brakes for water trailer

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I have a 900gal trailer made from old ford ton .5 truck. It has the old rear end with 10:00 x 20 tires. THE d.o.t said have to have brakes. Anyone know a way to do this? Looked up eletric over hyd actuator by Dexter, called them' they said they never havr tried them on a truck set up. Thought maby someone here might have ideas. THANKS KONK.
Reply:If you still have the stock brake assemblies inside the drums you should be able to just run a surge brake coupler (master cylinder in the hitch, as typically used on boat trailers) and just plumb it into the axle wheel cylinders.
Reply:Only problem is surge brakes suck backing up unless you lock them.When you lock the surge sustem just dont forget to unlock it.old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:I like the surge brake idea. My dad has a boat trailer that runs hydraulic brakes. It has a tank on the tongue. You could adapt a system like that. His use a disc brake setup, not drum brakes. The tank also has the piston built into it, all you have to do is wire it up to the truck. just one idea, I don't know how much they cost, might be to expensive.Esab 253 mig welderHobart 210 mvp w/ C25 gasmiller 225 a/c stick welderO/A torchHF 40 amp plasma cutter
Reply:Originally Posted by mad welder 4Only problem is surge brakes suck backing up unless you lock them.When you lock the surge sustem just dont forget to unlock it.
Reply:This might sound redneck... but my neighbor, a manager for Interstate Power Systems and I were talking because he has an old grain body and truck frame that he wanted to be able to pull, and have it be a little easier on the dually pulling it.What if you took a bar between frame rails, mounted a spindle and brake plate setup to it, and hooked up an electric brake drum from a regular trailer axle to that spindle? Then from there, make an adapter plate like a wheel, and another U joint, then something like a driveshaft to go to the actual U joint of the pumpkin of the old truck axle. In theory, when you are driving normally, that shaft would spin just like a normal trailer wheel, so that shouldn't affect or hurt the spindle. But when you want to apply the brakes, your drum (hooked to your brake controller in your pickup) would gently apply the brakes, and thereby slow the spinning shaft down which in turn slows the rear axle down also?Maybe a bad idea... but is it?
Reply:Sounds like a good idea except the brake drum would be spinning at "x" ground speed x the axle ratio, which might heat up the drum pretty fast. Other than that I think it would work pretty good. You'd want the hub brgs greased up good for the extra rpm and I'm not sure about balance of the drum at that speed.                           MikeLast edited by mla2ofus; 02-20-2014 at 04:40 PM.Ol' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Originally Posted by mla2ofusSounds like a good idea except the brake drum would be spinning at "x" ground speed x the axle ratio, which might heat up the drum pretty fast. Other than that I think it would work pretty good. You'd want the hub brgs greased up good for the extra rpm and I'm not sure about balance of the drum at that speed.                           Mike
Reply:Guys my trailer is a gooseneck, do they make a surge brake for those?
Reply:I don't see how you could do it without some major modifications to the gooseneck itself.We converted our boat trailer to Electric over Hydraulic.  The pump/reservoir is expensive (ours was around $900).  It was also very much worth it.  There is really no comparison to surge brakes or electric brakes.
Reply:You the electric brake motto."Better than nothing"old Miller spectrum 625 Lincoln SP-135 T, CO2+0.025 wireMiller model 250 and WP-18V torchCraftsman 100amp AC/DC and WP-17V torchCentury 115-004 HF arc stabilizerHome made 4 transformer spot welderHome made alternator welder
Reply:900 gallons of water @ 8.33 lbs. per gallon equals 7,497 lbs.  This plus the empty weight of the trailer and container and you’re pulling a LOT of weight.  A 10.00 X 20 tube type tire load range “E” can carry 5,510 lbs. each.  You be the judge.  Goosenecks are either electric or electric over hydraulic braking systems. Everlast PowerPro 256, Everlast W300 Cooler, Everlast Cart 250Millermatic 211, Spoolgun 100, Miller HD CartJackson W60 Truesight Digital Auto Darkening, Victor 315 Torch sitting on a Harper 830-86 cart
Reply:Here is the link to electric/hydraulic controllers  https://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Tra..._Actuator.aspxAs for trying to run a brake drum off the pinion, if you were going to attempt this (and I wouldnt recommend doing it)  I would suggest trying to fabricate a mount for the backing plate right on the nose of the housing and then the drum directly to the pinion yoke.  But, I would suggest this is not advisable for at least 2 reasons.  First, as has already been mentioned because of the rear end gearing you are going to be spinning the drum at the equivelent of 200+ mph at highway speeds vs what a normal brake drum on a wheel would see.  It would likely wear out shoes and magnets at an extemely rapid rate.  The other problem, and probably the biggest problem is you will only have a single brake doing the work that 2 should be doing.
Reply:When I was young most emergency brakes were a small drum right on the back of the transmission. It had a brake band wrapped around the outside and the control was just a handle on the floor right behind the stick shift.  the thing is when you gear something up from slow to fast it does not take as much surface area to stop it. Mac
Reply:Get proper trailer axles and wire up electric brakes and a brake controller. Less maintenance, new parts, DOT is happy, and the people on the road behind, beside, and in front of you are safe.
Reply:Originally Posted by Tool MakerWhen I was young most emergency brakes were a small drum right on the back of the transmission. It had a brake band wrapped around the outside and the control was just a handle on the floor right behind the stick shift.  the thing is when you gear something up from slow to fast it does not take as much surface area to stop it. Mac
Reply:Thanks for your input. I think i will try a e/h system,i like the trailer  i have now with the big tires itssafer in my book. I have pulled it for 10 years with no problem. Ihave two flatbeds but this setup pulls alot better. I use it to haul to my drilling rig. The smaller tires just don't hold up. Thanks to all Konk.
Reply:That's too much weight to jerry rig.  I have tried to make water trailers, they surge and the weight make them scary to handle.  If it's going on the road, get some trailer axles with springs, brakes etc.  They aren't as expensive as you might think for a 10,000-12,000 Lb axle setup.