Adding brake to a tow dolly

[sdkid]

Looking at used tow dollies. Most of what i am finding do not have brakes. Can you add electric brakes to them?

[hawkeye1995]

I don't know about tow dollies, but I did check on putting electric brakes on my 16 foot utility trailer. It can be done on the trailer. Did a Google search and found kits. You might want to check that out. I'm sure there may be some company that makes the kit for tow dollies. Good luck.

[Ranger Smith]

You just need to get the correct kit for the axle on the tow dolly. When I did one we had it was a kit with new hubs, backing plates, brakes. Remove old hub and backing plate and install new parts.

[vettenuts]

Unless it's a screaming deal, I would just go new since adding brakes won't be cheap.

[barmcd]

According to the folks at Big Tex trailers, you can have add brakes for around $300. You can probably save $100 doing it yourself. Look at eTrailer for an idea what parts will cost.

[Hikerdogs]

If the spindles are bolted to the axles you can add electric or surge brakes. If they are welded to the axle you can't add brakes.

E trailer and many other companies sell kits to add brakes to trailers and dollies. There are many different sizes available.

Here's a link to some kits available at e trailer:
Tow Dolly Electric Brake Kit | etrailer.com

Note on page 3 there are several kits that show different mounting hole patterns and styles. Here they show both 4 and 5 hole mounting patterns. Also on the 5th line from the bottom on the far right is a style that has studs welded to the backing plate rather than having the studs protruding from the spindle mounting plate.

If you're interested in adding them to an existing dolly I would call or e mail their technical experts with the brand of dolly you're interested in. They will be able to tell you what you need to do the job, and how much it will cost.

[sdkid]

Thanks for the responses. You were great help.