Camp/o/matic has been using the electric brakes since 1994. We have continually tested other styles and have not found a better system. When you look at other camper manufacturers, the majority have realized that the electric brakes are the best, and like us do not supply anything but.

Other common braking systems include; Mechanical override - drum and disc, Hydraulic override – drum and disc, electric drum, and a new system electronic disc. The engineering behind the different types of brakes are very good in theory, but only when used for the correct application.

This is our observations of manufacturing and traveling off road with campers for the past 16 years.

Mechanical Override brakes are the cheapest of the brakes that can be put onto a trailer. The drum style is manly used on heavier box trailers or machinery trailers. They are low in maintenance and safe to use when on the bitumen or smooth roads. The disc style is widely used on boat trailers due to the fact that they are put into the water regularly and drain easier than the drum. They are again safe to use when on the bitumen or smooth roads but both style can become dangerous when traveling on corrugated roads or when 4wdriving.
The biggest problem of the override system is the activation of the brakes. When the vehicle brakes the inertia of the trailer compressors a spring in the tow coupling which in turn activates a leaver pulling a cable to activate the brake leaver attached to the brakes. The problems with this system are when you are outback traveling, is at the initial impact of the trailer as the spring is being compressed. This impact has at many times pushed vehicles out of control. Other times it forces the driver to brake harder which in turn activates ABS braking on the vehicle. The entire system works relevant to the force or the weight of the trailer compressing the spring in the coupling. Most off road couplings used in the camping trailer industry use a 1 tonne spring. However most loaded trailers weigh between 1.1 tonne and 1.5 tonne, making the spring to light. This causes the trailer brakes to apply to server and over braking then they release quickly jerking on the back of the vehicle then reapplying. This can happen several times pulling and pushing the vehicle, and can unsteady large 4wds easily.

Hydraulic Override brakes suffer from the same problems of the Mechanical Override due to them still relying on the tow coupling spring. However the hydraulic fluid does have a shelf life and it is very messy to service or replace water ruined fluid, especially in the middle of a long holiday. The hydraulic systems are being used less and less due to these problems.

Drum Verse Disc Brakes.
What is better on a trailer? Depends on the application of that trailer.

Disc brakes on motor vehicle manufacturers have been proven to be the safest method however today's designs have taken many years to perfect. The transition from drum brakes to disc brakes has taken a long time. Many manufacturers would mount front discs and drum rears. Why? This was due to rear disc brakes being to venerable from debris off the front wheels. Hugh advances in designs to protect the rear disc brakes of vehicles have been implemented on most vehicles over the past 10 years. Wheel designs on 4wd have been changed to have large off sets to cover and protect the disc brakes.
Unfortunately the trailer version of the disc brakes has not had the same upgrades. The trailer brakes work in an even worse environment than that of the rear wheels of the vehicle. Major problems of the disc brakes are that debris would get caught in the activator part of the brake pad and stop the brake from working. Or the self adjusting mechanism would get full of dust and jam causing the adjustment to be manually done under the trailer on a daily basis. Other problems would be the metal backing of the brake pad wearing a grove in the housing of the brake caliper jamming open rendering the brake ineffective and very dangerous when it happens to one side only. The problems with the disc brakes in an off road application are not rectified weather it is an Override Mechanical, hydraulic or electronic.
The Drum brake is a good all-round brake. The electric brake has been designed to give total in car control over the braking of the trailer. Although a brake controller has to be fitted to the vehicle at a small cost. Your safety and your control over your $90,000 plus vehicle and trailer combination, not to mention your family in the vehicle, is well worth it. The adjustment of the braking can be done when driving, great when roads go to tracks and the corrugations get larger. You can also use the trailer brakes independently from the vehicle brakes, great for going down steep inclines and when 4wdriving. Great when traveling through sand or mud and you have to reverse quickly, you do not have to get out and turn the reversing leaver over manually on the coupling.
The new style electric brakes are self cleaning. The designs have improved and the ventilation now allows dust to go through the brake and not stay in the drum. One point to add is that after going through large creek crossings the brake shoes need to be dried by activating the slide control a couple of times from the drivers seat.

To sum up our experience. Camp/o/matic has built many trailers over the past 40years and out of all the braking systems on the market today, there is no safer or more practical brake to use when traveling off road than the electric drum brake.