Caravan drum to disc brake conversion
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- Опубліковано 9 кві 2022
- Converting your caravan/ trailer from drum brakes to electric over hydraulic disc brakes is not a cheep project to undertake, which is why we do not see it as standard fitment here in Australia. By the time I finished the install it cost me close to $2600 AUD for the parts only which is over double the cost of electric drums
The components used are sourced from
Al-Ko Australia via my local trailer parts supplier. Breakdown of the parts are
Dexter left and right UFP DB 35 callipers with handbrake $250 each AUD
Dexter UFP35 mounting brackets x2 $40 each approx AUD
4x 7/16 x1 1/4” UNF to mount the callipers $9.00 AUD for two bolts with washers
2x AlKo 2 Tonne 12” 6 on 51/5 hub rotor $250each AUD
Whole kit from ALKO part number 200896ufpwp Which includes all of the above but the 7/16 bolts, it also comes with wheel bearings, split pins, hub lip seal, 3/8” unf bolts for calliper mounting bracket, hub dust cap and wheel bearing thrust washer. $1000.00 AUD for whole kit
Hydropro Electric over hydraulic brake actuator 1600 psi unit $1047 Australian
Approx $500 in Brake line Parts I sourced from pro flow this allowed me to make my brake lines to the required length but you can buy premade brake lines from Trailer Parts suppliers.
Looks like a pretty easy swap, but the cost! Something we definitely want to do in the future.
Thanks for having a look at my vid definitely not as good as what you do.
Yes this is a costly job to do, if I had done it when I first purchased the van I would of saved myself a lot of money in replacing drum brake parts, so so far I have spent as much on keeping the drum brakes working as what I have spent on the disc brake conversion. Some thing I did not mention in the vid is that there is 10” and 12” rotors and they require different Disk brake caliper mounting brackets and calipers
Great info, great flick. How does the Hydropro connect up in the scheme of things - oil, master cylinders etc.
The Hydra pro is a self-contained unit which has the pump and brake fluid reservoir, all in the one unit. All one needs to do is to hook up a single brake line out to your disc calipers, Connect, battery power, ground and the blue wire from your brake control unit and for fill the unit with brake fluid, bleed out air from the lines and you’re ready to go.
Great video with all the detail info to do a conversion.
I have 12" discs with the Deemaxx caliper. The Deemaxx uses different thickness pads for each side and on our van the thin side wears very quickly on the dirt roads. I am looking to change the caliper to a Dexter but cannot get any dimensions from Alko. Do you know the distance from the caliper mounting face to the disc centerline ?
Hi Brian I did look at the deemaxx caliper as they to have a hydraulic caliper with inbuilt handbrake but did thought it was a bit odd that it had two different thickness pads that’s why I went with the DB 35 caliper. It’s probably best if you email me on
dingleyphillip@gmail.com
That way We can share a phone number and talk over the phone if you’re based in Australia
thing that i read about a disc brake set up is it is not as jerky , and are more efficient than drums where as less brake fade , you can buy pretty cheap hydraulic set ups on ebay however that original mounting plate that goes around hub they dont seem to sell those in the kits ? might be worth my while to just stay with drums i have an old jayco 1979 im doing work on from a previous neglectfull owner
I have now done over 5000 km on my disc brake conversion and I can report that this is correct disc brakes are not as jerky and definitely brake more smoothly than the drums as for fade I cannot comment on that as my van isn’t that heavy and never had a problem with the drums fading. I didn’t install the disc brakes for better breaking though it was more for easier servicing of the brake system, As I do a lot of kilometres on dirt roads and electric drum do not last long in these types of conditions.
I bought everything in a kit part number is 200896UFPWP from ALKO Australia. One thing to remember is this part number only suits 16 inch or bigger wheels. The problem with ALKO Australia is that they don’t seem to know their products very well as they have bought out a lot of other companies and don’t know about their products, this is a Dexter set up. You need to find the right person to talk to, I was lucky at the time I went into the trailer parts store the ALKO rep for our local area was there and knew all about what I needed.
Pros for the disc brake
1/easier serviceability of the brakes
2/ a lot smoother breaking
3/ About 7KG is lighter an Axel
4/ Better braking in a emergency stop situation
5/handle dusty conditions better
Cons
1/ cost more
2/ need to mount the actuator somewhere
3/takes a lot longer to install as you need to mount brake lines, actuator and do extra wiring
4/ Braking really isn’t that much better under normal driving
5/ The disc brakes squeal like anything at slow speeds. I probably need to use some anti-this break squeal on the pads.
6/ they require the brake fluid to be changed yearly
Please tell me about the cheaper ones that you have found on eBay as I could not find any electric over hydraulic actuators in Australia under $1000.
Sorry it took me to goes to upload my comment
Phil do you still a brake controller after a change to disc brakes? great videos thanks
Yes you still need a brake controller I have a tow pro elite. But you can use any brake controller that has inertia sensing