Can Trailer-Mounted Battery Provide Power to Electric Brakes on a Boat Trailer

Question:

I wonder whether I could use a 12V battery, eg, a deep cycle model, instead of a 12V from a 7-pin plug, to provide power for training braking through Prodigy RF. If yes, I can mount this battery in my boat trailer. Im not sure how quickly the battery will be drawn to empty during a trip.. My towing car is X5 2008 that will be installed with a Hitch and 7-pin plug. But BMW dealer said the car needs to be programmed for providing braking power from the 7-pin plug to a trailer to avoid causing error messages. Thank you for your help!

asked by: Eric

Expert Reply:

The issue with using an independent trailer-mounted battery to power trailer brakes is that you would not know exactly when the battery was near depletion nor when you would lose braking power on the trailer.

This would be a safety concern that is best avoided by using the brake signal feed from the 7-way on the tow vehicle. If your dealer is installing the hitch and trailer wiring, and is also doing the necessary programming of the vehicle, he can check to ensure that the correct brake signals are present at the 7-way.

The Prodigy RF # TK94FR will then simply plug in to the dealer-installed 7-way trailer connector on the X5.

expert reply by: Adam R