We mostly sail lakes in the high Sierra and also have interest in the downhill parts of the trip. We tow our Montgomery 15 with a Toyota Tacoma and before that a 4 cylinder Toyota pickup. Those vehicles always towed the boat fine but long downhills always have had my attention because I never feel like there was a whole lot of extra braking capacity with those tow vehicles. I am always surprised when I hear of people towing with passenger cars and having no problem with braking. I'm not pursuing trailer brakes but I try to go slow enough that the manual transmission will hold us back on most grades. David GrahBishop California Message: 17 Date: Wed, 20 May 2020 21:05:43 -0700 From: Jon Barber <brbrbarber@gmail.com> To: montgomery_boats@mailman.xmission.com Subject: M_Boats: Trailer brakes Message-ID: <CAFwAWQtjq2mEjbvh5t5ncpPrxfyMofvxJJP+X_k=ujq1nyYtHg@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" I am trying to figure out what brakes are right for my Pacific galvanized trailer. I experienced some scary downhill moments returning to the valley from a high Sierra lake. I thought someone was burning up their brakes, it turned out to be me! After a cooling off period we continued in low gear and kept the speed low. I'd like to return to the mountain lakes with confidence while on the road. Can anyone offer any enlightenment in this subject? I'm dealing with a guy who means well but doesn't know boat trailers. I wanted disc brakes because of fewer moving parts and the fact that the entire brake is accessable for washing after launch and retrieval.He sold me a drum brake surge system but when I started to install I realized the cast iron rotors would not fare well in salt water. Now we're trying to source galvanized drum/hubs. To install a disc system requires replacing the axle as well. I'm not that worried about the cost, within reason and will likely install new springs, too. Any help would be appreciated. I tow with a late model 6 cylinder Tacoma. Thanks, Jon Barber Monty17 Ol'44