I'm a little late in this thread. So I'll give my opinion. I have yet to see a set of drum brakes that will last down here, even with flushing every time, for more than one season. I used to work at the local SeaRay dealership, we had so many problems(40-50 a year) with easy loader trailers having the brakes lock up, we switched to shorelander with disc. If your drum brakes aren't locking up, then they probably aren't applying. We had over 30 yard trailers to handle anything from a 14' Sea Raider, to 40' Sundacer(fun loading that one at the ramp). We took the brakes off of every trailer that had drum brakes. The only way you can fix drum brakes in salt is with a torch, just cut em off. BTW, most brake manufactures offer no warranty if you are using them in salt water.The disc didn't have that much problem, they will lock up with no load on them, if your brakes are too big for the load or your using too small of a tire, they can lock up, also check you axle weight if you have a tandem. we had some that the piston would stick, but we were usually able to break it loose and get it rolling. If you have repeated issues with a single wheel locking up, even after replacing the caliper, check the brake lines, I've seen them fail, allowing fluid to apply, but letting it bleed off. Don't use hard brake line, use hte flexable, the hard line can get dented or creased, acting like a check valve. Make sure your master cylinder is functioning properlly as well. As far as legalities go, some states outlaw surge type brakes of any type, all trailer brakes must be controlable inside the tow vehicle, can you imagine electric brakes in salt? I've seen a bunch in freash water and they are bad enough
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