Upgrade To Disc Brakes
 

It's time to upgrade to all wheel disc brakes for my boat trailer and was wondering who's products you guys' are using . I want it to be safe and dependable for the 530 mile tow to Lake Cumberland next year . :evilb: Anyway i need to know where to start looking . Thanks in advance for your help .

kodiak is what most people use..me personally i like electric..

http://accessories.etrailer.com/sear...core&view=grid

Thanks Fix . Anyone else have a preference .

Kodiak, but if you go in salt, get the coated or SS stuff, my standard ones only lasted 2 years.

I did a conversion with a Tie Down Engineering kit. Easy install, worked great and I boat in salt water as well as fresh.

I used the intermediate (stainless calipers) Kodiak kit after doing lots of research. I was thinking TieDown, but came across some bad feedback. Eastern Marine gave me a great deal on the kit, and were very, very helpful. http://www.easternmarine.com/em_stor...rakes_hyd.html

I'd call them if I were you: (800) 453-7379

By the way - they will tell you how to modify you master cylinder (actuator) if it's in good shape to work with disc brakes, so you won't have to buy a new one.

Kodiak cad plated

+1 on the Kodiak kit from Eastern Marine. And a Titan EOH controller. Brakes work awesome.

Thanks for the help guys , it is very appreciated .

fixx
 

also make sure the kit you choose has the rubber brake lines that go to the caliper..a customer of mine had this place called advaitage trailer install a tiedown kit on his rear axle and when i was working on his boat he asked me to look at the brakes because he said it felt like it was draging..when i took the wheel off to inspect the brakes the installed the floating caliper to a steel line..needless to say the caliper was smoked along with the brake pads..they also forgot to open up the pin hole in the actuator or master cylinder which would also hold the brakes on which is another thing you must do..

if you have a bolt on actuator i would also replace it along with the brakes but make sure its for disc brakes..

So you did not convert to EOH? Just upgraded to discs and modified the master in the surge coupler?

Mine are...
 

on their way. Rebuilt my trailer and it's drum brakes and had it in salt twice when they stopped working. Pulled one wheel and found solidly seized together ingot.
Installing stainless vented rotors w/aluminum calipers.

Yep. You have to remove the check valve in the m/c that drum brakes need. (Not removing that feature is what caused mrfixxall's brakes to burn up.) The guys at Eastern Marine will explain how to do that. Drum brakes also require an inline fitting with a very small orifice (.016") to keep them from applying too quickly. This is usually a brass fitting, and can easily be drilled out to 1/16" or so for the disc brake application.

I also installed an inline pressure relief bypass valve (here) wired to the reverse lights on the outlet side of the m/c. Shifting to reverse causes this valve to open up and bleed all line pressure back into the reservoir so you can back uphill. If you use an inline electric check valve and stop on a downhill slope, it will just trap all the pressure in the system.

Outstanding , thanks . Will be calling on the marrow .

fixx
 

wasnt mine,,was a customers..yes im sure it didnt help any,,the caliper released but was slow,,what wore the inside pad was the idiots hooked the caliper to a steel brake line and it was applying constant pressure to the inside pad,thats where the comment make sure he gets rubber brake hoses also..

now you see why i like electric brakes..all the extra stuff that you have to get..

The check valve in the drum brake master cylinder is called the residual valve. As long as your master cylinder is relatively in decent, should only take a few minutes to pull that valve out.

I used the kodiak kit when converting mine to discs, going to eventually add brakes to the other axle as well. They work great now as is, except I have some seals that like to leak grease and soil the pads so I get a bit of a smoke show after a few stops.

Where?
 

My discs are due any day and I was unaware of this modification. Will this check valves location be apparent when I pull the master cylinder?

If you are upgrading the brakes, don't half ass it. Go ahead and do EoH. It's worth every fricking penny.

There is some good info on www.championtrailerparts.com about converting the master cylinder if you stay with surge.

Had the Titan EOH with drum brakes, upgraded to the Kodiak discs and new Titan calibrated for disc pressures. Tows and stops great.

