2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

[Mikejr]

I have a 2005 Karavan single axle trailer for my Bayliner 175. I am towing with my Sienna van and while I'm under the towing capacity, it is heavy and difficult to brake. I want to do some longer road trips including going through some big mountain passes (for those of you who are familiar with BC, the Vancouver to Okanagan route up the Coquihalla) and am concerned about the descents.

Any thoughts on retrofitting brakes would be greatly appreciated. Is it possible? Cost effective? Is there a better solution? Am I stuck buying a new trailer? Also curious if upgrading my vehicle brakes is worth doing?

Thanks all!
Mike

 

[Lou C]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

You can add brakes as long as the axle has a flange for mounting backing plates or the disc brake caliper mounts.
go over to
www.championtrailers.com
and look in the tech articles, they have instructions on how to install brake kits. I added a pair of 10 " surge drums about 6 years ago and that greatly improved my towing experience especially when using my old 98 Grand Cheorkee. The diifference in not feeling pushed by the trailer is very significant and most certainly cost efficent since it takes the load off your vehicle brakes and helps avoid accidents. To me any trailer over 1500 lbs should have brakes...

 

[roscoe]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Contact Karavan.

http://www.karavantrailers.com/

And work thru one of your local dealers.

http://www.karavantrailers.com/map.cfm?state=BC


.

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Hi Mike, the Coquihalla was the reason I added brakes on the trailer for my 175. I added 10 inch electric drum brakes and the trailer (2007) did have the flanges for this. I'm in the Cloverdale area if you want to swing by and take a look. We're towing with a van as well and I'm very happy with the results. I can get you a parts list if you're interested. We don't do salt water otherwise I would have looked at disc brakes.

 

[nash1970]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Do it !! I just added 10" disk to my trailer worth all the money big differance in towing .

 

[Mikejr]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Hi Mike, the Coquihalla was the reason I added brakes on the trailer for my 175. I added 10 inch electric drum brakes and the trailer (2007) did have the flanges for this. I'm in the Cloverdale area if you want to swing by and take a look. We're towing with a van as well and I'm very happy with the results. I can get you a parts list if you're interested. We don't do salt water otherwise I would have looked at disc brakes.

Dave - I live on the island, so really appreciate the offer to stop by, but it's a bit of a trip from Victoria. I'm going to look at my trailer tonight to see if it has the flanges and then go from there. What type of van and engine size are you towing with? Roughly how much did the job cost you and how long did it take? Is it something someone who can follow directions and has decent, but not expert, wrench turning skills do on their own?
Many thanks!
Mike

 

[Splat]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Electric brakes are super easy to add. Should be able to do both axles and wire it in about 2 hours and a few beers if your taking your time. Check out YouTube. There are a number of how to videos, the best is prolly from etrailer.com, which is also where i ordered mine from.

If you go with electric you'll need a brake controller in the truck. I've had a number of different ones over the years and I highly recommend the Tekonsha prodigy. Especially if your traveling over lots of varying terrain.

Bill

 

[Sparkinator]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

I just installed a set of Kodiak 6 lug disc surge brakes on my single axle trailer. It was a really simple job and I love them. I just got back from a week in the Ozark mountains at Table rock lake and they performed flawlessly.

I called Champion trailers in Slidell and they sent me everything I needed except for the wheel spacers. My 6 lug rims were offset, and the calipers were hitting the rims. After finding some spacers on ebay, I was good to go.

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

I'm using an 06 Grand Caravan - 3.3 L. I purchased from etrailer.com and the below parts were about $450 US. I had to get some wire and extra connectors. I had been wired with a 4 plug and went to 4 with this (although 6 would have been fine). My van didn't have a trailer upgrade so I've added a transmission cooler and have to install a brake controller. I also purchased their wiring kit to convert from 4 to 7 wires.

I spent about 6 hours on the trailer ( I took my time) and 2 on the van for wiring. A breakaway kit is required in BC. The install was pretty straight forward. The videos on etrailer.com were a big help and they have wiring diagrams as well. If you have a tool to pull wire you can pull in from the front to the back and keep it inside the trailer frame. I ran one wire front to back and then went across the axle for the 2nd brake.

The hardest part was actually the pins they used on the hubs. I think they're 5/16 and they are jammed in so tight they're hard to get out. You need the same size to be able to grease it later otherwise the grease leaks out the pin holes (you'll see what I mean when you pull the hub off). You can order them from Karavan trailers but I've just used a smaller size pin for now and will replace them at the end of the season. The zerk fitting on the spindle isn't threaded so if you yank them too hard they pull out. If that happens you just push it back in and its fine.


23-468 10" Nev-R-Adjust Electric Brake Assembly for 3.5K Axles - LH 1
23-469 10" Nev-R-Adjust Electric Brake Assembly for 3.5K Axles - RH 1
84546UC3-EZ Trailer Hub & Drum Assembly - 3,500 lbs Axles - 5 on 4-1/2 - E-Z Lube 2
L11402 LubriMatic Marine Trailer Wheel Bearing Grease - 14 oz. Cartridge 1


1 Brake Controller - Prodigy 1-4 Brake
1 Derale Series 7000 Tube-fin Trans Cooler Kit W/hose Barb Inl
ETBC7 Brake Controller 7 & 4 Way Installation Kit - 10 Gauge


50-85-313 Tekonsha Push to Test Breakaway Kit with Premium Integrated Charger

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Just to add when I started looking at brakes I was going to go with Tie Down Engineering parts. But it seems more people dislike them so I passed on that brand.

 

[Mikejr]

Re: 2005 Karavan Trailer - Can I add brakes?

Just to add when I started looking at brakes I was going to go with Tie Down Engineering parts. But it seems more people dislike them so I passed on that brand.

After a few weeks of local trips, I'm convinced on putting the brakes on. Should make a good project over the warmer part of fall. Thanks and I'll likely be in touch when I get started.

Mike