Boat trailer brakes

[Broaders]

Good day all hope ll are fine.
I'm in the process of changing out my Axles on my double axle boat traileras I alost lost my boat last year on my way home at end of season. I lost bearing,and wheel on one axle,then my leaf spring but different axel.
My 25 ft regal comes In at about 5500 lbs dry.
I'm planning on up grading my axles from the 3350lbs that was on her to 5200lbs each.
My Question is should I go with electric brakes on BOTH axles, or just one???
I am switching from hydraulic to electric brakes this time.
I would like to thank everyone fro their input on this.
smooth sailing all
Don B

 

[mr 88]

I would first check your states law , if any on trailers , load capacity and brake requirements. How much is the boat trailered , how far and how often comes into play . Upgrading the axles , what's the load capacity of your springs and tires that may or may not have to be upgraded . If I was taking it to the ramp seasonally, I wouldn't bother with axles . If trailering a lot I would go with dual brake set up and upgrade if needed ,tires ,springs and bunks .

 

[rallyart]

More brake capacity is easy to reduce if you need too. Less brake capacity does not get fixed easily. If you can afford the extra brakes, I don't know why you would not put them on. Easier on tires and better brake traction if all four are used.

 

[sarapatel]

It is recommended to have electric brakes on both axles for added safety and braking power, especially for a heavy boat like yours. This will help ensure that the trailer can stop effectively in case of an emergency.

MyAdvocateAurora Health

 

[Scott Danforth]

Look at your trailer frame. Most trailers with 3500# axles are for boat 5000# and below.

Is the frame itself up to snuff?

 

[dingbat]

My 25 ft regal comes In at about 5500 lbs dry.
I'm planning on up grading my axles from the 3350lbs that was on her to 5200lbs each.

Keep in mind that good design practice mandates a minimum 200% safety factor built into the load rating.

Then there are ride quality issues. A #5,500 boat riding on #20,000+ of spring will not be heavy enough to load the springs properly. Ride quality would suffer badly. Might as well put hard rubber tires on the trailer

 

[Lou C]

I did something similar switched from a 3500 lb axle with 10” brakes to a 6000 custom axle with 12” brakes. I did this because the frame of the trailer was the same gauge as trailers with heavier weight ratings. Axles, rims/tires, & springs all should have close to the same rating in terms of weight. Also, with 5200, 6,000 & 7,000 lb axles what makes the difference is the outer bearing & hub/drum/disc. The spindle (#42) & inner bearing are the same for all 3. 5200 & 6000 lb hubs use 6 lugs while 7000 lb hubs use 8 lugs. So if it is nominally a 5200 you can upgrade it to a 6000 easily. With the 6000 the outer bearing & outer race is bigger that the 5200 and the 7000 is bigger than the 6000. The inner race on all three outer bearings is the same ID obviously since they all fit on the same spindle.
I would for sure have brakes on both axles. That boat is likely a good bit heavier than the dry weight figure. My 20’ that was supposed to weigh about 3000 lbs is about 4200!
I’m not sure I’d use electric brakes on a boat trailer. Four 12” disc brakes with a surge actuator would stop that boat very well.
When I had the 3500 axle (single axle) on the trailer (didn’t know how heavy the boat actually was & had no bearing or tire failures in 17 years of use) the 10” brakes stopped it pretty well but the 12” brakes are much better. When you compare the 2 (3500 vs 6000) the bearings are huge by comparison….

 

[JASinIL2006]

I would for sure go with electric brakes on both axles. More stopping power is better than less...

 

[04fxdwgi25]

I would think the Cadillac of brakes would be electric over hydraulic with Kodiak disks on all 4 wheels. Giving the best of both worlds with controlability of the electric brake controller and hydraulic discs.

Have Kodiaks on all 4 now and planning to add the EoH to eliminate the surge coupler.

Not sure I would trust electrics being submerged. Perhaps they have changed.

 

[JASinIL2006]

No problem at all with electric brakes and water. Since most electrics are drum brakes, they probably are not so great in salt water, but that's an issue with the drum brakes, not the electric part.

 

[Lou C]

I have seen galvanized electric drum brakes.

