Adding Electric Drums Brakes and New Hubs to Tandem Axle Trailer

Question

Question:

I am trying to research the feasibility of replacing 4 Dayton style doughnut hubs with lug style hubs and brakes on a HD trailer I just acquired. I have seen your videos on the subject, but I seem to have a little different backing plate on the axle that currently has the brake setup I want to put brakes on both axles. Difficult to explain, but the back plate on the axle looks to be welded to the axle housing and that plate does not look like the back plates in your video. I have photos to share for reference in getting the right advice. Can you folks help me out a bit?

asked by: Michael

0

Expert Reply:

To match new hub/drums to your existing spindle/axle you need to match up the bearing set used. You can pull one of your existing hubs to check its bearings. New hubs must use the same inner and outer bearings as your current hubs. I have linked our main page for hubs and you can click on the particular wheel bolt pattern you want. You also need to match the hubs to the axle's weight rating, which usually appears on a sticker on the axle itself.

If you cannot find hubs that use the same bearings you'll need to change out your axle and/or spindles.

Brakes assemblies will need to match the mounting pattern on your brake flanges. We offer electric and hydraulic drum style brakes that you can see on the other link provided. These are offered in various sizes, axle capacities and mounting hole patterns. 12 x 2 electric brakes such as # AKEBRK-7L-D and # AKEBRK-7R-D use a 5-hole pattern while 10-inch brake # AKEBRK-35R uses a 4-hole pattern.

The linked article on adding brakes to a trailer will help you consider your best options.

expert reply by: Adam R

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Answer 1

The two parts individually are the Electric Trailer Brake Assembly - Dacromet - 12" - 5,200 lbs to 7,000 lbs - Right Hand #AKEBRK-7R-D & Left Hand #AKEBRK-7L-D. They come as a pair with the Electric Trailer Brake Kit - Dacromet - 12" -…

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Answer 2

Thank you for your recent purchase from etrailer of brake magnets and hub/drum assemblies. New components will often result in a different sound than what we are accustomed to but there are a few things you can check. If you are referring to any…

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Answer 3

You could have drum brakes or disc brakes on your 2008 Forest River Wildcat trailer. Which if you have disc brakes it could be that you need to put the brake pad lube on the pads. I wish we carried this but we do not. Auto parts stores should have…

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Answer 4

Since Demco uses 3,500 drum brake assemblies part #DMSB24429M and #DMSB24428M what you'd need is similar 3,500 electric brake assemblies like the etrailer part #AKEBRK-35L-SA for the left hand side and #AKEBRK-35R-SA for the right hand side. To…

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Answer 5

The manual lockout on your Atwood 85778 surge brake coupler is there so that you can back up the trailer without the brakes locking up on you. Yes you can safely tow your trailer with the broken manual lockout, you just have to make sure you…

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Answer 6

If your current springs have 5 leaves then going to a 7 leaf spring will increase the height of the trailer a little and make the trailer more susceptible to sway. Regarding capacity if you go with springs rated higher than what is required it will…

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Answer 7

The installation instructions for this product are recommended for individuals who have experience winding torsion springs. If you have not worked with a torsion spring system before, we recommend contacting a local garage door company to install…

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Answer 8

The number you provided, "7753400" is a patent number which corelates to the Equalizer for E-Z Flex Suspension part #013-144-03. This is for a single equalizer but if you need the entire kit it's the Dexter E-Z Flex Suspension Kit part…

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Answer 9

For your enclosed trailer application I have several suggestions for adding interior lighting that you can control directly via a switch. Since your current 4-pole trailer wiring does NOT include a 12V auxiliary power feed that could power inside…

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Answer 10

The only way you could power interior dome lights on a trailer without it being connected to a tow vehicle would be to power the lights with a battery like a breakaway battery. How you choose to wire up the batteries will in the end be up to you, but…

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Answer 11

If your old axles have a 5 bolt brake flange the assemblies like Dexter Electric Trailer Brake Assembly - 12" - Left Hand - 6,000 lbs part #23-105 or Dexter Electric Trailer Brake Assembly - 12" - Right Hand - 6,000 lbs part #23-106 will…

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Answer 12

If your vehicle has a factory brake controller plug, you can simply use the Tekonsha Plug-In Wiring Adapter for Electric Brake Controllers – Ford, Item #3034-P, which will connect to the vehicle plug and the brake controller. On the new E-450…

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