Using an Electric Trailer Brake Controller With Boat Trailer Hydraulic Brakes  

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The 2012 BMW X5 has a rated towing capacity of 6000-lbs according to my research and for this vehicle we offer several Class III hitches (viewable on the link provided) that share this same maximum towing capacity, along with a tongue weight limit of 600-lbs. Note that these hitches do not fit the M model. You'll want to be sure that your fully-loaded boat/trailer does not exceed the towing or tongue weight capacities of either the vehicle or the hitch (your hitch should have a sticker to indicate its capacity).

Boat trailers typically have hydraulic brakes, rather than electric brakes, due to the uneasy relationship between water and electricity. Boat trailers generally use either a mechanical surge coupler to generate hydraulic braking force, such as Demco # DM8669113, or they have an electric-over-hydraulic braking actuator, such as the Titan BrakeRite # T4813102 that takes an electrical braking signal from a brake controller and converts it to hydraulic pressure for the disk brakes on the trailer. If you have drum brakes, you would need to add the reducer part # T4844100 along with the actuator # T4813102.

To use an electric brake controller with your trailer you will need a controller like the Prodigy P2 # 90885, a brake controller install kit # ETBC7 and an electric-over-hydraulic actuator suitable for the type of brakes on your trailer.

For reference I have linked both installation articles and video for the ETBC7 kit.

expert reply by: Adam R

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