I purchased a well abused trailer from California. Not a pretty sight, but since a new one is over $5000 it was worth trying to restore it. Heres some things to consider before taking on a major trailer brake rebuild: 1. The vehicle you tow with makes a HUGE difference. I tow with a Toyota Sequoia rated @ 7000lbs towing cap. It has large wheels and huge brakes. When I first towed the boat home after I bought it, it (trailer) had no brakes! I was uneasy, but it towed just fine. Thats not to say one should tow such heavy weight without brakes, but in a pinch and at slower speeds it can be done. 2. Having said above, the trailer comes with and is designed to function with one braking axle. With most 8 cyl. trucks this will be perfectly fine. With a smaller 6 cyl. it should still be OK, but dont overlook the rated cap. of your vehicle. Again, youre towing a fairly large boat, not racing Indy cars, slow and easy does it...Check out the towing tips elsewhere in the knowledgebase. 3. I installed 2nd axle brakes because I had to, not because I thought it was particularly necessary. The state of PA requires that if trailer has brakes on 1 axle it must have brakes on all axles. So off I went to install additional brakes! Thanks Harrisburg! 4. Regarding stainless vs. drums... This decision is largely personal preference and based mostly on your individual trailering habits. If you tend to travel long distances and do it often, then drums are likely to be better. If you are a short distance traveler and/or your trailer will sit for long periods without use (my situation) then stainless is the way to go. Drums are a bit more complicated to install as they have quite a few more moving parts. They also require periodic adjustment as the shoes and drum wear down. They will also rust quite a bit over time especially in salt water unless they are washed down regularly. They tend to run cooler. Stainless are relatively easy to install, the discs wont rust and they are self adjusting. They will heat up quickly though, especially if you install the non vented kind as I did (there are vented versions at extra cost and set-up procedure). Since there is very little adjustment you can do to them, they will tend to drag a bit, especially when new and create quite a bit of heat. My last tow was 600 mi. (Philly to Charlotte) and the rims of each wheel were quite hot (outside temp was 98F). I stopped frequently and checked on everything and made it to destination without a problem. All my other tows will be <100mi so it wont be an issue. 5. Actuator: Get a new one. They are cheap in the overall scheme of things and older trailers probably need changing anyway. This way you insure all new components and know that all will work perfectly together. Dont forget the back-up solenoid if not already equipped. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- All brake lines and fittings were rusted beyond salvage. Full replacement necessary.

Rust!!! Back view of brake drumBack of wheel drum -

Rusted! Old rusted brake line connection

Brake line connection This was the condition of the flexible hose used for the extendable tongue application on the H26 trailer.

Brake flex hose The trailer came from CA which has different legal requirements than PA. In PA, if a trailer has brakes, then all axles on trailer must have brakes. Only the forward axle had brakes when I got it, so I need to install a 2nd set on rear axle as well.

Axle view Closer view of rusted brake drum. All components rusted and non functional.

Brake drum Brake drum removed to backing plate. Rust damage clearly evident. Brake cylinder non functional. Axle spindle in excellent shape though. Im lucky previous owner kept grease in bearings even if he didnt take care of anything else.

Backing plate Backing plate removed. Brake flange showing and ready to accept new bake assembly. Spindle cleaned and inspected for wear. All OK!

Brake flange I decided to convert the trailer to disc brakes instead of the heavy, clunky drums. I did extensive research on the subject and decided that this was the best solution for my needs and trailering habits. These are lighter, more efficient, much less prone to rust as they are stainless and much easier to adjust (they require none) and replace. Overall, a great choice for this application. Each kit does one wheel.

Brake kit This is the content of the brake kit. Very simple and pre-assembled and greased. Hub and bearings are included.

Brake kit contents New backing plate from kit installed to trailer brake flange. Perfect fit.

Backing plate New brake assembly slips as one piece on to the spindle and into backing plate pins. Again, perfect fit!

Brake assembly New disc brake assembly installed.

Disc brake Both axles receive new brakes...

Disc assembly Rear view of kit assembly showing position of assembly on backing plate pins.

Disc calipers New bearing protectors (bearing buddies) in this case Fulton brand installed to keep grease in and water out!

Bearing protectors Completed wheel assembly with dust cap on bearing protectors installed.

Wheel Old actuator rusted beyond service. Master cylinder was full of mud-like rusty fluid.

Old actuator New actuator installed. This one is from Tie Down Engineering like the brake kits and built specifically for disc brakes. It is heavier duty than the old.

New actuator Different view of actuator. Notice emergency brake cable. This model also has grease fittings to allow for the regular greasing of internal contact points. I also replaced the safety chains with heavier galvanized ones.

New actuator - 2 When installing disc brakes a back-up solenoid is necessary since they will lock up automatically when pushed in reverse. This one is electric and tied to the back up lights in my truck hitch circuit. When the vehicle is in reverse the solenoid is activated and trips a valve which prevents the flow of brake fluid to the brakes leaving them free.

