Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

[capslock118]

You should have seen my tires, they were embarrassing. Cracks and flat, I'm surprised I was able to use them for the last two years.

The trailer just looks like no one has done any maintenance to it since it was built; I assume back in '91 which is how old my boat is.

I tool the wheels off to get them replaced, the good thing was the rims are galvanized so they might as well be considered in mint condition.

The breaks and hubs though; definitely not. When I turn the hub, or what's left of it, it's stuff, rusty, grinding, rust falls to the floor; whole nine yards.

I definitely want to replace the breaks - or - just do away with them for now, my state doesn't require breaks for such a small boat.

If I replace them, would it be better to switch to disc or keep the trailer going with drums? Preferences?

Also, I'm trying to figure out which hubs I should buy; apparently the lot I am looking at is pre-greased and ready to go at the time of purchase. Any luck with pre-fabbed kits?

Better yet, do any hubs work with drum brakes? or are hubs specialized for drum breaks? If so that might just be enough a reason to me to switch to disc.

My boat budget has largely already been consumed this year; I'd like good parts but also not top-of-the-line. Because I'd also like to replace my springs if I can; those look not as bad as the brakes and hubs but I figured while' i'm at it I might as well replace them.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Get the prebuilt hub kits no problem, look at the spindle very good to make sure it isn't destroyed though. Can you do without brakes in my opinion is largely something that depends on your tow vehicle and the weight of the boat and trailer, whats your tow vehicle? If you have a decent sized SUV or truck I don't think you will have an issue, if your towing with a small car then you may have issues.


Upgrading to Discs on your package would be a waste of money IMO, there's simply no weight there to take advantage of disc brakes, so why worry about it, backing plates should cost you less then $100 for the pair anyway, add your new bearings and your out the door for right around $300 in Parts, that's hard to beat

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

great to hear.

whats your tow vehicle

it's sufficient. '94 dodge ram 1500 4x4; something like 5.2L.

look at the spindle very good to make sure it isn't destroyed though

what should i look for? this connects to the axle i assume?

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

the spindle is what the bearing spins on, the center part of the hub itself, you will have a castle nut, a washer then the bearings the castle nut screws onto the spindle and adjusts the tension on the bearings, so if the hub is rusted out its the bearings, but the bearings spin around the spindle with a race on the outside

Your truck should be fine to tow your trailer without brakes just FYI, just be careful I don't want you to come back telling me to eat my words!!

 

[Lawnmedic]

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

If the boat in your signature is the rig you are talking about then you are required brakes by the state laws I read for Connecticut. I read it as 3000lbs need brakes.
As far as disc or drum, I have had good luck with the drum brakes that several boat trailers I have owned have had. I have had to help friends with disc brakes that have have pads stuck to the rotors after sitting. Now my newest pontoon trailer(which is sitting at the dealer waiting on spring to show up, has disc and the dealer swears they have fixed all the problems with this style. Guess we will see soon enough.

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

LippCJ7,

Ok I think I understand. The parts seem easy enough to grasp; so basically all I am looking for is to make sure the spindle is not in terrible condition with rust. All the other parts I plan to replace.

Lawnmedic,

Right I seen that CT law is 3,000 lbs or more require brakes. I never weighed my boat+trailer but it's hard for me to look at the boat and think "thats 3,000 lbs right there".

Won't matter though, I'm going to replace the drums with new drums.


last question:

am I suppose to get a regular old rotor and then a plate of some kind is mounted to it for the breaks or is there a special rotor for drum brakes - or is it all self-contained and drum breaks include the rotor? Or, is the drum the rotor?

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

Re: Replace drum breaks with disc breaks?

