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Post by minicamper on Jan 8, 2008 6:53:17 GMT 10
Ok ladies, no this is not about getting rid of the bloke who got you into vans... For those of you that have seen my van in "Renolition Discoveries" I'm not going to be too far away from having to deal with mechanicals. Current opinion is that it is fitted with late 40's or 50's Ford or Chev wheels (16") It has a drop axle and it and the springs ounts etc seem pretty good. HOWEVER, I would like to fit brakes (preferably electric) but need to know if this can be done on the original axle. I don't want to use a straight axle as the van ride height is not that far off the road already. Does anyone have any experience with this?  Cheers Chris |
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Jan 8, 2008 9:04:45 GMT 10
hi chris
we fitted electric brakes to the roadmaster after we had a bit of a "wobble" incident the first time we took it on a run (to dubbo).
when we got back i inquired about fitting electric brakes to the original setup and with a "bit" of work, it can be done effectively.
you will probably have to make adapter plates to fit the electric backing plates to your axle then a fair bit of effort is required (i was told) to make sure that the electric setup is positioned/aligned correctly.
after a lot more inquiries, i found that to have the complete axle made up with exactly the same drop was only about $100 more than buying all the individual electric components (not including the adapter plates which i would have made myself).
i chose to buy the complete setup, unbolted the old axle and refitted the electric axle, about 2 hours work and no worries.
you also need to fit the handbrake system to the electric axle. i bought a 50mm hitch with the handbrake included then ran stainless cables to the axle, about another hour or so.
the system works well and for $100 was much easier than fiddling around fitting new backing plates and hubs/drums to the original axle.
ps. you can't run your original hubs/drums with electric brakes, they need to be replaced as well.
geoff 'n jude
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Post by minicamper on Jan 8, 2008 11:38:06 GMT 10
Thanks guys,
The question then becomes what rims would I use? Currently it has the 16", so if i change to a new drop axle, electric hubs etc, i'll have to find rims to suit the new hub pattern and presumably drop several inches.
Geoff, who did you find to do the axle?
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Post by Geoff & Jude on Jan 8, 2008 13:02:01 GMT 10
hi again chris i got mine through caravan accessories or commonly known as camec in sydney, they are in most states. (look under contact us). www.camec.com.au/look under 'products' then 'rv'. they can probably drill the stubs to suit your wheels, otherwise you just choose holden or ford stud pattern and tell them what dia wheels you're using. geoff 'n jude |
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