I think it's in the $ 700 and up range..
unless you do the whole thing yourself from junkyard parts you source
yourself..
and have you own adapters fabbed..
someone could pull that off for a couple hundred perhaps.

I will say ..for towing ..
yup ...more brake power is good. I have totally glazed out stock 82 diesel
vangon pads towing ..
and that was even being easy on the brakes.

auto trans always puts more load on brakes..
unless you keep 'er in 2nd for decents etc.

and ..that expense..
mostly it's just that one time.
and ...you want to go to 15 inch wheels anyway sometime..
and of course..
the big brake kit, then at least four 15 inch wheels and tires..
people do blow up to $ 2K in one swoop there all right.

  You can still do it a bit at a time though.
And there's a poor man's upgrade to your van's front brakes.    .it's to fit
the later , like 86 and later front brakes..quite a bit of work...
and 'somewhat' better I hear, not a vast improvement .   . I have not done
it myself. It's a lot of parts to swap over too.
Scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Rocket J Squirrel" <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, September 06, 2011 2:49 PM
Subject: Re: Brake Fade

> On 09/06/2011 02:17 PM, Don Hanson wrote:
>
>>    A fully loaded camper with an auto tranny...that is near the limit for
>> stock brakes...that is why people change to Big Brakes....a little extra
>> safety margin...
>
> A-yup. Add a small trailer loaded with camping gear to the mix, and you
> can really feel how soft the brakes are. I'd so add a big brake kit but
> unless I'm missing something, they are beyond my budgetary limitations.
>
>
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> Bend, Ore.
> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer ca. 1972 from a defunct company in
> San Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westrailia.
>
> Sent from my kitchen.