LOL no drum brakes are a drum and disc brakes are a rotor, Drum brakes the drum is mounted to the wheel so it spins with the wheel then the brake pads are pushed out making contact with the drum making friction to stop, Disc brakes the rotor spins with the wheel then the brake pads are in a caliper which can pinch the rotor with brake pads, Check out this site for a brief description with exploded views http://www.procarcare.com/icarumba/..._resourcecenter_encyclopedia_brakes2.asp#drum

Your trailer should already have these parts on it most likely drum brakes, you will have to take it all apart and see what is salvageable and what needs replaced, typically you can purchase trailer brake kits in any configuration you wish, if you want to buy a kit complete then you can do that or if you just want part and parcel that's available too but in your situation its unlikely that you will need to replace your drums, they are pretty durable, get some pics of what you have and post them up, and you can probably get everything you need right here on iboats too http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Trailer-...5847739--**********.205225557--view_id.238462

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

LOL no drum brakes are a drum and disc brakes are a rotor

Yeah, never worked on drums before so they are foreign to me :facepalm:

Ok so if I bought a drum break kit, that would include the "front part" which is the drum and the wheel mounts to it.

I took some pictures for everyone; you will love them I am sure.


As I was removing the first drum back the break line just sheared right off; probably from tens of years of rusting out. The reservoir is filled with rust too.

It seems then that I am going to be replacing the entire break setup. Drums, lines, reservoir (hitch too then).

What do you think of the spindle? It looks OK to me but what do i know?

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

Holy Crap! You've got some serious crap there! That spindle looks pretty rough at the rear seal, try to see if it will clean up with some emory cloth, but it looks grooved and probably won't seal. The thing especially with drum brakes is if the rear seal is leaking, the grease gets trapped by the backing plate and winds up on the shoes which ruins them. You may be better off getting a new axle than to mess with that too much, your new brakes will be junk in no time.

 

[hostage]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

wow that has to be the worst shape brakes I have ever seen, it looks like it was pulled up from the ocean floor after 50 years of sitting there.

If I was you I would stick with drums over trying to convert them to disc.

You might see if you can find a decent used trailer of craigslist.

Also your master cylinder might be shot.

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

A thought that came to mind was that when I was reading about how to replace bearings I was given the impression I should expect two bearings. When I removed both drums, I only seen one bearing on each?

The thing especially with drum brakes is if the rear seal is leaking, the grease gets trapped by the backing plate and winds up on the shoes which ruins them. You may be better off getting a new axle than to mess with that too much

Hm, so a brief google search and what you said indicates to me that the spindle is welded to the axle? If that's the case what is the spindles that iboats sell? maybe for a special type of trailer i'm guessing?

If the axle needed to be replaced, then what size should I be looking at?

Looking at trailer alternatives is not a bad idea, at this rate I am already hitting $600 and that seems like an underestimate.

You might see if you can find a decent used trailer of craigslist.

there are some items on craigslist thats listed as a boat + trailer for the same cost...but I might just be trading one bad trailer with another...

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

wow that has to be the worst shape brakes I have ever seen, it looks like it was pulled up from the ocean floor after 50 years of sitting there.

Well, just to be fair to the water, rust doesn't happen without air. So I probably would be better off if I had pulled a trailer out from the ocean floor after 50 years

 

[dockwrecker]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

A thought that came to mind was that when I was reading about how to replace bearings I was given the impression I should expect two bearings. When I removed both drums, I only seen one bearing on each?



Hm, so a brief google search and what you said indicates to me that the spindle is welded to the axle? If that's the case what is the spindles that iboats sell? maybe for a special type of trailer i'm guessing?

If the axle needed to be replaced, then what size should I be looking at?

Looking at trailer alternatives is not a bad idea, at this rate I am already hitting $600 and that seems like an underestimate.


there are some items on craigslist thats listed as a boat + trailer for the same cost...but I might just be trading one bad trailer with another...

You're heading north of $800 already. Brakes, coupler, master, axle shot at least. If the springs and frame look anything like the brakes do, I'd quit chasing my tail on this one and go trailer shopping.

