Recommended Brake Assemblies and Hubs for 3500 lb Axle

Question:

A few questions for you guys... I have a tandem axle trailer and I am replacing one set one axle of 10inch x 2 1/4inch drum brakes 3500lb axles, EZ lube bearings, 5x5.5 bolt pattern on my trailer. My current brake drums measure 3 1/2inch deep on the outside from wheel mounting surface to back edge of drum and are 10 1/2inch wide edge to edge. I want to purchase your replacement trailer brake assemblies either AKEBRK-35 or AKEBRK-35-SA. Which drum should I be purchasing to go with these kits?... -AKHD-555-35-EZ-K or -84557UC3-EZ Also, the other axle I will be doing next year...those brakes are currently adjusted and working just fine. However the whole trailer and brakes are 20 years old and I am replacing these parts for piece of mind but spacing it out over time for $$ savings. Will the manual adjust brakes on the other axle work fine with the self adjust brake kit I potentially buy from you? Or should I buy another set of manual adjust brakes to match what I already have? I guess my thought would be to replace the other set next year with self adjusting, just was not sure if I would have problems with this over the course of the year of use... thoughts? Thanks

asked by: Myles H

Expert Reply:

The Trailer Hub and Drum Assembly - 5 on 5-1/2 inch bolt pattern # AKHD-555-35-EZ-K is my recommendation over the Dexter # 84557UC3-EZ. They are basically the same assembly made by different manufacturers and the Dexter assembly simply has the price difference you noted for their name.

The products will both work well with a brake assembly like the Electric Trailer Brake Kit - 10" - Left and Right Hand Assemblies - 3,500 lbs # AKEBRK-35 or the self-adjusting # AKEBRK-35-SA. My recommendation is to use the self-adjusting assemblies # AKEBRK-35-SA because they will work just fine with your other axle that does not have the self adjusting assemblies, and they will mitigate that maintenance on the updated axle.

expert reply by: Jason S