Trailer brakes

[dipnet]

I'm planning to change my drum brakes on a 22' Venture trailer to Tie Down disk brakes. Anybody have experience with this? Thanks

[Kayak fisherman]

I have Tie Down disk brakes on my trailer. I've changed a few of them because the salt seems to eat them up. The ones I've changed were on the same tire for some reason. The other three tires' brakes work fine and have lasted three years of saltwater launches. You'll know when they start to go bad....you'll get a "hot wheel". Not hard to change the calipers/pads. I don't know anything about switching from drum to disk breaks though.

[RickyF]

I had the Tie Down system and changed to Kodiak. Do some research, but I believe that Kodiak has a better system. The change is not hard if you have the proper tools.

[BUDC]

Changed from drums to Stainless caliper Kodiak with iron discs.
Save the tire and wheel. Take everything off the trailer down to the mounting plate on the axle. Follow the assembly directions from Kodiak. They are spot-on.
One thing I learned, if you dunk the rotor, you're gonna need rotors at least every 2 years. I put mine on the front axle and caliper up at 12 oclock to keep them drier. The rusty brake-line problem went away with a plastic hose-line kit.
budc

[dipnet]

Thanks for the replies. Some good tips. And I did do more research like RickyF suggested and haven't heard great things about Tie Down. All reports on Kodiak are positive so I' m going with them. The Cadmium coated 10" disks.

[Seahunter]

One thing I learned, if you dunk the rotor, you're gonna need rotors at least every 2 years. I put mine on the front axle and caliper up at 12 oclock to keep them drier.
What is your criteria for changing a rotor? I'm going on year 4 with ceramic pads and my rotors are none the less for wear.

[BUDC]

One rotor simply rusted to death -- Large flakes/chunks of rust plying off the brakeing surface. The other suffered a pad scratching after the brakeing material fell of and the metal plate damaged the surface beyond turning.
I believe sinking them in salt water while they were hot was the main cause -- hence moving them to the front axle and positioning the caliper up high.
Do you have the stainless or iron rotor??
budc

[BUDC]

double posting

This is really slow responding today.
budc

[Seahunter]

One rotor simply rusted to death -- Large flakes/chunks of rust plying off the brakeing surface. The other suffered a pad scratching after the brakeing material fell of and the metal plate damaged the surface beyond turning.
I believe sinking them in salt water while they were hot was the main cause -- hence moving them to the front axle and positioning the caliper up high.
Do you have the stainless or iron rotor??
budc SCAD rotors

BTW: That was not rust flaking off. That was the graphite in the microstructure of the cast iron migrating to the surface to reform cast irons natural barrier to corrosion. You cleaned the cast iron's natural protection off the disc with the brake pads while you where driving. Dunking them into water only accelerated the reformation of the coating. Overtime this cycles causes the coating to build up and flake as you noticed. It had nothing to do with heat.

[BUDC]

Seahunter,
Thanks for your response, but you've got me now. I don't have the tech knowledge to discuss that with you.
I believe you are referring to surface/scale rust, which would be normal in the operation of the brakes, particularly if they sit for periods of time between uses. The rust flakes I am referring to were around the thickness and diameter of a quarter -- perhaps 'rust chips' would have been a better discriptive. The damage to the rotor was on both surfaces (inside and out), primarily at the outer edges and inward perhaps an inch. The depth of the pitting would have exceeded the limit for resurfacing on one surface of the rotor alone. Actually, the rotor with the bare backing plate rubbing was in better condition than this one. Just not what you would expect under normal conditions at all and I can think of no readily available influence other than hot iron quenched with salt water.
Does that make any sense at all?
budc

[Roger T]

I just did this on my Venture tandem ax,I opted to get the backing plate kit,brake pads,and all assembly parts just bolt on and bleed .

[Capt. Skid]

I switched to disc with ss rotors and cadiumn plated calipers.
I don`t wet my brakes in the briney, didn`t do it when I
had drum brakes either. Mine are Tie Down and have done well
for me. Key to all brakes is keep the salt off!!
Capt.Skid

[dipnet]

I switched to disc with ss rotors and cadiumn plated calipers.
I don`t wet my brakes in the briney, didn`t do it when I
had drum brakes either. Mine are Tie Down and have done well
for me. Key to all brakes is keep the salt off!!
Capt.Skid

I must admit, I can't figure out how to get my boat in and out of the water without getting my brakes wet. Is it the trailer axle configuration? Please educate me.

[gary49]

The only way I know of not getting the brakes wet is to have a roller trailer, and even then with a big enough boat and a shallow ramp, it may not be possible. If the ramp is steep enough, you can put the trailer in up to where the brakes are just out of the water and then winch the boat up--on my 24' twin outboard I absolutely have to have a power winch--it has the double block as well--takes quite a while to get the boat to the winch stand, won't make you popular at a busy ramp. I would just dunk the brakes if I were at a busy ramp--my boat is mostly in the water, and I generally take it out in January, and the ramp isn't busy at all then.

[BUDC]

I must admit, I can't figure out how to get my boat in and out of the water without getting my brakes wet. Is it the trailer axle configuration? Please educate me.

I have single axle brakes on a tandem trailer. Mount the brakes on the front axle and mount them high or forward. I back in until the rear axle hub is near the water level, that leaves the front axle brakes above and out of the water.
Flatter ramps don't always leave that option, so dunk'em and wash'em good afterward.
budc