replacing trailer brakes help needed

6

66mstgfsbk

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
Messages
97
i need to replace my brakes on my tandem trailer. the front wheels have drum brakes only, there is nothing on the rear. the trailer sits under a 21 foot malibu boat. my question is should i keep it hyd drum brakes or is there a benefit switching over to electric drum brakes? i have no idea who makes the curent setup all i know is that it is a 84 vm trailer. the only markings on the coupler is a triangle with a dot in the middle. can someone help me figure who's parts these are? thanks for any help
 
S

slia67

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
272
Re: replacing trailer brakes help needed

Most boat trailers stick with hydraulic brakes (either drum or disc) because electric and water don't usually mix well. ;)
 
109jb

109jb

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
1,590
Re: replacing trailer brakes help needed

slia67 said:
Most boat trailers stick with hydraulic brakes (either drum or disc) because electric and water don't usually mix well. ;)
Click to expand...

That's not quite true. You just have to be careful which electric drums you buy for a boat. Modern electric drum brakes can be bought with corrosion resistant components that can withstand the abuses of fresh and salt water. Here is an example:
 

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Utahboatnut

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jan 15, 2009
Messages
785
Re: replacing trailer brakes help needed

What type of acuator do you have. I would take the old shoes to a trailer supply place and they could help you out. The place I use locally has new brake setups you can buy, it includes a new backing plate and all that attatches to it. Shoes, springs, wheel cyl, etc and they arent much more $. If you were to spend the money for elec, I would use that same money and put hyd. disks on your trailer they are very nice and easy to maintain. All of the new tow boat trailers come with them stock.
 
109jb

109jb

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
1,590
Re: replacing trailer brakes help needed

Oh yeah. You also mentioned that your tandem trailer has brakes on only one set of axles, the front. It should really have brakes on all wheels, but if only on one axle they should be on the back for maximum effectiveness.
 
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