Another way to lower an M1101/M1102

[ECS]

M1101 with the dexter electric brake swap on my Land Cruiser.

Next is lower the 2.5" .. and likely push the axel back 1/2" and remount the shock back 1"

 

[Overdrive]

Your cutout using the jigsaw looks great; much neater than the cutout on my M1101 made with a grinder and cutoff wheel.

Why are you keeping the shocks? I removed mine and have noticed no difference in towing or trailer suspension action.

Thanks!

This trailer will have a dry weight of around 2800 pounds so I wanted some rebound damping. Might just be a mental thing on my part for wanting to keep the shocks. I have found that just about all the trailers i have picked up the shocks are blown out and not providing any damping force. I have put new shocks on the project trailers i have finished.
OD

 

[chuckd1969]

Is it possible to swap out the hubs for a jeep lug pattern? I’m in a 2019 Jeep JL and want to use the same rims and tire size I have on my jeep and to lower it slightly using 33-35” tires. Thanks also for the ideas on lowering trailer might go that route eventually. Just going to use it for camping for now and slowly build an overland trailer.


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[ECS]

Is it possible to swap out the hubs for a jeep lug pattern? I’m in a 2019 Jeep JL and want to use the same rims and tire size I have on my jeep and to lower it slightly using 33-35” tires. Thanks also for the ideas on lowering trailer might go that route eventually. Just going to use it for camping for now and slowly build an overland trailer.


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Not that I know of ... However you can call these guys and for a lot less $$ than replacing hubs just install some wheel adapters.

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[Knifeknut5818]

To you guys who have swapped their m1101/2's to electric brakes, have you had any issues with water fording and the brakes? We will be using ours often in areas where we have to ford creeks and rivers to reach our destination and I am weary of a standard electric brake setup. Looking at possibly going electric over hydraulic but that is a bit more spendy than we were hoping to do.

 

[1stDeuce]

Electric brakes are no problem for occasional fresh water crossings.

If you're live in the rust belt the pivot pin for the magnet arm will seize eventually though...

FYI, electric trailer brakes do not work in reverse, so no better than surge brakes in that respect. Both my trailers have surge brakes that work great whether the trailer is empty or overloaded... I personally don't see the point of converting, but it's your trailer so do what makes you happy!

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[Knifeknut5818]

Electric brakes are no problem for occasional fresh water crossings.

If you're live in the rust belt the pivot pin for the magnet arm will seize eventually though...

FYI, electric trailer brakes do not work in reverse, so no better than surge brakes in that respect. Both my trailers have surge brakes that work great whether the trailer is empty or overloaded... I personally don't see the point of converting, but it's your trailer so do what makes you happy!

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There are a few reasons to convert but its highly dependent on use case IMO. Backing up steep inclines, considering there is no lock out pin, with a laden trailer could be one. Unless the internal shock handles that well, not sure as we have not used the 1102 in said scenario yet. Also removing the surge setup makes for easy removal of some tounge weight, and a bit easier to fab a drop lunette ring/ball/max coupler mount.

Which is why I feel the electric over hydraulic is a great setup. It leaves the braking system intact, minus surge master cylinder, but allows for the same easier fabbing of the drop. Personally I don't want to lower the entire trailer. The tow vehicle will be a new diesel rubicon, that soon will have a 3.5" lift and 37's.

I do hear you though. Almost every trailer I have ever towed with surge brakes was fine. Wether towing my 4000lb surface grinder, or mini-ex's the trailers with surge brakes have worked well. Granted I didn't back up a steep inclines to reposition in Moab, or our local North GA trails, with those trailers though lol

 

[1stDeuce]

FWIW, the surge brakes on my trailers don't seem to do much in reverse... I believe they are designed so you don't need to lock them out to back up.

With the lift and tires you are proposing, you may not need to drop the hitch at all...

Sounds like a fun project!!

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[Coug]

FWIW, the surge brakes on my trailers don't seem to do much in reverse... I believe they are designed so you don't need to lock them out to back up.

With the lift and tires you are proposing, you may not need to drop the hitch at all...

Sounds like a fun project!!

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When properly functioning it's something over several hundred lbs of force required on the pintle ring before the brakes should begin to engage. The only time they should need locked out when reversing is if backing uphill or in loose soil/sand.

 

[tobyS]

There are a few reasons to convert but its highly dependent on use case IMO. Backing up steep inclines, considering there is no lock out pin, with a laden trailer could be one. Unless the internal shock handles that well, not sure as we have not used the 1102 in said scenario yet. Also removing the surge setup makes for easy removal of some tounge weight, and a bit easier to fab a drop lunette ring/ball/max coupler mount.

