Parts Needed to Add Electric Drum Brakes to a Trailer without Brakes

Question:

My trailer currently does not have brakes but I am considering installing them. In order to engage them/get them to work what parts do I need from soup to nuts?

asked by: Matthew

Expert Reply:

For soup its tough to beat Campbell's Chunky soups and for nuts nothing but pistachios. Regular ones though not the red ones. After eating the soup and nuts you will have the energy to install electric brakes on the trailer. There are several parts needed to add the brakes and get them to work.

The first thing you should look at is the trailer axle. Specifically you are looking to see if there are brake mounting flanges welded to the spindles. If there are they will look similar to # TRU74FR or # TRU37FR. These are spindles with brake mounting flanges on them.

If your axle does not have brake mounting flanges some will have to be welded on by a professional welder with experience welding on flanges because they have to be perfectly straight and concentric or it will lead to tire wear and suspension problems later. The other option is to replace the axle with one that already has brake mounting flanges on it.

You will also need the actual brakes and hub and drum assemblies. To determine the correct brakes and hub/drums I will need to know the inner and outer bearing numbers stamped into the sides of the bearings on your current hubs. I will also need to know the bolt pattern of the wheels.

The trailer and tow vehicle will need to be fitted with 7-Way trailer connectors (if they don't have them already). I would need to know the year, make, and model of the vehicle and whether or not it has a trailer connector now and, if so, what kind it is.

The vehicle will also need a brake controller such as # 90885.

There are several things to consider so we have also developed a handy help article that covers the parts needed to add electric brakes to a trailer which I have linked for you.