Frozen trailer air lines

Something old timers told me when I started driving. In winter, don't lock your trailer brakes when you stop to sleep, eat, etc. Just lock down the tractor.
Saw a fellow one day dragging a trailer down the interstate with frozen trailer brakes. His trailer tires on the passenger side were gone down to the rims in one spot. Made a hellva noise!

 

please dont use rubbing alcohol if you look at the label says contains water and that is number 10 in the winter. it is under inactive ingredint

 

one thing I see a lot is when bob tailing, the air lines are lying on the catwalk. this allows water to get in them and then when you hook up to the trailer you pump water into the lines.

HANG THEM UP PROPERLY. on the back of the cab

 

Just out of curiosity, r u sure the pads are not frozen to the drums? new trailers shouldn't have any water in the lines. however if it was driven down the road during wet conditions then parked, pads can freeze to the drum by either rusting or actually icing. Put your tractor brakes on, release your trailer brakes then take your hammer and hit the pads on the steel edge. May take a few hits, if you see them release, then that's the real problem. You'll have to do each wheel. Pins pull the air supply from the same source, just different feed.

 

That old timer would be correct. Serious ....people actually have to be told not to use rubbing alcohol? Cripes Almighty!

 

Years ago rubbing alcohol was the standard thing to use when in a bind, out in the middle of nowhere. Just not the green stuff. Plenty of people had a bottle in their side box.

 

You can make a homemade icepack using alchohol and water, don't remember the proportions at the moment, but it does work and the ice pack will not freeze solid when you put it in the freezer.

 

wow never knew, only known guess what we call heat. They didn't sell rubbing alcohol in the gas stations either, lol, so I guess we didn't have to think about it.