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Old 05-25-2006, 12:41 AM   #1
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Trailer: 2004 Scamp 13 ft
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I know some of you have added electric brakes to your 13'ers... I'm looking at an egg that doesn't have 'em and I'll need them...

Was it terribly expensive? Hard to find a shop to do it correctly? Any info would be appreciated!
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Old 05-25-2006, 05:06 AM   #2
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Carol, if the egg you're looking at has square flanges with pre-drilled holes on the ends of the axle, brakes can be added. If it doesn't have the flanges, you'll have to install a new axle with brakes. Any Dexter dealer can order the brakes for you. I'd recommend that even if it has flanges, that when you price the brakes, you price out a new axle with brakes and installation anyway, especially if it's an older trailer.

The design life of a rubber torsion axle is fifteen to twenty years, although many folks report getting more out of them than that. A new brake-equipped axle can be less expensive than buying the brakes alone, and the labor may also be less to replace the axle than to have the brakes installed on an existing one.

Adding brakes to the axle isn't difficult and any competent mechanic should be able to do it for you. It will require more wiring to be run to the pigtail, and of course, a brake controller needs to be installed in your tow vehicle if you don't already have one.

Good luck!

Roger
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Old 05-25-2006, 06:35 AM   #3
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I am getting new axle with brakes done right now.
Cost was less for complete new axle with brakes.
$700.00 + Taxes Canada
Islander RV here in Grand Falls NL
About 4 hours labour.
Pat
Quote:
Carol, if the egg you're looking at has square flanges with pre-drilled holes on the ends of the axle, brakes can be added. If it doesn't have the flanges, you'll have to install a new axle with brakes. Any Dexter dealer can order the brakes for you. I'd recommend that even if it has flanges, that when you price the brakes, you price out a new axle with brakes and installation anyway, especially if it's an older trailer.

The design life of a rubber torsion axle is fifteen to twenty years, although many folks report getting more out of them than that. A new brake-equipped axle can be less expensive than buying the brakes alone, and the labor may also be less to replace the axle than to have the brakes installed on an existing one.

Adding brakes to the axle isn't difficult and any competent mechanic should be able to do it for you. It will require more wiring to be run to the pigtail, and of course, a brake controller needs to be installed in your tow vehicle if you don't already have one.

Good luck!

Roger
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Old 05-25-2006, 06:40 PM   #4
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Quote:
I am getting new axle with brakes done right now.
Cost was less for complete new axle with brakes.
$700.00 + Taxes Canada
Islander RV here in Grand Falls NL
About 4 hours labour.
Pat
thanks for the pricing on the axle... this little egg needs some things that I'd really like to have and it gives me a good comparison on prices of eggs with and without (and what it would cost to add them!)

now where did I leave that Am/Can calculator??
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Old 05-25-2006, 08:11 PM   #5
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Quote:
I am getting new axle with brakes done right now.
Cost was less for complete new axle with brakes.
$700.00 + Taxes Canada
Islander RV here in Grand Falls NL
About 4 hours labour.
Pat
I lived in Gander, do you know Dean and Stephanie Cull, John Boland?? Paddy
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Old 05-26-2006, 06:04 PM   #6
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Paddy,
I am in Gander also.
Boyd St.
Pat
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I lived in Gander, do you know Dean and Stephanie Cull, John Boland?? Paddy
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Old 05-26-2006, 06:07 PM   #7
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Paddy
Miss read your post. No I do not know them.
Pat
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Paddy,
I am in Gander also.
Boyd St.
Pat
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Old 05-26-2006, 06:13 PM   #8
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Carol,
$1.00 Can about $0.90 US
You should be able to check a trailer shop or a welding shop.
Newfoundland is out in the Alantic NE of boston so parts have to come from the main land.
You should be able to get it done cheaper on the Sunny West coast.
Pat
Quote:
thanks for the pricing on the axle... this little egg needs some things that I'd really like to have and it gives me a good comparison on prices of eggs with and without (and what it would cost to add them!)

now where did I leave that Am/Can calculator??
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Old 05-26-2006, 08:25 PM   #9
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Carol,

I put a 3500 lb Dexter #10 axle with 10" brakes under my Burro last year. The axle delivered to Midwest Wheel in Cedar Rapids IA was, if memory serves, about $295. It was another $200 to have the old axle cut off and the new brackets welded on, and the axle bolted to the trailer. I also bought new five lug wheels and tires, so there was expense there. I paid an auto electrician about $50 to do the wiring because I didn't have the time to do it myself.

A Dexter #9 will cost roughly 20% less give or take.

That ought to give you at least a place to start...

