Disc brakes vs Drum brakes

[Tip]

My kit arrived yesterday and I started the conversion this evening. It took me about two hours to replace the hubs, calipers and re-connect the brake lines. I had a little trouble on the port side so I just cut the line and put on a new fitting. Tomorrow morning I'll install the solenoid and bleed the brakes and then I should be done...unless I discover a leak.

I'm a little concerned about how to install the solenoid. I have a swing tongue and there is only about an inch or two of exposed brake line near the tongue...I'm not sure I'll have enough space to fit the solenoid. I have the tool to manually lock out the brakes so worst case is I'll do the manual lock out until I can figure out how to install the solenoid.

[Tip]

Here are some photos of the conversion:

Here is the spindle after I removed the old drum:


Here is the new disc hub:


Here is the Caliper with the brake line attached:


Here is the hub with caliper:

[zany]

Great photos.

[Tip]

I got the brakes bled this morning, it only took about 20 minutes. Took it for a road test and everything seems to be working well, no leaks so far.

Note: While I was preparing to bleed the brakes I noticed that the starboard real bearing seal was not completly seated, so I had to pull the caliper and hub to reseat it. WARNING: to all those attempting this project, make sure you have everything correctly seated BEFORE attaching the caliper, it was incredibly difficult to remove the caliper due to the lock tight they put on those bolts. It took me an hour and a lot of muscle just to get those two bolts off.

So far, I have about 5 hours in this project and I have not installed the solenoid yet. Speaking of solenoid does anyone have any pictures how how this thing is installed? I've got the wiring information but I have no idea how to install it.

Thanks.

[spharis]

The best place for the solenoid is at the back of the master cyliner. It should just screw in, and then you can screw the brake line into it. All it is is a little ball valve that turns to close off the fluid from passing. You could also put it further down the line if you need to make room for the swing tongue, but you will have more fittings. The wire just plugs into the spare on the trailer receptacle. Tap your reverse lights on your rig, and wire it to the spare on the rig end.

[spharis]

I also mounted my calipers 90 counterclockwise from the way yours are mounted. I went off a drawing that tie-down had. Did you get instructions with anything?

[Tip]

I did not get any instructions, I initially tried putting the calipers across the top but there was no way the brake lines would align without some serious bending. Putting the calipers on the front side would have also required some significant bending of the brake lines. Basically, I put the calipers where they are because that's where the brake lines aligned the best. I'll call Jeff at Dorsey tomorrow to see if the way I have them mounted will cause problems. I would prefer to leave the calipers where they are (unless it affects performance) because having them mounted this way makes it easy to bleed the brakes without the need to remove the tire.
As for the solenoid, I think the swing tongue is going to force me to put the solenoid further back, I'm going to work on it today and see what I can do with it. Thanks for the help.

[spharis]

No your calipers are fine mounted like that. The only difference would be cooling; they'll get the jo done just as well that way. If anything, that probably is the better way, as I have to use a little short wrench to bleed. The install looks good BTW....

[Tip]

Thanks. I'm glad they are good the way they are because I was not looking forward to removing those bolts again!

I did not get the solenoid mounted today, I need to study the situation a a little more before I decide how to best do it.

I did take the boat out again though, the new brakes are working really well. Braking is smooth and predictable. I would definitely recommend this upgrade to anyone hauling a heavy boat with drum brakes. Performance aside, the fact that disc brakes are auto adjusting makes the whole upgrade worth it.

[spharis]

I just remembered on the actuator one more thing. There are two outlets, one goes straight back, and one goes out at 90. The one going out at 90 is a return feed. The ball valve or slide valve, I am not sure what type it is, will allow the fluid to return through that. You should have gotten a hose and some 3/8" elbow fittings to run it back to the resivoir. The only issue you may have is that the drum brake actuator I had did not have a return line on it. On my current actuator, it had a return input that had a plug in it. Pulling that out allowed me to run the hose back to the resivoir. All of this was on the drivers (port) side of the actuator. The rear outlet of course goes to your brakes. The front outlet goes to the master cylinder rear, or wherever you need. Since you have a swing away tongue, you may not even want to mess with the actuator, and buy a stopper that UFP makes for the drum brakes without the actuator. It simply plugs into the slide pin on the actuator when you need to backup to prevent the brakes from locking. UFP calls it a brake lockout. I dont know if it works with ours or not. You can call UFP @ 760.744.1610 and I am sure they can get one to you. The only undesireable about it though is that you have to remember to pull it or put it in whenever you back or pull foward. It may be your only option with the swing away tongue though. Hate that you bought an actuator. maybe someone on here needs a new one.