Solenoid I had a new custom brake hose made to replace the old rotted one. This is of a new uv resistant material which has a fabric feel rather than the traditional rubber hose.

Brake hose New stainless steel brake lines were installed to replace the old rusted ones. These come as pre-cut lenghts so the extra is just neatly coiled and strapped with wire ties.

Brake line The brake line kits also include the necessary flex hose where lines are fastened to moving parts ie. the wheel.

Flex hose Axles were just as rusted as everything else so I stripped them with a wire brush, primed and painted them.

Rusted axle Newly painted axle. Notice the brake line has been passed through a small plastic hose to protect it from metal to metal contact at fastening points.

Painted axle Here is a close up of the brake hose fastened to the axle through the plastic hose for protection.

Brake hose Old bunks were loose and rotted. Replacement was needed. Also, centerboard of H26 was hitting forward crossmember of trailer and causing damage to centerboard. After reading a number of post on the same problem others were having I decided to replace the stanchions with larger taller ones.

Old bunks Old bunk removed exposing old stanchions and brackets.

Old stanchions Picture here shows the height difference of the old vs new (bolted) stanchion. Top of new stanchion is approx. 2 1/2 higher than old one. With new bunk boards it should give plenty of clearance for centerboard. To make up for the added height I increased the size of the steel to 2 X 2 X 1/4. Probably more than needed, but I was only doing this once!!!

Stanchions View of new stanchions during installation.

New stanchions

Another view New stanchions - 2 View of newly primed and painted stanchions.

New painted stanchions Closer view.

New painted stanchions - 2 New 2X8X12 pressure treated boards installed.

New boards New bunk boards after new carpeting installed.

New carpet Centerboard now comfortably clears trailer crossmember. Blue streaks indicate where board was hitting.

Centerboard Another view of the clearance the centerboard now has. A keel roller on an adjustable bracket will be added here to snug the centerboard during travel.

Centerboard - 2 All rusted hardware was removed and replaced.

More rust New hardware installed all around.

New bolts A larger extendable tongue locking pin was installed. This one is much easier to remove and very heavy duty.

Tongue pin Another view.

Tongue pin - 2 New lights and reflectors were installed to replace old corroded ones.

Brake lights New light bar for rear.

Rear light bar New and 1 additional side markers installed.

Side marker New side marker light for front of trailer installed along with reflectors.

Side marker - Front All wiring and brake lines are fitted through plastic hose at all frame thru points for chaffing protection.

Wiring Another view.

Wiring - 2 All connections are siliconed in to plastic tubing for corrosion protection.

Wiring connections New wiring harness to tow vehicle with 7 pin plug. Separate 2 wire assembly for extended tongue mode (yellow/red velcro straps). When I extend the trailer tongue, I unplug the main harness (a good habit) and only plug in the back-up solenoid and a ground. This works great.

Harness New heavy duty winch with 2 1/2 wide strap.

Winch Another view

Winch - 2 New heavy duty 1500# tongue jack.

Tongue jack New VIN plate courtesy of Hunter Marine. When I purchased the trailer there was no identifying plate or sticker on it. There is a # etched in the frame rail, but a trailer should have a capacity plate. Hunter kindly looked up my boats original info. and made me a new plate.

VIN plate View of the completed project! It took me 3 weeks of working all weekends and many week nights as well as countless trips to hardware store for last minute parts and ideas. Most major trailer parts were supplied by an online trailer parts store. Total cost of re-build was approx. $1600.00. Much cheaper than a new trailer!

Completed trailer! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDENDUM H26 Trailer Brake Hose This is the new hose I installed which replaces the incorrect hose I was sold during my recent trailer rebuild project described above. After inquiring about the specs of my old hose I was informed they had sold me the wrong one. It was not compatible with brake fluid and would quickly breakdown. The old one was a heavy duty hydraulic hose which I now know is quite different in material than brake line. This is the correct hose for this application. It is the same product used for race car brake lines. It is refered to as 1/4 stainless braid due to the outer braiding material. The actual ID dimension is 3/16 and is made of Teflon. It is fully compatible with all brake fluid types and rated at 2000 psi. The hose is smaller, tougher and more flexible than the old. I use a 10 lenght for my trailer.

New stainless steel hose With the new correct hose I was able to get the right crimped fitting to screw directly into the back-up solenoid without having to use adapters.

Connection to Back-Up Solenoid The connection to the hard brake line is made through a pipe thread to inverted flare adapter. This is the most common connection as there are few crimp-on terminals that allow this connection without an adapter.

Brake line connection This is a view of the new hose in the original retainers welded at the factory. The smaller size and added flexibility of the hose makes it much easier to store in this fashion.

Hose in retainer Overall view