Recommendation For Using Electric Brakes On Boat Trailer

Question:

I have a boat trailer with no brakes and I would like to add electric brakes to it. Can I do this or will they fail do to submersion in water? I currently have a brake controller in my pickup for trailering other trailers of mine with electric brakes.

asked by: Pet S

Expert Reply:

You can absolutely add electric trailer brakes to your boat trailer, but you do want to be careful with the use restrictions. Many manufacturers of boat trailers are moving to electric brakes for the cost savings but also for the functionality. Electric brakes are far more adjustable based on user preferences to change brake boost levels and as you stated more vehicles come equipped with an electric brake controller or at least the wiring.

The submersion aspect is where you need to get specific. As everyone knows, water and electricity are not ideal to have working together, so you simply need to unplug the trailer from your vehicle prior to backing it into the water and giving it a minute to drip before reattaching after pulling it out of the water. I recommend using # 10-1-1 wiring and heat shrink butt connectors # DW05745-10 to keep the connectors from corrosion to give you clean connection. Since you don't have any trailer brakes at all, I recommend using the molded 7-way plug # H20046.

If you let me know your axle specs I can help with the hub and drum as well as the brake assemblies needed. If you can give inner and outer bearing numbers from one of your current idler hubs along with the seal number that is ideal. These numbers are printed on the face of each of these items. If these are not legible, then you can measure your trailer spindle with a caliper to get the specific spindle dimensions. I've attached an article to assist.

expert reply by: Jason S