This is from UFP
*************************
BRAKE LOCKOUT BRACKET
A simple lockout is included on some models to stop the coupler from moving back when you back the trailer. The brake lockout bracket is used when you need to back over soft ground or up a hill. Use it as follows:

1. Put or place the brake lockout into slot behind roller pin on the side of the actuator.

2. Slide the brake lockout completely forward in slot. Washer will keep brake lockout from falling out while backing up.

When you pull the trailer forward and the actuator extends, the brake lockout should fall out of the slot. This makes sure the actuator will function when stopping. THE BRAKE LOCKOUT BRACKET MUST BE REMOVED BEFORE TOWING OR THE TRAILER BRAKES WILL NOT WORK.

[Tip]

I have a lockout bracket like the one in the picture and have been using it the last few days.

I did not get any fittings or hose with my lockout bracket. If I can't use it I'll see if Dorsey will let me return it.

[drgibson]

Hey guys, I did this project last year and bought all the parts from Dorsey and asked Jeff a million questions. The 2 biggest headaches I had were getting the axles nuts tightened properly. I was always afraid I was going to get them too tight or too loose and ruin the hub. I finally found some instructions somewhere that detailed that to where someone with very little axle experience could understand that and the hubs haven't burned up yet. The most frustrating part however was the actuator. I was ready to sell the boat and trailor before I got it straighted out. The first actuator that I was sent, had a cut in the rubber return tube so Jeff said send it back. Also the reverse lockout solenoid didn't screw into the actuator properly so I returned both parts. The second actuator wound up having a crack in it and leaked like crazy but only when under pressure. Of course, it was installed and uninstalled and reinstalled etc several times until the leak was finally located. I thought I had just overfilled it.
Two helpful points, bleeding was actually easier than I thought (and I didn't have to replace any brakelines, just bend them a lot) as the screwdriver access allows you to compress the shaft a much greater distance than pushing in on the hitch assemly would. Secondary, and very important although probably too late now, go buy one of those special wenches that are for removing the brake line nut from the brake cylinder. It looks like a closed end wrench with a small section cut out to allow the brake line to pass though. That mostly elimanates the rounding problem that you have with a standard end wrench. I bought a whole set of them although you only need the one size, for this project.
I never repainted my wheel hubs? Did you paint yours? BTW, I did this project in early spring before we got back on the water last year which was handly as the trailer was unusable for about 3 or 4 weeks as I shuffled parts back and forth. I was not in good mood about the massive amount of time it took but the end result is very nice. I have a dual axle trailer.

[drgibson]

One more thing, even though I have an electric reverse lockout like you describe, I still have and use a manual brake lockout bracket. If you ever have to back your trailer without you normal tow vehicle, you will need it. I store my boat in a warehouse with several other folks boats and custom cars etc. The boat is often parked with a tractor and it often simply can't be backed up even a slight incline without locking out the brakes. My brakes are rather tight and I like it that way.

[Tip]

One of the first things I did was buy a set of brake line wrenches, I would not recommend this project without them.

I have not painted my new hubs, I did not really think about it until I got everything put together. What kind of paint would you use?

Based on everything I'm hearing I'm thinking about bagging the electric solenoid.

[drgibson]

I don't know exactly how I would paint the hubs but since mine are now "rust brown" I am going to have to remove the rust first.
If you don't use the backup solenoid, aren't you then going to have the master cylinder port for the solenoid bypass wide open? I think the solenoid is one of the best things about the disc brake project. I don't understand why you wouldn't use it. My only point was it doesn't get you totally away from the manual lockout key, but mine simplifies my life. Maybe I have to backup more than others.