$1,000 for disc brakes? Would you?

Cincy Aquaholic

Cincy Aquaholic

Active Member
Mar 15, 2009
1,329
Cincinnati
Boat Info
290 SS - 2016 Ford F250 Powerstroke
Engines
Twin 5.7 with Bravo 1's
Looking to get a trailer and have pretty much decided on a steel loadmaster made up in Port Clinton. Triaxle with electric drum brakes on all axles is standard. $1,000 to upgrade to electric over hydraulic disc. What do you think? I'm fresh water only (hence the steel trailer) and will likely haul it 4-6 times per year. The thought of maintenance on 6 sets of drums gives me the shakes but don't know if $1,000 is worth the upgrade.
 
I would get them. I have the E/H disc brakes and love them. The whole unit stops on a dime. There was just a thread about surge vs E/H and electric. Just a matter of preference.
 
My brother had drum brakes on his trailer and had no end of trouble (including one catching fire and scolding the side of his boat) I have found they tend to chatter and grab when semi wet/dry and not work at all when they are wet!
 
I would stay with the electrics. I'll be pulling hydraulics off one axle on my trl in spring and installing electrics to both. That’s just my .02
 
All electric here. The electric over hydraulic had a lag that was disconcerting. I prefer the electric version vs. surge or electric over hydraulic. We don't dunk it saltwater and we trailer the 300 DA every weekend.
 
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the set up so some education will be appreciated. I assumed the system was the same except for the end application, drum versus disc, in an electric set up. Definitely not going with a pure surge brake set up in any form. But is electric versus electric over hydraulic different? I thought the electric part was just taking the
"surge" part out of the equation.
 
I put on straight electrics the season before last and they performed flawlessly after weekly dunking, a trip to Norris, etc. Worked great last year also. Electric over hydraulic are similar but utilize an electric pump to push hydraulic fluid from master cylinder to wheel cylinders. Straight electrics have no hydraulic fluid, master cylinder, or brake lines....just wires running to magnets to activate brake pads. Here is a pic from my install. I did four wheels for under $300!

brakes3qm5.jpg
 
Ah! Thanks! That makes sense. Based on the look and sound of it I think I will be more than satisfied with the all electric set up. I wanted to stay away from cylinders etc on a drum set. This electric set up looks fairly simple and Loadmaster highly recommends it and not spending the extra cash for the disc. Trailer price is looking at around $6k for something like this.:

a4cb86e6.jpg
 
That's a beefy looking trailer!
 
I know! Looks good, huh. Now, if only I had a beefy truck to pull it. Heck, I don't have any tow vehicle anymore. Sold my Expy and bought an Audi A6. Got a buddy who will lend me his Denali to haul the trailer back then but need to find something to tow with or someone to hire for a 4-6 trips a year.
 
I can help you around Brookville if needed.
 
Very nice looking trailer. I am trying to remember how much ours was. It is a Trailmaster, Vanguard trailer and I think it was around 6k or 7k. The dealer bought it and threw it in. We specked it out the way we wanted it though. Chrome rims, LED lights, E/H 6 wheel disc and painted to match our truck. Any options on yours? Is it made for the Dancer or is it a generic trailer. We have a couple friends that we boat with and they have more generic trailers. Both of them have issues with them getting in the right position on the trailer. Granted one is a 32 Monterey and the other is a 3375 Cruisers. Good luck on your purchase, again it looks great.
 
beerman said:
Very nice looking trailer. I am trying to remember how much ours was. It is a Trailmaster, Vanguard trailer and I think it was around 6k or 7k. The dealer bought it and threw it in. We specked it out the way we wanted it though. Chrome rims, LED lights, E/H 6 wheel disc and painted to match our truck. Any options on yours? Is it made for the Dancer or is it a generic trailer. We have a couple friends that we boat with and they have more generic trailers. Both of them have issues with them getting in the right position on the trailer. Granted one is a 32 Monterey and the other is a 3375 Cruisers. Good luck on your purchase, again it looks great.
Click to expand...

No real fancy options at that price. Spare and mount will be a little extra. Loadmaster actually builds these on site.I think LEDs are stock. It will be custom built and set up for my boat albeit will be adjustable. They have done some other 290's so they have specs already. I've been told the loading on this trailer will be a breeze compared to some of aluminum ones I looked at.
 
I don't have sling cuts. They just hoist the bottom with a jack and move the straps under the boat and then lift it up. Not a problem at all at Anacortes where we launch every July for our two week trip.
 
Cincy Aquaholic said:
Looking to get a trailer and have pretty much decided on a steel loadmaster made up in Port Clinton. Triaxle with electric drum brakes on all axles is standard. $1,000 to upgrade to electric over hydraulic disc. What do you think? I'm fresh water only (hence the steel trailer) and will likely haul it 4-6 times per year. The thought of maintenance on 6 sets of drums gives me the shakes but don't know if $1,000 is worth the upgrade.
Click to expand...

Heck, I'm in the middle of replacing the original stainless steel disk brakes on my triple axle and the calipers are $600 by themselves... I'll be adding stainless flex hose from the brake lines to the calipers (if I can find them or I will just dip the soft steel in tool dip).

So, I think bottom line, $1000 is a good price. I know it would run at least $1200 for someone else to do what I am doing right now...
 
That trailer does look good. No winch post? The E/H's work great on my trailer, though being an early model they didn't work with a digital brake controller. I plan to refirb my trailer this summer but having salt water exposure for the inevitable road nicks, I'm thinking about having the trailer Rhinolined unstead of powdercoat. Call me crazy, but it makes sense to me.
 
Just Right said:
That trailer does look good. No winch post? The E/H's work great on my trailer, though being an early model they didn't work with a digital brake controller. I plan to refirb my trailer this summer but having salt water exposure for the inevitable road nicks, I'm thinking about having the trailer Rhinolined unstead of powdercoat. Call me crazy, but it makes sense to me.
Click to expand...

I understand where you are coming from - you may want to try POR 15 instead of Rhino lining or other materials similar to it. Works well on frames and other parts to control the rust.
 
Thousand bucks sounds like a good deal to me. The controller on the tounge is over five hundred bucks. My vote is go disc...Well worth the money.
 
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