Modifying a M101A3 axle to electric brakes

[scrapdaddy]

Hello fellas,

I'm going to attempt to document what I went through to convert a M101A3 to electric brakes, but first some backround. I started with a M101A2 body on a A3 axle and wanted to tow it behind my FJ55 Landcruiser that had a narrower axle than the A3 and I wanted to tuck the tires under the fenders ( pictures to follow ). I shortened the axle @ 4 1/2" on each side which worked great. Next I bought some electric brakes with parking brake from Etrailer, mounted them and everything looked good. Problem is the Dexter brakes/axles use a different outer bearing than the M101, inner bearing is the same, so I couldn't use the Dexter drum/hub on the M101 axle. The problem with using the electric brake with the M101 hub is there isn't enough contact for the magnet to work. Here's what I'm talking about. You can see the magnet has very little contact with the hub.

 

[scrapdaddy]

So, I machined the hub down flat and made a rotor to mount on the back of the hub, drilled and tapped four mounting holes, so the new rotor (plate steel) mounts to the hub. With the new surface the magnet has a large area to grab to.

 

[scrapdaddy]

The magnet now has a large flat surface to grab and everything is good. Here's some other mods I did to the tongue, getting rid of the tilting feature in the process. You can see the tires are tucked up under the body and I still have the A3 axle bump for good ground clearance.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Here's where I cut the axle down @ 4 1/2" each side.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Playing with the scab plate on the tongue and the finished (for now) product..

 

[jltdvm]

I'm doing this same thing to my trailer. How much did you have machined off the back of the hub? What is the diameter of the plate you made?
Thanks for any input. I do not have the ability to machine the hub so I am taking it to a machine shop. Just want to be able to tell them. Once again this is awesome and thank you.

 

[scrapdaddy]

The plate is 1/4" and I'm not sure how much we removed from the hub. I would take just enough for a good flat area.

 

[jltdvm]

Do you know the radius or diameter of the plate? I do not want to get it to big or small for that matter?
Thanks for you help.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Sorry, it's not handy for me to measure right now, but if you look at the above picture it's not much bigger than the dia. of the hub.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Nice fj55! I had a 62 and love the wagons.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Thanks!

 

[Curtisje]

Why not just add a hydraulic brake actuator that works with an electric brake controller? Just curious.