Parts Needed to Add Electric Brakes to 1994 Load Right Single Axle Boat Trailer

Question

Question:

I have a 1994 Load Right single axle trailer for a 20 foot Boston Whaler Outrage. When I purchased the trailer it was in need of significant work to make it roadworthy to make the 400+ mile drive home. I had new springs, bunks, hubs, barrings, LED lights, ect installed. The trailer had existing drum brakes that were disabled by the previous owner. The trailer repair facility said that I would be okay without brakes for the drive home. I am now interested in installing brakes. Because I store the boat in the water, under normal conditions I would only use the trailer once in the spring and once in the fall for launch and recovery, however, I am considering taking the boat on a couple of long excursions per year. One approximately 400 miles and the other about 1,000 miles. Having already sunk about 1,000 dollars into the trailer and still needing to replace the winch and a couple of other things I wanted to ask for suggestions on adding brakes. From what I can tell, I would need an entire kit to include master cylinder and brake lines it looks like they have been removed. I have read a fair amount on the advantages of disc vs drum brakes, but dont know if that additional cost is worth it for my usage. Although I have never worked on brakes, I plan to attempt to install the brakes myself unless you tell me I am crazy after viewing the videos on your website. They were very helpful. Having already spend a lot of money on the trailer, I wonder if I should just sell it and get a new or newer trailer with brakes. Any suggestions or advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

asked by: RDH

0

Expert Reply:

I will start off by saying, no, I do not think that it would be crazy to install the brakes yourself. With some time, patience, tools, a cold drink, and of course access to our videos, I'm sure you can do this.

My personal suggestion would be to go with electric brakes for the trailer. In my opinion this would be the most economical route and would give you less headache in the future. I have attached an article which goes over adding electric brakes and the parts needed.

In order to add electric brakes to your trailer you'll want to start by inspecting the existing drums to determine if they are compatible with electric brakes. If the armature surface (where the brake magnet touches) is smooth, you shouldn't have to replace your drums.

Next step is the brakes. For this we will just need to know the brake mounting flange bolt pattern, axle capacity, and drum size.

Last but not least is the wiring for the trailer and installing a brake controller in your tow vehicle. In order to power the brakes on the trailer, you will need to run wiring, # 10-2-1 sold by the foot, from the front of your trailer to your trailer brakes. Since this is a boat trailer you will need to take extra precautions, like heat shrinking all of the wiring connections, to keep water from getting in and corroding the wiring. You will also need to make sure that the trailer connector is unplugged before backing in to launch your boat and that everything has dried out before reconnecting. If your trailer isn't equipped with a 7-way ( # A7WCB) you will need to make the conversion at this time. As for the brake controller, I recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P3, # 90195. This is our best selling brake controller because of how well it works and how easy it is to setup. For an even easier installation, a vehicle specific wiring adapter may be available for your vehicle.

If you can send me an email with the year, make, and model of your tow vehicle, as well as the brake mounting flange bolt pattern, axle capacity, and drum size, I would be happy to make specific parts recommendations for you.