Parts Needed Electric Drum Brakes To 1996 Car Hauler With Tandem Axles

Question:

I have an old 1996 single car hauler dual axle trailer with a wood floor, pretty sure its a 7000 pound capacity. Looking to add electric trailer brakes and new taillights with all new wiring, lights, drums, and other necessary components. I previously found or built a complete kit on your site but cant seem to find the same items I found before. Could you please send me a quote or parts numbers for necessary items. My 2007 Ford truck is already set up for trailer brakes since I pull a travel trailer as well. Thank you

asked by: Terry W

Expert Reply:

I would be happy to recommend everything you will need to add electric trailer brakes and new taillights to your 1996 Tandem axle car trailer, but you will need to verify a few aspects of your trailer first.

First things first you will want to make sure your axles currently have a brake mounting flange. This is located right behind the hub and will have 4 or 5 holes depending on the axle rating of your axles. If you do not have a brake mounting flange you will need to have one added by an axle shop as the flange will need to be welded up perfectly square to the axle. The flanges are based on the diameter of your axle, the # 4-35 is for 2-3/8" axles which are usually 3500lbs, and the # 4-44-1 is for 3" axles that are typically 5200-7000lbs.

Next you will need to confirm the axle rating of your tandem axles, as braking assemblies are rated by the axle rating. If you have 3500lbs for example you would need the 10" # AKEBRK-35-SA, where if you have 5200-7000lb axles you would need the 12" # AKEBRK-7-SA instead.

Moving on to the hub and drum assemblies you will need to confirm the bearing combination your spindles use. The easiest way to do this is by removing one of your hubs and looking for the bearing numbers stamped in the face of each bearing as you can see in the included picture of the # L44649.

For standard 3500lb axles you would need # AKHD-545-35-EZ-K which uses inner bearing L68149 and outer bearing L44649 and uses the 5 on 4-1/2" bolt pattern. For 5200-7000lb axles you would likely need the # AKHD-655-6-EZ-K which uses inner bearing 25580 and outer bearing 15123 and uses the 6 on 5-1/2" bolt pattern.

Next you will need to add a 7-way connector to the trailer using # H20046, and junction box # 38656. In addition you will need # 10-1-1 to run from the junction box to each braking assembly. You will also need a break away kit of which I recommend the Hopkins Engager Push-To-Test Trailer Breakaway Kit with Built-In Battery Charger - Top Load # 20400 which includes a built in battery charger, and a test button to monitor the charge on the battery.

Moving on to the lights it comes down to the width of your trailer, and how your current lights are mounted. A great option is the Peterson LED Tail Light Kit for Trailers Over 80" Wide - 25' Harness - Driver and Passenger # V944 which uses LED lights, has clearance lights built in, and includes the required wiring harness.

I included videos for the products mentioned for you to take a look at.