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2 or 4 wheel disc brake trailer


Fman

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My trailer I am getting comes with disc brakes on one axle, it is upgradeable to 4 wheel discs (both axles). The dealer said having discs on one axle is plenty for a 3,500 lb boat, is anyone here running single axle disc with a VLX? Or would it be necessary to upgrade to 4 wheel disc (both axles) for the VLX? If I was ordering a 247 or LSV I would probably definitly do it, but it sounds to me that one axle with discs for the VLX will be plenty of stopping power.

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I think one axle with discs is enough. You're saving yourself a lot of maintenance headaches with only one set of disc brakes.

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My trailer I am getting comes with disc brakes on one axle, it is upgradeable to 4 wheel discs (both axles). The dealer said having discs on one axle is plenty for a 3,500 lb boat, is anyone here running single axle disc with a VLX? Or would it be necessary to upgrade to 4 wheel disc (both axles) for the VLX? If I was ordering a 247 or LSV I would probably definitly do it, but it sounds to me that one axle with discs for the VLX will be plenty of stopping power.

My 04 had single, and no problems at all, My 2010 Came with 4 wheel disc, But if it was offered in single i would have taken it anyway, Like Pete said More maintenance, I'm sure there are benefits to 4 i just really never noticed much ,I will say most of my trips are on flat, Not to many hills where I go.. that could make a difference if you pull Allot on hills...
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I am going with one axle with discs is enough also. Only way I would change is if you are pulling with a undersized vehicle. But the extra brakes would still not make it safe if you are pulling with an undersized vehicle.

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If you are staying in the valley then one axle would be good but if you head up the hill or to Union valley reservoir like I do then two axle disk brakes are best. Less wear on the tow vehicle.

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Fman,

What are you pulling the boat with? Something beefy I hope.

Tow vehicle is a 2004 Toyota Sequoia, it has 4 wheel disc brakes and is pretty solid. I towed my Supra with it and had no problems, and the VLX is about 300 lbs lighter.

Edited by Fman
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Tow vehicle is a 2004 Toyota Sequoia, it has 4 wheel disc brakes and is pretty solid. I towed my Supra with it and had no problems, and the VLX is about 300 lbs lighter.

Did the supra Trailer have 1 set of disc brakes or two?
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If you are staying in the valley then one axle would be good but if you head up the hill or to Union valley reservoir like I do then two axle disk brakes are best. Less wear on the tow vehicle.

Never tow up to Union Valley or Rawlings.... most of the time it is in the valley. Shasta we do in July, but its not to bad of a tow on I-5.

Edited by Fman
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Did the supra Trailer have 1 set of disc brakes or two?

Supra had 4 wheel discs. Sequoia is rated at about 6,500 lbs for towing, I think I am right at 5,000 with boat and trailer dry with no fuel or gear.

Edited by Fman
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Never tow up to Union Valley or Rawlings.... most of the time it is in the valley. Shasta we do in July, but its not to bad of a tow on I-5.

You still would be fine with one set, How much more for the option, & what other accessory could you spend the extra cash for... What date are you going to Shasta, We will be there on July 14th Thur the 17th !!!
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Your VLX will probably be closer to 6000lbs loaded up... I would go with the 4 discs myself.. I think it is a pretty cheap way to go for better stopping power and you should not have to service them for quite some time...

Where we go boating, it is not legal to have only one axle brakes..

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Your VLX will probably be closer to 6000lbs loaded up... I would go with the 4 discs myself.. I think it is a pretty cheap way to go for better stopping power and you should not have to service them for quite some time...

Where we go boating, it is not legal to have only one axle brakes..

I have 4 discs on my VLX. I ordered it that way because I pull it behind a fifth wheel sometimes and I wanted the extra stopping power.

Terry

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You still would be fine with one set, How much more for the option, & what other accessory could you spend the extra cash for... What date are you going to Shasta, We will be there on July 14th Thur the 17th !!!

