I just acquired an 88 1/2 Ton Suburban 4x4, a tandem axle trailer and plan on towing a Samurai on it. The problem is the trailer DOESN'T have trailer brakes. What concerns me is the smaller 1/2 ton brakes on the Burb. Since the Sammy is so light, I wouldnt worry about going to the desert, but mountain roads concern me.
So... Question is:
With the given setup, should I add trailer brakes, or will the rig handle the relatively light load?
If I do need to upgrade, how much should I expect to pay to add brakes, and do you have any recommendations on who I could get the best deal from? ( I live in SoCal... )
I've always had to drive my rig to & from the trail.. this is my first venture with convenience... :D

On the trailer I just bought trailer brakes were an additional $159 per axle. What kind of axles do you have? I would DEFINTELY put brakes on it!! In some states it is required. I know that in Nebraska they are required on one axle and on every axle in Iowa.

I looked this up at work today... It was slow.


Hub and drum assemblies...
12"x2" shoes with a 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern (ready to bolt on: bearings, seals, lugnuts, lugs) are $80

10"x2 1/4" shoes with a 5 on 5.5 bolt pattern (ready to bolt on) are $54


Loaded backing plates (new shoes, hardware, magnet, backing plate) seem to run about the same no matter what you get... they only vary by $15, and average about $50-55.

If you need to weld on brackets to bolt the backing plates to, they run from $3 to $8.


The average car hauler I see has a 10" drum with shoes that vary from 2-2 1/2". If that is what you decide to go with, a complete set-up would run you around $115-125 per wheel.

In Kalifornia you must have brakes on any trailer that weighs over 3,500 lbs GVW. So unless that sammi and trailer is super light you'll need brakes on at least 1 axle.

You can probably buy a complete axle with brakes within a couple of $$ of buying the parts to do it and you wouldnt have to do any welding.

We just got a 3500# Torflex axle at work for a 7' wide trailer. Loaded up with all brand new stuff, ready to bolt in, $200

I just built a trailer for my Sami. You definitely want brakes on one axle. Flat towing is one thing, but a high center-of-gravity trailer behind you with no brakes and :eek: if you lock 'em up.

I added brakes for $150 per axle. Got them from Northern Tool and Equipment. Shipping was an extra $60 or so though. If your axles aren't set up with backing plate brackets, you can fab up a set if you are good and weld them to your existing axles, but you better get them centered perfectly, which isn't easy. You may want to buy an entire new axle with brakes already on it.