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Old 06-29-2015 | 01:20 PM
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K.I.S.S. principle if it's for a 23 Baja....

TieDown 660 Surge Actuator (set up for discs w/integral reverse lockout)
DeeMax or Kodiak Dacromet disc brake kit
Tiedown brake line kit
3- 4" Grade 5 bolts
Zip-ties
An afternoon and beverage of your choice.
But that's my opinion and advice you didn't have to pay for....

A quick check shows a 23' Outlaw at 4200lbs. 70ish gallons of fuel is about 600lbs. Trailer is a rough 1200, so that's about 6000lbs. I don't know what to tell you about axles, give the folks at Dexter a call for those.

Going to electric brakes for a 23' boat is like buying a dually and a gooseneck to tow a riding mower.

Last edited by Speedracer29; 06-29-2015 at 01:48 PM.
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Old 06-29-2015 | 01:55 PM
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EoH brakes is NEVER overkill.

Let me know how well you get the rig stopped with surge brakes once your GM truck blows a brake line (which they are known to do; common failure point on GM trucks from the 90s on up.)
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Old 06-29-2015 | 02:47 PM
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Well, if a fistful of shift lever and a foot mash of e-brake don't get the surge actuator to kick in, I'll close my eyes and scream "Like a Good Neighbor"....
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Old 06-29-2015 | 02:52 PM
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Originally Posted by Speedracer29
Well, if a fistful of shift lever and a foot mash of e-brake don't get the surge actuator to kick in, I'll close my eyes and scream "Like a Good Neighbor"....
Funny; yes...
...and I'd probably do the exact same thing.

However, locking up the rear tires with either method will not do much good at all when the the rig begins to jack-knife, and the surge brakes release.

We the manual override on electric or EoH you can drag the rig to a stop.

And a $700-1000 upgrade to EoH brakes sounds much better than a $3000 transmission.
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Old 06-29-2015 | 03:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Speedracer29

Going to electric brakes for a 23' boat is like buying a dually and a gooseneck to tow a riding mower.
I completely understand this way of thinking, however I'm not converting to disc or electric to make sure I stop. I'm getting rid of the drums, plain and simple. I've had about every problem with them under the sun and I'm done with them. Sure, I could completely overhaul them and start over, but I don't even want to do that. I just want to ditch them and upgraded trailer brakes can be a nice thing to add to the listing when the day comes to sell it and go bigger.
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Old 06-29-2015 | 04:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Sydwayz
Let me know how well you get the rig stopped with surge brakes once your GM truck blows a brake line (which they are known to do; common failure point on GM trucks from the 90s on up.)
Been there done that. Rusty brake lines in the frame rail behind the gas tank. (On my old truck) That's just another day around here.
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Old 06-29-2015 | 04:20 PM
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Originally Posted by ChaseO
I completely understand this way of thinking, however I'm not converting to disc or electric to make sure I stop. I'm getting rid of the drums, plain and simple. I've had about every problem with them under the sun and I'm done with them. Sure, I could completely overhaul them and start over, but I don't even want to do that. I just want to ditch them and upgraded trailer brakes can be a nice thing to add to the listing when the day comes to sell it and go bigger.

I'm all for updating to disc brakes (have them, love them), but if you're planning on selling, electric brakes may be a detractor to Joe Sixpack with a 1/2 ton or large SUV (and no IBC) looking for an entry level performance boat.
Plenty of 1/2 tons rated to tow that boat on the car lots around here with trailer package and no brake controller....

Last edited by Speedracer29; 06-29-2015 at 04:35 PM.
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Old 06-29-2015 | 05:05 PM
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Originally Posted by Speedracer29
I'm all for updating to disc brakes (have them, love them), but if you're planning on selling, electric brakes may be a detractor to Joe Sixpack with a 1/2 ton or large SUV (and no IBC) looking for an entry level performance boat.
Plenty of 1/2 tons rated to tow that boat on the car lots around here with trailer package and no brake controller....
Excellent point, I didn't really think of that considering every other 16 year old has a diesel truck these days. Not drinking the EoH Koolaid would allow me to not have to cut off my hitch and buy a new one, but it doesn't help with the master cylinder issue. Hunting up a replacement master cylinder for this atwood hitch may be fun, but I'll see what I can do.
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Old 06-29-2015 | 06:41 PM
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Originally Posted by ChaseO
Hunting up a replacement master cylinder for this atwood hitch may be fun, but I'll see what I can do.
Are you getting a loud clunk when you stop or start to back up? Mine does. I, like you, want to change over at least to disc brakes this fall if my boat is not sold by then. However, I want the current crummy drum brakes to at least work until one or the other happens. I ordered a new master cylinder and a push rod assembly kit. Below are the numbers for Atwood actuators

For most applications, if trailer is later than 1988 these numbers will work. Master cylinder is not that expensive. Hardest part in replacing them for me is getting up and down to bleed them.
85841 - drum brake master cylinder
85852 - push rod assembly kit (found this and the master cylinder {85841} to be cheaper that the below all inclusive kit)
85837 - drum brake master cylinder and push rod assembly kit (hard to find this kit and more expensive that the other two above together).

Got them both and a new shock absorber (85830) at BoatStoreUSA.com. Cheapest prices that I could find online.

This is just a stop gap measure to get me through the summer and early fall. If I still have the boat in the fall, when I convert over, I will probably buy a new master cylinder for disc, lines and a reverse lock out solenoid along with the brakes and should be good to go. Surely, you don't have to replace the actuator housing if you switch from drum to disc, do you???
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Old 06-29-2015 | 09:56 PM
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It's been a while since I was up on drum vs. disc, but I'm remembering that disc needs 1600 psi, and drum 1000 psi to operate right. Is that only for EoH, or also for surge?

Keep in mind on the actuators, that long before Detroit started including them, folks bought them and installed them aftermarket. I don't know that that would be a big detriment to resell of your boat.
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