Trying to get a price on the brake upgrade, my dealer is at the Sac Boat Show this weekend, so they are very busy right now. I will be at Shasta from July 31-Aug 7, we are launching out of Silverthorne, will be on the Queen I houseboat.

Edited by Fman
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I think one axle with discs is enough. You're saving yourself a lot of maintenance headaches with only one set of disc brakes.

I agree with Pete - discs on one axle should be more than enough extra grab. I have a 23' Wakesetter XTI, similar weight as your VLX. The old trailer had drums on one axle, and the new trailer has discs on one axle. The stopping force is night and day between them - the discs are super-smooth and take a major load off the tow vehicle brakes. We tow with an '07 Suburban and are down at lakes in KY andTN - meaning some pretty serious hills. No issues with cooking either the brakes on the truck or the trailer so far.

Plus, i wonder how much "load" a second set of discs would really handle in the real world? I bet it doesn't give you twice the braking power. Like in a car, where you get forward weight transfer and the fronts do 75% of the work compared to the rears? I would guess you get similar weight transfer in a boat so the front axle would carry the load anyway.

One other thing, my Echelon had four wheel drums on the trailer - talk about overkill! I bled the brakes yearly and the extra maintenance and banging my head on the axles trying to get to all four wheels made me cuss the guy who originally orders brakes on all 4 wheels! :-)

-- Mike

Edited by EchelonMike
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up here, brakes are mandatory on all wheels.

Does CA have any rules like that?

Only requirement in CA is tandem axle trailers with brakes on one axle. The tandem axle trailer is required at 20' and longer boats.

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I've got 4 wheel disc brakes and wouldn't order another w/o them. I noticed the stopping power increase over the the singles axle reducing the distance to stop. After a few close calls w/ traffic suddenly halting makes me want to have the best setup to avoid the unthinkable....

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up here, brakes are mandatory on all wheels.

Does CA have any rules like that?

In Kalifornia...just give the politicians a suggestion and some time, and they will find a reason to require 6 brakes on a dual axle trailer.

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Go with 4.... Your vehicle isn't designed for towing big loads.... My VTX only has 2, wish I had 4.

Towing with a 1/2 ton truck, 4 would be great. I normally tow with my 1/2 ton throughout the summer, and the brakes on a 1/2 ton just aren't all that great, and not designed to be stopping heavy loads. Behind a 3/4, or 1 ton, something with really beefy hydro-boost brakes, the 2nd set of brakes wouldn't really be neccesary. I've got 3/4 ton Duramax company trucks that I use a bit in the spring before our crews start working, and the brakes on those are night and day difference from the 1/2 ton.

Now driving style can play a part in it, I of course leave lots of stopping room when I'm towing with my 1/2 ton, but you never know when you'll need to stop real fast. When that day comes when you needed to stop just a little bit faster than you could, you're going to wish you had all 4 brakes for that extra $200-$300 or whatever that option costs.

I guess a general rule of thumb I would go by is 2 brakes only for 3/4 ton or 1 ton HD trucks is ok, 4 brakes for anything less than that.

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Thanks for all the feedback from everyone, I upgraded to the 4 wheel disc. Cost was additional $350 which I thought was reasonable.

That's a whole lot cheaper then I thought, I would have guessed about a 800.00 to 1000.00 You know anything with the name Malibu or in your case a Malibu sits on cost a Little more...
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That's a whole lot cheaper then I thought, I would have guessed about a 800.00 to 1000.00 You know anything with the name Malibu or in your case a Malibu sits on cost a Little more...

When he said $350 it was a no-brainer, I am sure if Malibu would have been building the trailer it would have been $1k. Fortunately my dealer has been awesome to work with, they have given me all upgrades at cost. This is why I added the underwater LED's, heated drivers seat, heavy duty tower shocks, hotwater shower, G3 mirror, transom walk-over panel, and 3 vent heater.... It was almost the same cost if I ended up doing it myself.

So far Larson Marine has been great! :rockon:

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