2011 Cameo 37CKSLS Disc Brake Conversion

We bought our 2011 Cameo in spring 2012. It came with the standard OEM 7K Dexter axles, EZ-Lube bearings, and the infamous “May-pop” Duro tires. Seeing all the experiences people were having with the Duro tires on the old forum, multiple blow-outs on the same trip, etc, I promptly dispatched those Duros and replaced them with a brand-new set of Goodyear 112s, mounted and balanced on new aluminum wheels. Lot of relief there.

But the brakes on our trailer were never right, from the first trip home from ExploreUSA. No matter where I set the controller in our F-350, trailer braking action was always slim to none. I had the brakes adjusted professionally, many suspect brake wiring connections replaced, but the problem persisted. Finally, opening the trailer wheels revealed the problems, which I suspect had been present from the start. Three of four wheels had grease around in the brake drum area, and the bearing seals had all failed. On the fourth wheel, the magnet wiring had gotten snagged by the brake activation parts inside the wheel, ripping the wiring apart, which explains why testing equipment reported brakes on only one axle. It was a true invitation to a jack-knife situation, and surely not a stellar recommendation for the marginal OEM brake system, which had only factory delivery miles plus about 1,000 of our miles on them. I had no interest in simply re-sealing this mess and going on down the road. It was time to go a different direction.

I decided on disc brakes to remedy this dilemma once and for all. Drum brakes might be OK for a cattle trailer or a work flatbed, but disc brakes have been the industry standard most everywhere else for decades. I soon learned that new 7K axles with disc brakes were not yet available from Dexter, so I elected to order 8K axles. RV manufacturers have the dubious distinction of cost-cutting design decisions that often border on hazardous loading conditions on their vehicles, and the added axle weight rating just made sense in terms of a welcome added safety margin. I encountered some of the same kinds of concerns on our prior rig, a 40′ Beaver Class A.

Once the new axles arrived at Southwest Wheel in San Antonio, which took about a week and a half, installation only took a day or so. It involved mounting the axles, finding a suitable location in the front storage bay to mount the electric/hydraulic brake actuator, which involved some welding for the mount point, running the necessary hydraulic lines from the storage bay back to the axles, and mounting a couple of magnets inside the pin box so the truck brake controller could sense when the trailer was connected.

That’s about it. I was told that Southwest Wheel has done four of these disc brake conversions now, at least one for a dealer as part of a new trailer purchase. I totally understand why.

Oh, and total cost, including the wet bolt kit I had installed, ran just under $5K. Hopefully now, with a suspension Carriage SHOULD have provided in the first place, we can finally get some enjoyment from our Cameo.

rvinsant wrote:Did you replace the springs too? Or just used the 7000 lb springs?

Kept the same springs. I trust the people who did this job – they’re experts in the field, and they’ve done this same thing before, several times. We went all over the axle capacity issue, but springs never even came up. I did ask about the condition of the rubber assemblies between the two springs, and they indicated they were in good shape. At any rate, the springs would be easy and relatively cheap to replace if it ever became necessary.

frscherock wrote:Re: adding magnets. All you really needed was a Carlisle MBA Cam. It is designed for the specific purpose you used the magnet
I have a 2010 Cameo F36fws. 7k axel easy lube. Replaced the brakes with the Kodiac disc brakes Carlisle Acuator and mba cam for $2010.00 Based on the weight I carry on the axels I have plenty of margin.

Googling “Carlisle MBA Cam” returns no results. There are results for “Carlisle HBA Cam”, which appears to be as you describe.

The Carlisle HBA Cam sells at etrailer.com for $114.95. The two magnet kits installed as part of this job by Southwest Wheel totaled $41 for both, and are designed to be compatible with the rest of the Dexter components they installed. I actually prefer to use components from the same manufacturer rather than mix and match whenever I can so as to avoid possible compatibility problems. That being said, I never had the slightest bit of interest in trying to design this project and do it all by myself. I bought the trailer to enjoy camping in, not to work on, especially on major critical components like brakes.

myvann wrote:I don’t understand the reason for the magnets. Our Carri-Lite came with the disc brakes from the factory and worked just fine. There is even a setting on the Ford for electric/hydraulic brakes.

When I asked the installer the same question, I was told that the truck brake controller senses resistance in the windings of the magnets in the trailer’s electric brakes to know when there’s a trailer back there, so as to activate all the things that go on when hitched up. Some trucks have the elec/hydro option in the brake controller, but ours does not, and so required this $41 workaround.

falconhunter wrote:I think you will be amazed at how much better your brakes will operate with a newer brake controller that is designed for electric/hydraulic brakes. My factory controller on my 2011 Dodge cant even compare to my Maxbrake. It all stops like one unit now.

I appreciate your recommendation and will keep it in mind as things progress. It’s too soon to know if the controller in our 2011 F-350 will perform adequately or not with the new brake system in the trailer – with the dysfunctional brakes that came from the factory in our Cameo, it really hasn’t yet had an opportunity to excel.

I will say that, at one point, I had the truck at a dealership to rule out any possibilities of problems with the truck, and was told that the controller output varies not only from differing brake pedal pressures, but also truck speed. So it’s designed to be significantly more sophisticated than just a simple on/off operation.

Tumble Weed wrote:I have the same exact trailer it already has the disc brakes. Last night about 7pm I
left the dealership and realized I didn’t have brakes on trailer! Fun stuff I had tried the
emergency lever I guess what it’s called, no brakes dealership closed now since I left.
My 2008 GMC 3500HD isn’t talking to trailer guy at dealership say I need a different brake, factory won’t work?
Especially my year model…
If you know please reply soon.

Depending which master cylinder you have you might be able to get an adapter from Etrailer or wire in some magnets, other than that you will have to get another controller for the e over h brakes. If you want the best performance from your brakes, buy the proper aftermarket controller. Here are a few adapters at etrailer.
http://www.etrailer.com/dept-pg-Accesso … pters.aspx

Sheff