Can One Set of Hydraulic Drum Brakes Provide Enough Stopping Power for a Tandem Axle Boat Trailer

Question:

I have a dual axle boat trailer with hydraulic drum brakes on all 4 wheels. none of them are working. can i get away with replacing just 2? plug off the lines on the other backing plates and run with a 2 brake system instead of a 4? is this do able/ will it work? thanks

asked by: Jim

Expert Reply:

If your boat trailer came equipped with hydraulic drum brakes on both axles, it is best to keep both sets in working order, but if this is the route you prefer you'll want to put the new brakes on the rear axle where most of the boat's weight will be concentrated.

I linked our main page for hydraulic drum brakes. You can use the filters on the page to select your overall axle capacity (both of your current axles' capacities added together) to see if we have brakes of the appropriate rating, the correct size to fit your hub/drums and the correct mounting bolt pattern to fit your brake flanges.

For example, if your axles are each 3500-lb rated (7K total), and your hubs measure 10 x 2-1/4-inches and you need a 4-bolt mounting pattern you could use Demco # 40715 and # 40716.

expert reply by: Adam R