Trailer Brakes or Not

[Alumarine]

If you put new surge brakes on I'd recommend Free-Backing brake assemblies.
They make it easy to back the trailer up without needing to activate a reverse lockout pin or solenoid.
Otherwise the weight of the trailer will cause the brakes to engage when backing up.

 

[Scott06]

Thanks. Any suggestions on who makes the best surge brake kits would be appreciated.

What Lou said - always hear Kodiak is the best or X brand is as good as Kodiak...

I boat in fresh water and use my trailer twice a year so the tie down set up has worked great for me for 6 years. If I pulled it more than 10 miles to the launch I might be more worried about it...knock on wood its been ok.

Tires age out and are worth looking at if you are buying a used one. If the trailer is low use/ yard jockey use the tires are probably original.

 

[bruceb58]

NADA guide's weight on my 98 24' Wellcraft that I recently sold was 4200#. With a 1200# trailer, 80 gallons of fuel and around 300# of gear and batteries I was pushing 6200#. The trailer came with brakes on only one axle! I put brakes on both axles and converted them to Kodiac discs with electric over hydraulic.

Discs are definitely the way to go. I did however make the huge mistake of putting Tiedown disc brakes initially. They lasted a year after multiple rotors warped and caliper pistons got stuck. Whatever you buy, don't buy Tiedown.

My current trailer for my 26' Cobalt has UFP disc brakes. I moved my EOH controller over to that trailer. Works amazing on a boat that big.

 

[scatgo]

OK parts on the way. The actuator I am getting has the break away lever on top. Can I crank on it to bleed the brakes? Maybe slip a pipe over it to get some leverage ?

 

[Scott06]

OK parts on the way. The actuator I am getting has the break away lever on top. Can I crank on it to bleed the brakes? Maybe slip a pipe over it to get some leverage ?

Which actuator did you get? I. Sure there is a way to manual bleed it. Usually the breakaway has a catch so when it is actuated by the trailer coming loose the brakes stay on. Read through the instructions that come with it .

 

[bruceb58]

Just remove the catch that hold the lever in the actuated position. When you are done bleeding, reattach it.

 

[poconojoe]

I had a single axle trailer that needed everything replaced on the surge brake system changed it over to electric. Much easier to convert and about 1/2 the price, new drums, back plates and wiring fresh water only

I did this too.
I'm in fresh water too.
I think discs are better for salt water.

I couldn't stand the constant banging of the surge brake actuator every time I applied the brakes and every time I took off from a stop. Plus I got tired of the constant maintenance of the hydraulics and replacing of slave cylinders.

I converted the drum surge brakes to all electric drum brakes. I was able to use my existing drums. I got the self adjusting type brakes that were completely assembled on new back plates.

I pulled the hydraulic lines out of the trailer frame and pulled in the wiring for the new brakes.

I changed the 5 pin connector at the trailer tongue to 7 pin. I bought the new 7 pin connector pigtail with the frame mounted junction box.
I also got the breakaway kit with the included battery. The battery charges whenever you have the connector plugged into the running truck.

My truck has the integrated trailer controller from the factory which is a great advantage.

 

[WinsLetshawn]

Not recommended, and let me also say that I don't take any responsibility in my opinion either. F 250 from motor trader will certainly handle this just fine, unless some idiot stops abruptly in front of you or the descent is not too steep. If someone tells you that they never had very close range while towing, they simply didn't tow long enough.

 

[Lou C]

As far as the banging of the surge actuator and replacement of wheel cylinders, for one thing not all surge actuators bang, I have a Tie Down model 66 on my trailer that I installed way back in 2004 and it has never banged on stop/starts, there is a built in damper that works well, you can barely feel it as you come to a stop and then start up.
Wheel cylinders, what I have done is take a new cylinder off the backing plate, then remove the dust boot. Place a small amount of silicone based brake grease (Permatex orange stuff) around the top of piston, then seal the boot to the cylinder with high temp RTV including the hole where the push rod comes through the boot. That will keep it pretty water proof for a reasonably long time then they are cheap to replace compared to a disc brake caliper.
BTW I have had calipers seize on regular vehicles too, had to replace both front calipers on our '98 Subaru (these and certain Toyotas were known for calipers seizing) and just had to replace one on my son's 4 year old Jeep Wrangler that did a number of off road water crossings. Only had 60,000 mile on it!
Meanwhile my '98 Jeep Grand Cherokee still has all 4 original calipers and none has stuck, same on my 2007 Grand Cherokee.

 

[H20Rat]

I had a single axle trailer that needed everything replaced on the surge brake system changed it over to electric. Much easier to convert and about 1/2 the price, new drums, back plates and wiring fresh water only

The one drawback to electric is that you have another battery to maintain/replace. (haven't kept up with tech but so there might be a supercapacitor batteryless system out there)

 

[bruceb58]

The one drawback to electric is that you have another battery to maintain/replace. (haven't kept up with tech but so there might be a supercapacitor batteryless system out there)

I never got around to it but I was considering putting in a wire from the rear of the trailer to the tongue and have a short cable that went to the boat battery to a plug back there. I have to have a breakaway battery for my EOH system.

 

[bruceb58]

As far as the banging of the surge actuator and replacement of wheel cylinders, for one thing not all surge actuators bang,

The only reason they would bang is if there is air in the system and they need to be bled.

 

[Lou C]

Or if you have drum brakes that are way out of adjustment….