Switching trailer from surge to electric brakes

MadJigga

Well-Known Member
Anyone done this mod? Any kits you would recommend? I have a tandem axle trailer that currently has surge brakes to only one axle.
 
You are considering a fairly large project. First things first though. Your trailer is in its present state illegal to run on BC highways. You must have brakes on ALL axles to be legal.

Now for your project. You will need to make sure both axles have mounting flanges for the brake parts to mount to. It needs to be welded on. In all likely hood you do have them, (certainly on the axle that has brakes) but check to be sure.

You probably already know what parts you need to put drum brakes on, so I will concentrate on Disc Brakes.

You will need 4 hub and bearing kits to match your axle weight, bearing and seal sizes, with the correct bolt pattern and size for your present wheels.

There are brake line kits available but it is possible to construct your own from stainless brake line with flexible lines to each axle

You will need an electric over hydraulic actuator and brake away kit if the actuator does not come with one.

You will also require a truck mounted (usually under the dash )that will work with your new braking system. (electric over hydraulic)

This will not be an inexpensive project.

If your boat is above a certain weight (not exactly what but I think it is just north of 6000lbs) then this type of system is a requirement in BC. Under that weight and you are still ok with surge brakes.

Maintenance: Washing down with fresh water, everytime the trailer hits the salt water is a necessity to keep the brakes from seizing. It seems that salt crystals accumulate on the disc caliper slide pins in any event and will necessitate the removal and clean up as required, probably yearly. I have found that Salt-Away or perhaps even a similar product works quite well at removing salt accumulation. If you can, get all the metal parts in stainless steel or you will likely be repeating all of this in a few years.

IMO Kodiak makes the best disc brake conversion kits, but their are others available.

I probably missed something but others will let you know.
 
I was told when I considered changing from drums to disks that stainless rotors would not handle the heat and were prone to warping.
 
You are considering a fairly large project. First things first though. Your trailer is in its present state illegal to run on BC highways. You must have brakes on ALL axles to be legal.

Now for your project. You will need to make sure both axles have mounting flanges for the brake parts to mount to. It needs to be welded on. In all likely hood you do have them, (certainly on the axle that has brakes) but check to be sure.

You probably already know what parts you need to put drum brakes on, so I will concentrate on Disc Brakes.

You will need 4 hub and bearing kits to match your axle weight, bearing and seal sizes, with the correct bolt pattern and size for your present wheels.

There are brake line kits available but it is possible to construct your own from stainless brake line with flexible lines to each axle

You will need an electric over hydraulic actuator and brake away kit if the actuator does not come with one.

You will also require a truck mounted (usually under the dash )that will work with your new braking system. (electric over hydraulic)

This will not be an inexpensive project.

If your boat is above a certain weight (not exactly what but I think it is just north of 6000lbs) then this type of system is a requirement in BC. Under that weight and you are still ok with surge brakes.

Maintenance: Washing down with fresh water, everytime the trailer hits the salt water is a necessity to keep the brakes from seizing. It seems that salt crystals accumulate on the disc caliper slide pins in any event and will necessitate the removal and clean up as required, probably yearly. I have found that Salt-Away or perhaps even a similar product works quite well at removing salt accumulation. If you can, get all the metal parts in stainless steel or you will likely be repeating all of this in a few years.

IMO Kodiak makes the best disc brake conversion kits, but their are others available.

I probably missed something but others will let you know.
Thank you. That’s a great start. I know the trailers illegal as it is. I have the break controller in my truck already as I have multiple trailers for work. I’ll look up Kodiak for a start. Thanks again.
 
Thank you. That’s a great start. I know the trailers illegal as it is. I have the break controller in my truck already as I have multiple trailers for work. I’ll look up Kodiak for a start. Thanks again.
Have a look at the e-trailer website they have electric actuators that replace the surge actuator .
I welded in a surge lockout plate on the coupler when I added the electric actuator to my drum brakes .
Some axles are not compatable with disc if it came with drums, so you may need to do some research .
e trailer has complete kits for each wheel and were very helpful when I did my conversion
 
I had the same issue 8 years ago. I priced everything out and decided to sell the trailer and buy a new one. The cost diff was marginal net. That was having someone do it for me. Not myself.
 
If I remember correctly the actuator kit with battery and 4 new complete brake groups, bearings ,seal for mine was around 1500 cdn but the dollar was much better than now.
I did the install myself had to buy a newer prodigy controller my version didn't work .
So your right at some point look at a new trailer to see if it's worth it
 
Another consideration is the EOH control pumps are specific for either disc/drum brakes so make sure you know what style brakes are going on before buying your pump.
My trailer already had disc brakes on all 4 corners so the swap was pretty simple, well worth the money IMO
 
I too used the EOH pump kit with the break away battery and wiring for drum brakes and as mentioned above by SrQ need to match it to either disc or drum brakes they run at different pressures.
The controller and pump may need to be matched with the truck your using if you have a factory installed trailer brake controller , they are not all the same.
E-trailer was a very helpful resource for me.
heres a picture of the disc brake EOH controller the drum brake unit is 1200 PSI
 

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Exact pump I switched to, electric over hydraulic is a much better system. Pulling through the hills their extremely dangerous, surge systems are cheaper but should be illegal!!
 
