Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

[mylesm260]

I've been calling around local trailer shops to find an electric brake setup for my trailer.

I just had a long conversion with a technician who told me that electric brakes have no business being on boat trailers because of corrosion. He said that even in fresh water, they would only last a season.

Is this true?

What about salt-water? My tow vehicle already has a brake controller.

I'm towing my 20' regal medallion on a single 3500# axle trailer with me 2006 jeep liberty CRD.

The law's for my province is anything above 3000# needs brakes, seeing as how I have a 3500# axle, I think I'm either barely above or barely below the legal amount. Putting my boat over the scales gives me just a smidgeon above 3000# on the axel, and probably another 300 or so on the tongue.

Law aside, I want brakes to avoid beating up my jeep brakes, and to decrease my stopping distance. It looks like going electric is cheaper than surge, but will the electrics last, or am I simply throwing my money away?

 

[109jb]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

I just made this same post about a minute ago:

That's not quite true. You just have to be careful which electric drums you buy for a boat. Modern electric drum brakes can be bought with corrosion resistant components that can withstand the abuses of fresh and salt water. Here is an example:

 

[dingbat]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

Drum brakes and saltwater do not get along no matter how ?Corrosion resistant? the manufacturer claims they are. The best solution, if you want to go electric, is electric over hydraulic using Kodiak disc brakes.

The cost upfront is a little more but the long term hassles and longevity of the system will more than make up for the difference over time.

 

[109jb]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

Electric over hydraulic is a good option in my opinion. I've had surge brake trailers and electric brake trailers and I am not a fan of surge brakes. The things I don't like about them:

Tow vehicle needs a backup solenoid in order to back the trailer up without getting out and pinning the trailer coupler.

No brakes in reverse. (I like them when I back down a hill ie: Slimey boat ramp)

Surge brakes can activate on down grades even when you don't want them thereby wearing the brakes faster.

Surge brakes can't be activated from the cab of the tow vehicle.

Most surge brakes have the "clunk" when they activate.

Surge brakes have higher maintenance than equivelant electric brakes. (For boat trailer use note that I don't boat in salt water)


As far as saltwater use, I can't comment on that, but Fulton has a fresh water flush kit for their brake assemblies. Salt water boaters flush their motors, why not the brakes on the trailer. As far as fresh water boaters go, I see no reason that electric brakes wouldn't work, work well, and last well too.

Here is an article regarding electric brakes on boat trailers.

http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/upkeep/electricbrakes.asp

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

The short dunk that electric brakes get while launching and retrieving is far less severe than the drenching they get for hundreds of miles on a travel trailer in a rain storm for example. Properly set up either system is fine. Surge brakes are self modulating so they only provide braking when the tow vehicle is braking and only in proprotion to the rate of braking. Electric brakes do have some advantages in that the manual control can be used to eliminate sway in a heartbeat by simply touching the controller. It snaps the rig straight very nicely. Brake force is also adjustable on many controller. Brake components in an electric system are less expensive and simpler to replace than hydraulic counterparts. Most who object to electric brakes on boat trailers think the "water and electricity don't mx" theory applies. In that regard, everything is sealed so water and electicity can't mix. Actually, the only electrical object in the brake itself is the magnet. Only the pole piece extends outside the encased magnet.

 

[Splat]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

Yea what silvertip said, he beat me to it.

There really isn't a whole lot in there to go wrong, and very few "electronic" parts.

Bill

 

[JasonB]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

I have had electric "RV" style drum brakes on the front axle of my tandem for 6 years with no problems, but I am a strictly freshwater boater. I pull them apart at least once a year to inspect and repack the bearings and they were just fine last fall. I'm very happy with them for my use.

I do tend to unplug before launch/retrieve, but do occasionally leave them active in certain situations. I like the added braking power if the ramp is steep or slippery. It doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

 

[willieboy]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

For those of you "braking" with electric brakes at the ramp, what braking controller are you using? My understanding is that MOST brake controllers work with an accelerometer as the mechanism to brake, and to determine braking force. As these are setup only for forward momentum, I seriously doubt most electric brake setups work in reverse. That said, I know there are a few controllers that work on braking force, by measuring how far the brake pedal has been applied.

 

[109jb]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

For those of you "braking" with electric brakes at the ramp, what braking controller are you using? My understanding is that MOST brake controllers work with an accelerometer as the mechanism to brake, and to determine braking force. As these are setup only for forward momentum, I seriously doubt most electric brake setups work in reverse. That said, I know there are a few controllers that work on braking force, by measuring how far the brake pedal has been applied.

I don't mean any disrespect, but your understanding is wrong. Electric brake controllers are hooked up to the brake light circuit of the tow vehicle. When you apply the brakes, the brake controller "sees" the light go on and applies the electric brakes. The circuitry of the brake controller does several things. First, it applies the current to the brakes gradually so that you don't get full brake force immediately. For example, you are at highway speed on cruise control and tap the brake. You don't want the trailer brake to lock up. Another thing that the brake controller has is an adjustment for how much maximum brake force you want. Less for lighter loaded trailer, more for a heavier load. The brake controller also has a lever so that you can apply the trailer brakes independent of the tow vehicle brakes. This is a basic rundown of the system.

Edit: I forgot to mention that some do have accelerometers, but the accelerometer is to tailor the brake application for smoother stops, better operation, etc. They in now way eliminate the features I described above.

 

[Splat]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

Actually most are not an accelerometer, although some of the higher end ones are. Like the prodigy from tekonsha(i highly recommend this controller, it self levels and works well in reverse.)

The way most work is through the use of a pendulum. if you imagine hanging a pendant from your rear view mirror. as you step on the pedal the brake controller takes this voltage and essentially "wakes up," as you apply braking force this pendulum due to momentum begins to move forward of the vehicle. The brake controller senses this movement, either through optics, or EM field distortion and applies brakes "proportionally" to your application of the tow vehicle. Imagine you have a large dark pendulum hanging from the mirror, on one side a piece of white cardboard, and on the left a flashlight, as the pendulum swings out of the beam of light, more light is transferred to the white board.the further it swings, the brighter the light on the board. This is actually how some brake controllers sense the movement, except they use IR emmiters, and IR "eyes", they are just like the electric eyes that turn your lamp post on at night, and off at sunrise.

This also explains the need to level the unit, your actually rotating the plane in which the pendulum sits when you turn the knob. By turning the knob slight fore, or aft you can set where in the field the pendulum sits at rest, essentially giving it a head start, or more room to swing, this is how you can set the trailer brakes to lead slightly.

This is the basics of a proportional brake controller.

High end models like the prodigy and the new one (I can't think of it's name) work on the same basics, but there are no moving parts, they are essentially solid state.

The other common type of brake controller is a time based unit. These units are essentially dumb. You set a time delay, and a force amount. When you step on the brake pedal the controller begins simply counting down and appying force based on that clock. It has no idea what your doing behind the wheel, whether your gently tapping the brakes to take the edge off, coming to a normal stop, or standing on the brakes to avoid the kid in daddys new BMW.

Bill

 

[JasonB]

Re: Electric brakes "no good" for a boat trailer, fact or fiction?

I use the Tekonsha Envoy proportional controller. As stated above, it activates from the brake light circuit.

My wife has to remember to turn the braking force all the way down when the boat is off the trailer, otherwise the lightest application of the brakes in the truck will essentially lock the brakes on the trailer.