Roger
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Old 05-26-2006, 11:29 PM   #10
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thanks, Roger, that helps a lot... the egg I was looking at had some funky "one of a kind" mods that I wasn't comfortable with... along with lacking a few things I considered essential...

so, I'll keep looking but I'm expecting that many 13'ers don't have electric brakes and is something that must be added.
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Old 05-28-2006, 05:43 AM   #11
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Quote:
thanks, Roger, that helps a lot... the egg I was looking at had some funky "one of a kind" mods that I wasn't comfortable with... along with lacking a few things I considered essential...

so, I'll keep looking but I'm expecting that many 13'ers don't have electric brakes and is something that must be added.
And you're right, most 13' trailers won't have brakes. Actually, the 17' Burro I bought didn't have brakes! In Iowa, any trailer under 3,000 lbs isn't required to have brakes, believe it or not... and many older ones don't. While they're truly not a necessity, especially when the trailer is towed behind full-size tow vehicles, they are desireable. My opinion is that the smaller the tow vehicle in relation to the trailer, the more necessary trailer brakes are. I have an Aluma utility trailer that I haul my garden tractor on that doesn't have brakes. Anything larger than that and I'll install brakes now.

Happy hunting!

Roger
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Old 05-28-2006, 03:11 PM   #12
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Hi, wondering if anyone out here knows if there is room to weld the flange to mount the backing plate onto a torsion axle without a factory flange.......I don`t think that heat would be a problem if the weld beads were done in short runs and allowed to cool between the welding times....there is a lot of metal to act as a heat sink between the axle and the torsion part of the assembly.....there shouldn`t be too much heat getting to the rubber area.....may not be cost effective if a person had to buy the components anyway and pay a welder, but if the welding was free and if the components were on hand, it may be worth a try.... ...Benny
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Old 05-28-2006, 09:00 PM   #13
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Carol, we are in So Cal and ordered our new axle from http://www.redneck-trailer.com/ in Mira Loma. We got a #9 with brakes and EZ Lube. The cost of the axle was 360.00 picked up from their store and we were able to install it ourselves.
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Old 05-28-2006, 10:31 PM   #14
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Carol, we are in So Cal and ordered our new axle from http://www.redneck-trailer.com/ in Mira Loma. We got a #9 with brakes and EZ Lube. The cost of the axle was 360.00 picked up from their store and we were able to install it ourselves.
How did you remove the old axle?
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Old 05-28-2006, 11:42 PM   #15
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Benny, the room is there because the basic axles (idler and braked) are the same, just that the flange is present if constructed that way.

I would be extremely reluctant to try welding a flange on -- Besides the potential damage to the rubber, there may be an effect on the axle beam itself (dunno if the axle beam is heat-treated after the flange process or not) and the flange weld itself is likely a critical one because of the forces that will be applied to it during braking, esp on bumpy surface.

It would take a very skilled welder to get the proper penetration without using excess heat -- I would expect that Dexter and Al-Ko did a lot of experimentation to get it right and in this case the welder would only have one chance per end.
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Old 05-29-2006, 08:06 AM   #16
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Pete, I have a used, but serviceable, idler axle that was given to me and may be worth some experimentation just for the fun of it.....like I mentioned earlier, the heat would be the least of the problems.....something to play around with when there is nothing else happening around here,LOL....Benny
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Old 05-29-2006, 10:23 AM   #17
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Quote:
How did you remove the old axle?
Our old axle was only bolted on so there was only a small struggle with the rusted hardware and off it came. It would have been more complicated but still doable (for us) if it was welded on.
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Old 05-29-2006, 11:59 AM   #18
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They have all the toys.

Eric is a mechanic.
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Old 06-14-2006, 08:35 PM   #19
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Hi, wondering if anyone out here knows if there is room to weld the flange to mount the backing plate onto a torsion axle without a factory flange.......I don`t think that heat would be a problem if the weld beads were done in short runs and allowed to cool between the welding times....there is a lot of metal to act as a heat sink between the axle and the torsion part of the assembly.....there shouldn`t be too much heat getting to the rubber area.....may not be cost effective if a person had to buy the components anyway and pay a welder, but if the welding was free and if the components were on hand, it may be worth a try.... ...Benny

Has any Canadian out there seen a UNIK? We have a 1978 and haven't found anyone familiar with them. Terry w
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Old 06-14-2006, 11:03 PM   #20
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Trailer: 74 13 ft Boler and 79 17 ft Boler
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Haven`t seen one on the road, but there is a pic in the albums section....prior to about 4 years ago I didn`t pay any attention to the fiberglass trailers....just used to admire the biggies with sliders and diesel pushers but then down graded, or should I say upgraded, my thinking to "all that was really needed", my 13 foot Boler .......funny thing also is that I used to live a half block from where the Boler was born in Winnipeg, and knew one of the owners, Sandor Dussa, very well from before his venture of partnership with Ray Olecko and the birth of the Boler....and yet never really cared for the fiberglass eggs at all....oh, well, they say with age comes wisdom!..... followed by Alzheimers!....great!.....Benny
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