpengr · **Posted:** Fri May 12, 2017 9:18 am

A picture would help. Does your surge brake look like this?

No it doesn't sound right. Cutting into the tongue would make it weak.
All the receivers I have seen can be unbolted from the tongue. The one in the picture above looks like it could be unbolted and slid out the front. Would probably have to disconnect the other end of the brake line so that it can slide forward too.

Did the fluid level go down in the reservoir when you saw the spill on the floor?

230 Mike · **Posted:** Fri May 12, 2017 11:11 am

No, it doesn't sound right. Don't let anyone cut into your trailer. The worst that could happen is that your coupler need to be removed/repaired/replaced, any of which can be done through the front end of the tongue, by design.

There aren't a lot of things it could be here. You either have a loose fitting at the master cylinder or reverse lockout solenoid, a loose master cylinder cap or cover, or a punctured flexible line connecting the master cylinder to the steel lines below the winch post.

My original flexible line was too short and would be strained if I swung the tongue more than about 60 degrees. It never leaked, but it would have eventually. I had a new one made about 6" longer.

Before you have anyone go to extreme measures on this, consider that you can buy an entire new coupler for surprisingly cheap, and they're easy to install.

1baddoggy · **Posted:** Fri May 12, 2017 3:47 pm

Thanks for the replies. He did mention replacing the coupler. How do I know what part number I would need to replace? If it's just bolted on, I would think that's something I could easily do myself. I just paid for 3 hours of labor to fix a leak, only to have him now tell me it must be the "seal". Master cylinder was mentioned earlier on.

230 Mike · **Posted:** Fri May 12, 2017 6:30 pm

The hardest part of replacing these couplers is bleeding the brakes afterward (that's an indication of how easy it is). Assuming you have the swing tongue, you just want a Tie Down LP70 or LP7000 (same thing) actuator/coupler configured for disk brakes (that part is very important).

Instructions are here: http://www.tiedown.com/pdf/c462.pdf. Follow them closely; there's a priming step and if you miss it, it can really screw you up and waste your time. DAMHIKT.

Keep your old reverse lockout solenoid as a spare, since it probably is still fine.

Jamestown is a reputable source for information, and may be a good source for the part. Here's their installation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qq7uBniFZ6g

And, it may be time to find a new shop...

rpengr · **Posted:** Sat May 13, 2017 11:00 am

My year 2000 coupler is different than yours, but I know that my entire coupler with master cylinder is about $210 from http://www.expediter.com When I first bought my boat/trailer, I took the coupler all apart, cleaned and greased all the moving parts, and replaced the Master Cylinder (for about $60 it think). I was converting to disk brakes, so as 230mike said, I needed to put on the proper master cylinder for disk brakes.

Since then, my trailer rusted apart, but I moved the coupler & master cylinder to my new aluminum trailer that I built.
(http://www.smwebhead.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=13467&hilit=trailer&start=0)
It's still working good.

LouC · **Posted:** Sat May 13, 2017 11:42 am

For brake bleeding try using a Lisle one man brake bleeder, it's a simple thing that works well. I think disc brakes might need a bit more pressure on the actuator than drum brakes to bleed. I added brakes to my 94 Load Rite about 13 years ago and the Tie Down actuator still works fine....

rpengr · **Posted:** Sat May 13, 2017 11:44 am

On my Kodiak Disk Brakes, I didn't have any trouble using a vacuum type brake bleeder.

LouC · **Posted:** Sat May 13, 2017 1:11 pm

Using the Lisle bleeder or the old Coke bottle method (now I'm really dating myself) the trick is to get the bleeder or bottle above the level of the bleed screw on the caliper or wheel cylinder. That way the air bubbles go up the way you want them to

Yes I learned how to bleed brakes on old '60s VWs using a cleaned out Coke bottle and some plastic tubing from the hardware store with a bit'o duct tape holding the tubing in the bottle. Fill it about half full with brake fluid and it works fine you just need a helper to hold it for you. A younger brother worked well for me lol. He still remembers the stink of the old brake fluid.

www.iFourWinns.com

210 Horizon Trailer

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