Which is why I feel the electric over hydraulic is a great setup. It leaves the braking system intact, minus surge master cylinder, but allows for the same easier fabbing of the drop. Personally I don't want to lower the entire trailer. The tow vehicle will be a new diesel rubicon, that soon will have a 3.5" lift and 37's.

I do hear you though. Almost every trailer I have ever towed with surge brakes was fine. Wether towing my 4000lb surface grinder, or mini-ex's the trailers with surge brakes have worked well. Granted I didn't back up a steep inclines to reposition in Moab, or our local North GA trails, with those trailers though lol

There is a bolt that I put in to lock the brake out. It's easy to drill if you disassemble the brake unit. While inside, straighten the bent pieces that they all seem to have. Photo is not really very easy to see the bolt, but if interested, I can provide details.

 

[Knifeknut5818]

There is a bolt that I put in to lock the brake out. It's easy to drill if you disassemble the brake unit. While inside, straighten the bent pieces that they all seem to have. Photo is not really very easy to see the bolt, but if interested, I can provide details.

Yeah I was thinking of doing exactly this as cheap insurance in case we do run into any issues.

 

[tobyS]

I'm not ready to finish my brake lines and didn't want it acting ( moving the actuator) against a dry cylinder. It has near no play to get a head start shearing the bolt off.

 

[ECS]

To you guys who have swapped their m1101/2's to electric brakes, have you had any issues with water fording and the brakes? We will be using ours often in areas where we have to ford creeks and rivers to reach our destination and I am weary of a standard electric brake setup. Looking at possibly going electric over hydraulic but that is a bit more spendy than we were hoping to do.

No problems with submersion, you need to remember they use these same ones on boat trailers. You just dry the disks out using the manual button on the brake controller.

When I did mine I also swapped out to match my Land Cruiser Wheels and tires.

 

[RRaulston]

View attachment 666184Well I notched the mounting bracket. Drilled holes to mount axle.I moved the axle flush with bed 5 inch drop complete. I will mount the tires and take some pictures tomorrow. I think the shocks will fit back on also. Kind of a fun project not the easiest thing but start to finish for me probably 4 hours.
View attachment 666185I ground off the rivets and removed the L shaped bracket with the blue x on it. and mounted axle to trailer frame.
Hopefully the op doesnt mind if I use his pics....
View attachment 666341View attachment 666342Slammed.... Havent installed shocks yet... Its probably pointless to.

I'm thinking about doing it like this but using nut-serts for the frame rail.....

 

[Ray70]

I'm sure you guys have seen this option already but I have used the electric over hydraulic conversion pumps to convert a couple of the larger air over hydraulic trailers with excellent success.
Cost starts at about $1000 , so not cheap, but might be another option for anyone worried about long term water damage to the electric magnets for trailers that see a lot of water submersions and you don't have to do anything down on the axle, everything you replace is up top near the coupler.

 

[mciikurzroot]

Very good experiences shared here, even though my Tahoe has rear Air Bag suspension i can blow up some to help on heigth mismatch, i favor lowering the overall trailer height with these ideas as suggestions..
best: mac/mc MC II

 

[MixManSC]

Another way of going about it.... I did ditch the shocks.

 

[RRaulston]

No problems with submersion, you need to remember they use these same ones on boat trailers. You just dry the disks out using the manual button on the brake controller.

When I did mine I also swapped out to match my Land Cruiser Wheels and tires.

I ordered the same Dexter brake assemblies you did. 23-112/113 and have a few questions if you don't mind!

1) what was your final solution for the park brake?
2) what was your solution for removing the surge/pintle components?
3) what was your solution for running your wheels?
4) any photos to help an old guy out?

I apologize if I missed any of these that were previously answered. I have looked at hundreds of threads.. Thanks in advance, Ray

 

[RRaulston]

Would you have the part number for the 6 lug hubs handy? I could never figure out which ones to order.

Same here, not sure which ones to order??!!

 

[ECS]

I ordered the same Dexter brake assemblies you did. 23-112/113 and have a few questions if you don't mind!

1) what was your final solution for the park brake?
2) what was your solution for removing the surge/pintle components?
3) what was your solution for running your wheels?
4) any photos to help an old guy out?

I apologize if I missed any of these that were previously answered. I have looked at hundreds of threads.. Thanks in advance, Ray

- parking brakes the etrailer brakes came with the parking brake lever so I just ordered new cables that fit from another place that made brake cables.
- i left the components in place. Some people remove them which is another option.
- I fit wheel hub adapters you can order any wheel conversion size.