I did exactly what you want to do. Went from surge disk brakes to electric drum. Just couldn’t see installing new pads every year. We travel from Edmonton area to Prince Rupert every year. After the first 3 years of replacing the pads after 3200km, we switched. The long downhill grades smoked the pads pretty quick, the truck is big enough and with the engine brake there is no reason to heat up trailer brakes, it is a tridem trailer so all three axles had to be repaired. The local Bumper to Bumper had the complete backing plates with everything assembled, they also had the drum/spindles complete with bearings and seals. I had to add the break-away system and battery, the truck already had the electric brake system installed so no problem there. It is a sizable project with all the wiring but in my case it is worth it. Changed the coupler over from surge to normal and away we go.

Have all the parts left over from the surge disk system, disk/spindles, calipers, surge coupler, your probable going to see it all go through a Ritchie Brothers sale some time soon.

Get the numbers off of your bearings and axle weight and make if you can and hit your local B to B, they will help you out.

Good Luck

Wes
 
I did exactly what you want to do. Went from surge disk brakes to electric drum. Just couldn’t see installing new pads every year. We travel from Edmonton area to Prince Rupert every year. After the first 3 years of replacing the pads after 3200km, we switched. The long downhill grades smoked the pads pretty quick, the truck is big enough and with the engine brake there is no reason to heat up trailer brakes, it is a tridem trailer so all three axles had to be repaired. The local Bumper to Bumper had the complete backing plates with everything assembled, they also had the drum/spindles complete with bearings and seals. I had to add the break-away system and battery, the truck already had the electric brake system installed so no problem there. It is a sizable project with all the wiring but in my case it is worth it. Changed the coupler over from surge to normal and away we go.

Have all the parts left over from the surge disk system, disk/spindles, calipers, surge coupler, your probable going to see it all go through a Ritchie Brothers sale some time soon.

Get the numbers off of your bearings and axle weight and make if you can and hit your local B to B, they will help you out.

Good Luck

Wes
Cheers
 
You can buy surge actuator lockout plates, I fabricated them and spot welded them onto the origional coupler, so you don't need to change the coupler unless you want to.
I have about 4500 -5000 km on my system works good lots of lining life I travel HWY 3 through the mountains or HWY 1 so lots of hills brakes work excellent.
Next upgrade will be a wash down spray nozzle setup inside the backing plates with a small tank and 12V pump
 
E-trailer online is where I got my hydraulic/electric system as I was in the same boat with a surge actuator that was worn out and not legal in BC. I went with a Hydrastar system that is slick and they have great videos on installation. Everything came in just over a week. All made in USA.
 
Been in your situation twice, expensive & extensive modifications were required both times. Faced with the task a third time....I’d follow the advice of Pescador. Regardless of your choice, switching to EOH on both axles will be a significant upgrade and your trailering experience will be far safer & more relaxing.
 
Mark have you seen what the inside of drums look like after 3 years use? Especially if dunked then sitting for long periods. If you do ANNUAL maintenance on disk brakes...that means cleaning the calipers and lubing the slides every year. (the most important job on disk brakes to keep them working evenly so pads on one side don't wear out sooner than the other side from sticky calipers) They will easily outlast drum set ups. You can easily go 2 years without repacking bearings if you have good buddy bearings and keep them full and pressurized. I do mine every year but they always look good and I know they could go another year with no problems. Besides it is easy to check them by simply lifting the wheel off the ground and spinning it and checking slop by rocking the wheel side to side. Pads are cheap and easy to change when servicing the calipers. Drums with the springs, adjusters, and shoes rust out quickly, are dirty to work on....etc basically they are a PITA. Just my opinion as I have had many trailers with both and will never go back to drums.
 
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. Pads are cheap and easy to change when servicing the calipers. Drums with the springs, adjusters, are dirty to work on....etc basically they are a PITA. Just my opinion as I have had many trailers with both and will never go back to drums.
100% agreed, plus they are easier to rinse off with a hose.......dont need all the BS flushing crapolla that drums require
 
Have they ever resolved the "do you lub the slide pin?" issue, if I recall the experts at Kodiak brake insisted the you don't , I have numerous problems with uneven brake pad wear. Believe me Kodiak brakes are not the end to be all of boat trailer brakes, still have problems with mine.
 
Have they ever resolved the "do you lub the slide pin?" issue, if I recall the experts at Kodiak brake insisted the you don't , I have numerous problems with uneven brake pad wear. Believe me Kodiak brakes are not the end to be all of boat trailer brakes, still have problems with mine.
CV Marine recommended a marine grade never seize that I use in mine. Once a year and no wear issues.
 
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