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

If the springs and frame look anything like the brakes do, I'd quit chasing my tail on this one and go trailer shopping.

Frame is galvanized - or maybe it's aluminum. anyways the point is it's in great condition relative to what we are looking at; the only rust that exists on the trailer is u-bolts, springs, and this issue.

Before we start talking about getting a new trailer let me tell you what I see in my local market:
new trailer: $1900 - absolutely not, out of the question.
used trailer: if I paid $1,000 or more on a used trailer; I can fix up my trailer for that or less, so what's the point? If I paid less than $1,000 - would I be buying a trailer that is in just as bad a shape? From the local ads I am found, trailers that cheap do not look promising.


Not to mention, my boat is still on my trailer. I suppose in hindsight I should have waited to get it in the water - but I knew that this stuff had to get fixed for the last two years and I just didn't feel comfortable moving the trailer this year without fixing it up.

So how am I going to get the boat onto a new trailer? put it on boat stands? even used are not cheap and if you add that to the cost of trading the trailer...

nah, from my perspective it makes more financial sense to fix the trailer; feel free to prove me wrong. unless something fabulous comes along. Until then, I'd be chasing my tail if I searched for a trailer instead of going and buying the parts and getting things done. And as a side benefit, I get to learn something new.

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

I might be going with disc breaks even though everyone has advised to stick with drums as discs would be overkill. Well, I found TIEDOWN disc kit that includes new breaklines, actuator, rotors, and breakes for $339 - which iis $50 cheaper than what I found for all the equivilant parts for drum breaks.

Stay tuned, this trailer will be getting an overhaul.

EDIT: I should follow that with my current shopping list:
- TIE DOWN Vented Disc Brake S.A. Complete Kit, 5-Lug: 339.95
- 75.25" Square Galvanized Trailer Axle (3500 lb.): 153.50
- 30" Flat End Slipper Trailer Leaf Spring (4 leaves): 2 for 100
- DEXTER 9/16" x 2.9" Shackle Bolt & Nut (1 pair): 11.44
- Tie Plate Kit for 2" Square Trailer Axle: 26.50

$631 sub total, $67 shipping, $698 total (internet, out of state, no tax). Havn't found a comparable local shop that matches this price. The disc brake kit really helps on the price. I think there are other parts I need for the leaf spring mount, but I am not there just yet...

I need to confirm yet how bad the axle is, maybe it's ok. But, when feeling behind the backing plate I could feel the tube was really rusted out. I'll need to take some pictures to confirm just how bad it is before I go and get a new axle.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

Stay away from the Tie Down brakes.

If the rear seal area is bad, you can get a spindo seal kit to fix that problem without replacing the whole axle.

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

Stay away from the Tie Down brakes.

Ok, why and what do you recommend instead?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

I had the stainless non vented versions and they warped like crazy. Tie Down just has lower quality overall. I would stick with the Kodiaks which is what I switched to.

Right now, I just have the E-coat versions which are similar in price to what you are looking at. I just make sure I flood them with water after i dunk them in salt and they have been fine for 4 years now.

 

[capslock118]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

ah, interesting.

the tiedown I am looking at is

GalvX coated Trailer Disc Brakes with Vented Rotor and Aluminum Caliper

the kodiak is more expensive but i'll certainly consider them if they are better quality. The E-coat version says it's for freshwater with limited salt-water exposure. My boat is never in freshwater, so that's something to consider.

The more parts that are galvanized the better.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Replace drum brakes with disc breaks?

Just realize that the thing that corrodes the most is the disc itself and it doesn't matter what coating you buy, unless its stainless, the disc is bare metal and will corrode. I am half and half fresh/salt and I have not had an issue. The S-Cad are not much more than the E-Cad. I have the E-cad only becuase I got a killer deal from a trailer manufacturer that was going out of business. Another benefit of the Kodiaks is that the brake pads are easily available form the auto parts store so they are pretty inexpensive.