Question for C_Spray . When you installed the pressure relief valve did you have to mod your m-cylinder reservoir for a return line ? If so how did you do it ? This will save me some $ .

On mine as I remember, the check valve was at the rear of the Master Cylinder. The steel brake line connects directly to it. It will unscrew from the MC then you should be able to take the guts out.

Got it.
 

Thank you sir!

The TieDown bypass valve goes inline at the exit of the m/c. I had to drill and tap a 1/8" NPT hole for a return fitting into the reservoir of my m/c (Titan/DICO model 6). It was pretty easy, as the m/c was cast iron. Some m/c's have a provision for this fitting.

I can only comment on the Titan/Dico master cylinder but I would assume others are similar. On the Titan, you have to remove the plunger from the master cylinder, the residual valve is internal.

http://www.championtrailers.com/remo...dual_valve.htm

Right on the money. That is exactly what I did.

Thank you my friend .

Got mine yesterday. Thanks to the help above I read up on modding my master cylinder/coupler.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/l...discbrakes.jpg

Me too and me too . Thank you everybody !!

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/...ps1d405ddc.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8e603c0a.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9cf635c3.jpg

http://i1243.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9702deb2.jpg

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Just installed my Tie Down kits and was way impressed. Installation was a snap and couldn't have gone much better. The new hoses I installed when rebuilding the drums previously were even long enough to use w/o issue. Waiting on my reverse lock out valve to finish the job.
One concern was the size of the 9.6" rotors I installed. One supply rep I talked to said they would over heat on a load my size. After seeing them installed I'm hoping he's wrong. They appear tiny compared to the 10" drums I removed.
My bail out will be adding a second set to the rear axle if needed.

I got a set from West Marine for my trailer last year when i switched to discs. Best deal out there i found.

Sonic we must be on the same schedule . Install was so easy a caveman........I was impressed with the fit and finish of the Kodiak disc system . The only thing i did not care for was the made in China bearings . I prefer Timken bearings . EXAMPLE : I used to build aluminum coal haulers for the railroad industry . The ones that were ordered with Timken bearings could be rolled by a single man on a level track . The ones with lesser bearings were a bear to move in the summer and had to use the car haul winch in the winter . Timken bearings = less heat and fuel savings . Overall this is a great kit for the money .

Interesting.
 

Mine were already installed/greased and I didn't even bother to look. The Kodiaks appear far superior to the Tie Downs but I am a skin flint to a fault and the same kit was substantially more.
I am very good at re-doing my money saving projects after realizing how/where/why I thought I was saving money ;)

Reverse lock out arrived today and is installed. Need the 5 way plug to get the signal to it and hope to road test tomorrow.

Warning on the reverse lock out solenoid........., w/it installed into the back of the master cylinder which is the easiest location, it is very vulnerable to being stepped on and broken. I walk all over the tongue of my trailer getting the boat on/off and it made it to the water twice before I broke it. Didn't even realize I was doing it.
Of course, broke it off flush in the back of the mater cylinder. Lucky for me that after removing it from the trailer an easy out actually worked for me for the first time in my life :thankyouthankyou:

I removed my master cylinder cover , removed the paint from it and am welding on an extension to protect the R/L solenoid . Sonic maybe you should weld spikes on yours . :lolhit: I also flushed the DOT 3 from everything and will use DOT 5 , no more water absorption and rusted internals for me !! P.S. If spilled it wont take your paint off .

Good stuff.
 

So besides learning I'm a maroon (:thankyouthankyou:) I learned that the brake fluid that soaked the tongue of the trailer will not take off the pain. Awesome.
I'm going to build a shield for the valve as well. An easier solution would have been to add a 12" extension hose to the valve so you could hide it in the frame.
One of my issues is the ramp I use. Never intended for boats this large and I have had to adapt to make it work. But........, it's 3 mls from my house :evilb: First time there w/the boat after the restoration we got caught in a storm on one motor and the dock at that ramp tore up my new paint while I went for the trailer.
It's great as long as you're on your A game. Does suck coming back from the tiki bars though :cartman: