Surge Brakes

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Teri C.

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I am going to add surge brakes to my trailer. Is this something I can do myself or should I take it to the dealer? Do I have to order from Nitro or can I order from anywhere? I know there will be a mechanism installed on the front of the trailer. Is that it or is there something else installed? Thanks!



P.S. Is the picture feature working yet?
 
Pics work.



I would take it either to a Tracker dealer or a GOOD trailer shop.



Adding brakes isnt that hard, but it is for the mechanically inclined. If you think you are inclined enough, go for it. I will be taking my trailer in for some work on the brakes soon. If that means anything to you...lol



Mini
 
I will do my work, but have the tools and the knowledge for the most part though..plus it is MUCH warmer here in the garage then trying to do it outside liek Mini would have to do.....
 
I would think cutting the tounge off would be the hardest part. Installing the calipers, rotors, brackets, lines and master cylnder to be pretty straight forward.



Good Luck

Bruce
 
I would think it would be a pretty tough job.That tongue slides inside of a slot on mine and there are some electrical connections involved.I had mine go dry on fluid one time and it was a real pain in the a$$ just to get it bleed.I think I would check with a good mechanic.
 
Just out of idle curiousity, why would one have to cut off the tongue?
 
It's actually not a tough job at all, granted you have a few things:



1) a bit of mechanical / electrical skill

2) a "brake ready" axle (look at the axle end with the wheel taken off - if it has a square flange on the end with 4 bolt holes - it's "brake ready" - most are).

3) a "brake ready" trailer tounge (if your current coupler is bolted on, not welded)

4) tools - wrenches, ratchets, drill + bits, screwdrivers, rubber mallet



The tounge can be relatively easy, granted that yours is not welded on. Remove the large bolts holding it on and with a rubber mallet, pop it upwards from the bottom. It will pop right off. The new coupler/actuator is a "all in one" unit that bolts on, using (hopefully) the same bolt holes as the previous one. That was the hardest part on mine - the old, non-actuator coupler that I removed did not have perfect factory bolt holes to allow the new actuator coupler to use the same holes - therefore, drilling had to be done.... and WHOA BOY... that steel is STRONG. I ruined a good carbide drill bit doing mine. Hopefully, you won't have that problem.



Next, connect the backing solenoid to the rear of the actuator coupler. Then connect your main brake line to the back of the solenoid and run along the trailers channel to the rear axle and connect to the distribution valve. Attach the distribution valve to the trailer channel so that it is solidly mounted.



Then, take your tires off on the axle you are mounting the brakes on. Remove the old hubs. With the old hubs completely removed, you have plenty of room to mount the caliper brakets. Attach them each with the 4 bolts. After the brakets are on, put the new hubs / rotors in place. Then mount the calipers, sliding the brake pads on each side of the rotor. (Note - on some kits, the caliper mounting plate / calipers have to be mounted after the hubs are on - depends on which kit you get).



Then route the brake lines from the calipers to the axle and secure temporarily with wire ties. Mount the hard lines to them and to the T-coupling, and then mount the flex line to the remaining opening in the T-coupling. Mount the other end of the flex line to the distribution valve you previously mounted (attached to the main line you previously ran).



Now that all the "plumbing" is done - you need to connect another wire - the backing solenoid actuation wire. On most of them, the wire is blue. You can either cut off your old 4 wire flat connector and connect a five wire flat in it's place, connecting the new blue wire to the new "extra" wire you will see on the five wire connector, and then putting a five wire connector on your vehicle, connecting that new "extra" wire to your back up lights (when your back-up lights come on, it locks-out your solenoid when you put your truck in reverse so your brakes don't lock as you are backing up). Or... if you already have a 5 pin, or 7 pin on your truck side, you can just put the new 5 wire on the boat trailer and use an adapter. Really easy to do actually.



Then, pop the actuator cap and fill it with brake fluid. If you don't have someone with you, use a "one-man brake bleeder" kit, available at auto zone. Bleed the caliper that is furthest from the actuator first - usually the one on the port side of the boat. Watch the fluid level as you are bleeding to ensure you don't get air in the system. The easiest thing I've found to do is get a 2x4 and put it in front of the actuator with one end of the 2x4 on the ground. Put your foot behind the part on the ground to keep it from moving as you push the actuator in with the top part, using the 2x4 as a lever. You will have to pull the actuator out manually, and then do it again... and again... and again - several times, until the brakes are bled - each caliper at a time.



There are several kits available. I have installed both the Tie-Down kits and the Kodiak kits. I prefered the Kodiak<
 
Holy Crap! Is TritonGlenn A wealth of knowledge or what!! What a great resource for us on this board. Thanks Glen.



Tim
 
Thanks Tim. I appreciate the kind comments.

All the best,

Glenn
 
I am sold glenn. One free trip to heaven of smallmouth fishing (St Clair)...just fly in and I will buy you IBC all weekend! but we only fish AFTER the trailer is done :)
 
Mini...

I need an address and list of your free weekends. :)

All the best,

Glenn
 
Its easier to list the free ones these days....



But if your serious, I am! Last half of March and the first half of April are pretty open.



 
Mini,

I'd need to check vacation date availablity on my schedule and I need some info so that I can check flight availability and cost. I will be in San Antonio TX March 23-27, Charlotte NC from April 24th-27th, San Antonio TX again May 4-8, and Hartford CT May 29-31st.



What is the nearest airport that I could fly into at your location? Do you have tools, or do I need to bring mine?



All the best,

Glenn
 
Glenn,.....that would be TOO COOL if you flew up here.......Mini lives @ 45mins from DTW (Metro) and I have a TON of tools you can use if he doesn't have what you need.......but I'm sure he does. I live 20mins from him too, and I'd love to meet you....I'll drive over and hang out for the day!!;) Then we can all go to Hooters for some WAANNGS!!!:rolleyes::p:cool:
 
I should have all the tools needed. If not Home Depot is about a mile away.



Detroit Metro Airport (DTW) is as Mac said about 45 mins away depending on traffic. I could have Mac pick you up and then you can head over to myplace. DTW is a major Northwest Airlines hub.



I will need to get all the parts ordered prior to your arrival, I thinkthere is a West Marine near the lake (about 15 minutes from the house) that carried the Tie Down brand of brakes and components.



Hooters is within a mile from the house :) We migth even be able to get in a baseball game (if your a fan) at Comerica Park....GO TIGERS! lol



Anyway, let me look into dates and compile a list of needed parts. I will be doing all 4 hubs too. Going to go with the oil bath hubs, so I guess I need to stay with drum brakes (so I hear).







 
Mini,

Oil bath hubs are available with disk brakes. That is what I have on my current trailer. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen oil bath hubs on drum brakes, particularly on a boat trailer. If you can't find oil bath hubs with rotors, you can always buy the regular brake rotor kits, and then add a oil bath conversion kit to it, like this one (Kodiak brand - not sure if it will fit the Tie Down brand):



http://www.trailerpartsdepot.com/searchresult.asp



I haven't done an oil bath hub conversion yet, but I'm sure I can do it. If I can do brakes, I can do an "add on" as well.



I'll check on flight availability.



All the best,

Glenn
 
I could probably come in on 4 April, getting to the airport in Detroit at 11:10 am on Northwest 1451. We could run over to your house, do your brakes immediately and relax (WAANNGS!!! as Mac said :lol: ) that afternoon. Then go fishing on Saturday or finish the brakes in the morning if we need more time and fish in the afternoon, fish Sunday if you have time, and I could fly back out on Sunday the 6th at 9:17pm on Northwest 1446. That's a fairly cheap non-stop flight for me too, so I could probably afford it, and I'd only have to ask for that Friday off from work. Let me know if those dates are good for you. If not, I could also check for the 18-20 April timeframe.



All the best,

Glenn
 
I can't take any time off work to come and get you, unless you flew in later Friday afternoon...after 430pm (I'm taking enough Fridays off already to travel for BPS) BUT,..Mini gets every other Friday off as it is, so "maybe" that would be one of the days he has off.....no worries though.....if you can get up here...we'll make sure you get to and from the Airport!:cool:
 
I will have to check on those dates, but right now they are working for me. The early april deal will be bad, no smallie fishing (the Catch and Release season doesnt open on Clair until the third Saturday in April) but it does on the inland lakes and there are a few thousand within a few miles of Mac's place. BUT the walleye fishing in the Detroit River is ON like donkey kong then....



As Mac said, we will geet you at teh airport. Let me look further into the dates and I will get back to you.
 
I post a question, get really busy & don't make it back to the site until today to find out Mac/Mini have hijacked my post & are getting brakes. Bassturds! :p



Sounds too complicated for me. Guess I will be paying a fortune at the boat dealer.
 
Or come up the SAME WEEKEND, we will leave one boat home on saturday with glenn and fish out of the other one, then swap boats on Sunday. Mac will help glenn, you and I go fishing :)



WIN WIN WIN lol
 
WRONG!!! I'll go hang out w/Teri while Mini helps Glenn put brakes on MINI's Trailer!! Now THAT's a WIN WIN WIN!!:wub:
 

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