electric brakes

[Bilmon]

Anyone ever changed from surge to electric? If so was it worth it, any downside? Fresh water only. I'm tired of fighting the surge system on my trailer and I'm thinking of putting this on my winter list, doesn't look overly pricey and I think I should be able to keep my drums as they are in good shape.

Bill

 

[sysinu]

Yes it's worth it. It is SO WORTH IT!!! Converting should cost you about 450-500$ unless your trailer MFG is screwing you on price. I wouldn't pay over 650. They will have to swap out your disk surge brakes for drum electric. They will rip out all of your hydraulic lines and replace it with a power cable. Your emergency breakeaway will also have to be retrofitted with a rechargable battery (the 12V fish finder type in a waterproof container).

I have had electric drum brakes on my boats for 10 years and never had a problem beyond that which is normal wear. I'm freshwater only as well. I unplug my lights (as habit) every time I dunk the trailer, but assuming you have a good trailer brake installed, that shouldn't be an issue either. Good trailer brakes will detect a short and they won't blow fuses. I have a Techonsha P3 in my truck as well as in my wife's Escalade and it does great. I would highly recommend you use a proportional electric brake in your tow vehicle.

The upsides to electric are huge: no more burning brakes when you're using the transmission of your tow vehicle down hill, no more having to bleed the lines or replace hydraulic fluid, no more issues backing up even if you have the 5th pin lockout setup, no more "clunk" every time you more from a stoplight or traffic, ... Don't forget about the amount of control you get, particularly if your tow vehicle is mildly undersized for your boat. Back in the day, when I was towing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee, I would get thrown around a little by larger trailers and boats, and all it takes is one pulse of trailer brake to recover from the bounce. Can't do that with hydraulic. Also, the ride with electric brakes is so much nicer, and you have much less to worry about if the brakes are still engaged while driving down the road. I've been on the freeway w/ hydraulic brakes before and still had them partly engaged because the trailer was weighted down heavier in the bow than usual and the trailer wasn't perfectly level. That is murder to your fuel efficiency!

The cons are: Everyone says your brakes will rust (as if driving down the road your brakes don't get water on them anyway), none of our trailers come w/ electric so you have to pay for your brakes twice, you have to have an installed trailer brake in your tow vehicle, if you ever sell your boat you have to make it super clear that your trailer has electric brakes and not hydraulic.

 

[Speedling]

I have them and love them.
I will do a write up perhaps this winter but it's actually so simple you'll laugh. Hardest part for me was that i needed a slightly different sized bearing because i reused the drum from my camper. Like 2 bucks for those and 30 for new magnets and 50 on gas breaking them in!

 

[jcyamaharider]

Still on my list to do!!

 

[Bilmon]

Thanks for the feedback guys, just the nudge I needed to spend a little money. Not that I need much encouragement, it's on the list. Sure won't miss the constant attention my surge brakes seem to need or that damn clunk.

Bill