Can Electric Brakes be Used on a Boat Trailer

Question:

Can these or sone other electric brakes be added to a boat trailer and be submerged fresh water or do you have to use hydraulic hrakes onky

asked by: Keith

Expert Reply:

People use electric brakes on boat trailers all the time actually. We used to tell people they had to unplug their trailer wiring before backing the trailer into the water (still not a terrible idea) but in reality people leave the wiring plugged in all the time and rarely have issues. I sat and watched people on a boat ramp once (always entertaining by the way) and didn't see a single person unplug their trailer wiring before backing in and it didn't seem to phase any of the trailers.

If you have 3,500 lb trailer axles the Dexter brake assembly kit part # 23-26-27 is a really great option. These are manual adjust assemblies though so if you instead wanted a similar set that were self adjusting you'd need the part # 23-468-469.

I attached an install video for these assemblies plus a link to a help article on adding electric trailer brakes to a trailer.

expert reply by: Jameson C