Emergency brake activating for no reason?

Hey there,

I have a 2012 tandem axle trailer with surge brakes on the rear axle that seems to activate the emergency brake randomly. I noticed it after I pulled in for gas and the wheel was caked in brake dust and was really hot. I was able to release the emergency brake by pushing down on that metal flange you see in the picture and it seems to have been fine since. Tho this past Sunday it was real dusty and hot again, but that could be because I was doing a lot of braking due to traffic. I pressed that release just to be safe and it wasn't hot when I got home.

When I hook the emergency brake chain to the hitch I'm careful not to tug it and try to make sure it will stay free of snags. The coupler is pretty new, just had it installed last November. It's a Tie Down Engineering LP8500.

So I have a few questions...

1) Any ideas what might be activating the e-brake, or is something faulty? Can it be triggered if I turn/reverse at too sharp an angle?
2) When I push the release, should there be any tension/pop if the brake is NOT engaged? It seems like there's a good amount of resistance followed by a pop/release every time I push that thing whether the ebrake is engaged or not.
3) How thick should the brake pads be before they need replacing? I pulled the wheel off and still have about a 1/4" of pad left I'd say, and the rotor is still smooth.

Thanks

-Nate

Attachment 370041Attachment 370042

Cable about has to be snagging while you are turning. Takes a good pull to apply the brake with the cable.

Yea, thats the only thing I could really think of too. Thinking about just cutting the d*mn thing off LOL

On some brands, there is a "C" clip that is on the cable up under the tongue th at helps to prevent the brake cable from activating the brakes. Maybe your "C" clip fell off.

Interesting. I'll have to take a look. Thanks!