blackdiesel

I was just wondering if anybody else ran vacuum over hydraulic tralier brakes?

Homestead

I ran them years ago on a backhoe trailer I used to have to haul around. They did work very nicely for the weight they had to stop.
Not sure if I would want to go thru the hassle of plumbing them up to use on my truck. I'm not sure if the vacuum pump on the CTD's is even up to the task. The old Ford L7.000 that we hauled it with had a monster for a pump to operate the brakes on the trailer.

They do work though.

blackdiesel

the dodge vacuum pump provides plenty of vacuum to power the tralier brakes. Acually, the guage that i bought with my set up ($200 off of ebay for EVERYTHING) reads that im pulling 'too much' vacuum. Plumbing is a breeze, the hardest part is special ordering a 'T' from a auto parts dealer. Itll lock up all 8 tires on the tralier in my gallery, LOADED! So yes, they do work good.

tool

Vac over hyraulic brakes are excellent, far better than electric setups in my oppinion.

blackdiesel

yup tool, theres no comparison.

durasmack

I need a solution for a boat trailer.... I hate to go back to surge, but that seems to be the most economical setup... Electric doesnt work well with water from what I understand, Electric over Hydraulic is expensive and I would imagine Vac over Hydraulic is even more expensive.... any ideas, or am I on the right track here?

Looking at this
http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/me...tegory_Code=ba

I once looked at a truck that had a vac over hydraulic setup and I liked the idea at the time... didnt think much about it until I read this thread.

blackdiesel

err, vac or electric over hydraulic would be a little overkill if its just a bass boat. How bigga boat is it? I would believe that, if its just a bass boat, you could control it with your truck but the electric brakes would be a hair better. but again, what kinda boat is it?

durasmack

23' fiberglass deep-v...... trailer and boat weighs in somewhere right around 9800 and loaded up is about 600 more than that...

Truck brakes alone are not enough... I had to do that once because the trailer brakes (surge) kicked the can and it was not fun...

Electric on all 4 might be ok, but i am concerned about their ability to withstand water...

darkvader

elect should be fine in fresh water(think of drining in the rain) but salt water will need good rinsing after each use.
Clark

durasmack

anyone know what all i need to convert to electric from broken surge? I have a brake controller, wiring is a piece of cake for me, i can get my hands on a brake away kit easily.... what do i need to do with the drums? can i just buy backing plates and put in there or do i need to do something else? can i use the same drums or would those need replacing too?

I wouldnt even mind replacing magnets once a year on it.... still a lot cheaper than surge brakes since the entire system is toast.....


It just scares me because I never see electric brakes on boat trailers.... just (air/vacuum/electric) over hydraulic or surge brakes.....

tool

I have seen many electric setups on boat trailers, not uncommon.

Must be a really deep boat or something if it weighs 9800 on the trailer?? Seems excessive.

You can probably buy backing plates with all the electric hardware for your particular axle, you'll need to find a good trailer supply place in your area, take an old backing plate and drum in and someone knowledgeable should be able to match it up.

bulabula

Durasmack, heads up; the fresh water of Lake Huron killed the electric trailer brakes under my little brothers Cigarette after one summer.

He got to the electric brakes in the first place because he had seen so many RV's with weight distributing hitches, that he modified the Eagle trailer to work with a WD setup, then found out that the surges didn't work. Next was electric brakes to "cure" that problem. Worked great until one fun filled ride home with his boat pushing him through a traffic light.

My boat is 9k loaded on the trailer; I've got 4 surges on the front two axles and a roller axle in back. It tows wonderfully. I use my boat in the Chesapeake Bay (brackish). The surges are ok for the usual in town, and some highway towing that I do, but if I was to do any towing over the typical 20 miles one way, I'd invest in "something" over hydraulic. I'd also go with disks too just because its easier to do visual inspections than the drums.

durasmack

when the electrics go bad, is it usually just the magnet in it that goes or is replacing the backing plate necessary?

bulabula

I'm sure you could replace any part of the brakes piecemeal. I've only seen the backing plate assy in the trailer shops - then again, I've never looked for a bin full of magnets.

I think it would be a pia to be continually checking the brakes for continuity, then having to figure out which one(s) are bad to replace - then replacing them. Once a year maintenance would be great. They won't all fail at the same time. You could spend an awful lot of time getting close and personal with trailer brakes; time that could be better spent doing other things - like being on the boat.

durasmack

I guess I would be better off with this.... replace the current broken coupler and rebuild the hydraulic drums.....
http://www.etrailer.com/Merchant2/me...tegory_Code=ba