 

[harringtondav]

Doing an autopsy theory on your calamity. It sounds like a chain reaction failure.
Wheel bearing failed causing the wheel to come off. The extra load in the second axle may have caused the leaf spring to fail.
I'm SWAGING 6000# for the boat, gear and fuel, 1500# for the trailer. 7500# total. If so, your 3350# axles are overloaded. A trip to a scale would be prudent to verify. My guess is the wheel bearing hub was overloaded, or poorly maintained.
Per above, upgrading up to 5200# axles seems extreme. Ride, boat height, etc won't be optimum. Maybe consider something closer to your scale weight.
I've had both electric drum and surge hydraulic disc brakes on two different trailers. Both were fine. If you haven't had previous braking problems, adding brakes to the other axle may be unnecessary. ....thinking brakes on the rear axle is the norm.
I believe in some States a trailer mounted battery back up is required for trailer break away electric braking. Surge brake actuators automatically brake the trailer.

 

[Lou C]

If the full up weight is 7500 lbs a pair of 3500 axles are overloaded and the next step up is 5200 lbs. There are 3750 lb axles but not commonly available. And those leave no safety cushion so the 5200 is your best bet. If you get drop axles like I did you won’t raise the trailer either. You don’t have go to crazy with springs those should be sized for the weight with a 25% cushion. So the springs could be rated for about 2400-2500 lbs each. Same idea with tires; you do not want to just meet the weight at max weight inflation you want a 10-20% cushion. A 225/75-15 gives you 2540 lbs in load range D and 2860 in load range E. If your weight is 7500 then D rated tires will be fine.
The other big advantage of 5200 axles is the ability to use 12” brakes. Even with drums much better stopping power than 10” units.
However all this depends on what it actually weighs.

 

[Broaders]

Look at your trailer frame. Most trailers with 3500# axles are for boat 5000# and below.

Is the frame itself up to snuff?

My frame says 1700 kg for each axle, and 3400 for both, that's about 7500lbs, Here in NL I can only find 3500 or 5200 lb alxes.
So with the 3500 I'm 500 lbs less then what I had before.
My trailer is galvanized and in except condition. I don't tow my boat much , hopefully this summer just to the slip and the back in the fall, about 90 km each way.
Thank you for the input

 

[Broaders]

Doing an autopsy theory on your calamity. It sounds like a chain reaction failure.
Wheel bearing failed causing the wheel to come off. The extra load in the second axle may have caused the leaf spring to fail.
I'm SWAGING 6000# for the boat, gear and fuel, 1500# for the trailer. 7500# total. If so, your 3350# axles are overloaded. A trip to a scale would be prudent to verify. My guess is the wheel bearing hub was overloaded, or poorly maintained.
Per above, upgrading up to 5200# axles seems extreme. Ride, boat height, etc won't be optimum. Maybe consider something closer to your scale weight.
I've had both electric drum and surge hydraulic disc brakes on two different trailers. Both were fine. If you haven't had previous braking problems, adding brakes to the other axle may be unnecessary. ....thinking brakes on the rear axle is the norm.
I believe in some States a trailer mounted battery back up is required for trailer break away electric braking. Surge brake actuators automatically brake the trailer.

Thanks for the fine write up, that 3350 should have read 3500lbs . And your right the bearing popped and then the wheel let go. I always greased the bearings but SHOULD have pulled then and checked them over, my fool up big time, and yes the spring broke after.
this happened on Friday afternoon in on our main highway, I was about 25 km from my place it took me 5.5 hours to get home, driving a distance of about 1 to 2 km at a time then stopping to let cool down, the spring broke as I came down my driveway, what a nightmare, drank a few bebe fter that lol.
I have never taught of being it to a scale to be weight, but rest ashore I will this summer.
thank you for you in put,

 

[Texasmark]

If I were to buy another boat requiring brakes on the axles (4500# is the Texas crossover point) they would be electric discs. Just seem to be the right type for aqua environments.

 

[04fxdwgi25]

If I were to buy another boat requiring brakes on the axles (4500# is the Texas crossover point) they would be electric discs. Just seem to be the right type for aqua environments.

"electric discs" are actually hydraulic with an Electric over Hydraulic pump package.

As I stated before, that setup with Kodiac discs would be the best IMHO

 

[bruceb58]

"electric discs" are actually hydraulic with an Electric over Hydraulic pump package.

As I stated before, that setup with Kodiac discs would be the best IMHO

Correct...no such things as electric discs.

I own two trailers with EOH Disc brakes. Best system.