Hydraulic or Electric brakes?

[frankthomas]

The trailer and boat I recently weighs 3500 lbs and it has no brakes. I am going to have them installed. Should I go hydraulic or electric? Thanks

 

[JASinIL2006]

Saltwater? Freshwater? Budget constraints?

 

[frankthomas]

Ah.. freshwater. Budget.. under a $1,000.

 

[roscoe]

I prefer electric as I hate the clunking of surge.
I tow with a van and a smaller suv, and feel electric are much smoother in application and don't upset the tow vehicle as much as the surge equiped trailer I used to have.
Also, easier to service in my opinion, no fluid, no bleeding.

 

[MTboatguy]

Fresh water only, I would go with electric, I honestly hate the hydraulic braking systems they have for trailers.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I like the hydraulic surge brakes I installed on my trailer. kodiak disc brakes

 

[H20Rat]

hydraulic surge is the way to go, I have kodiak disc like Scott above. Electric brakes require a battery on the trailer to be legal (at least in my state, not sure if it is universal), and that is just one more battery to check and maintain.

Because I'm lazy and my ramp is 1/4 mile of semi-private gravel, I don't connect the trailer lights the vast majority of the time either. Brakes still work as they should.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I have electric and I like them a lot. Very smooth braking, you can control the extent to which the brakes apply via the controller, and they work fine in freshwater. The electric brakes I have seen use drums rather than discs, but I have not had to fiddle with mine much at all.

I think I spent $300-350 to add electric drum brakes to my trailer that had no brakes at all beforehand. If you look on EvilBay, you can find kits that have everything you need (except maybe the controller); it takes an afternoon or two to install them.

A couple of my friends have surge brakes and I really don't care for them, especially if you travel many hilly roads where the trailer is pushing against the tow vehicle.

 

[Need A Vacation]

Frank,

While I’ve never had electric brakes on a boat trailer, the surge brakes have always seemed to be quite finicky, But with the electric brakes you can adjust the brake controller as needed, which is nice.

I am actually in the process of installing electric brakes on a new to us boat trailer today. Will just need to wire up a controller in the tv that will see occasional towing duty.

If you need a brake controller, the Prodigy P2 or P3 models are very good.

For those with electric brakes, do you unplug the trailer before backing into the water?

TY!!!

 

[Silverbullet555]

I swapped my hydraulic surge to electric quite a few years back when I required the entire trailer. I also went from brakes on one axle to brakes on both axles. I only boat on freshwater. I added a tool box to the front of the trailer to hold a jack, spare hub, break away, and a few other things.

They've been solid. No problems, no maintenance, no issues. I can use the brake controller to apply the trailer brakes manually when going down a hill to minimize use of the truck brakes. They stop better and there is no clunking st each stop and go.

Two downsides. First, anyone that tows needs to have brake controller for them to work. No issues for me, but if you let others tow the trailer, it's something to consider. Other issue is when the trailer is empty. If I don't deactivate the brake controller or unplug, it will lock the tires at the slightest touch of the brakes causing it to bounce I just unplug it before I drop the boat and plug it back in after retrieving.

Ultimate is electric over hydraulic. Your budget is $1k. At that price point you very well might be able to go that way. I did all 4 axles with all new brakes for under $500 I believe.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Frank,



For those with electric brakes, do you unplug the trailer before backing into the water?

TY!!!

When I first installed electric brakes, I did, out of an abundance of caution. That lasted about 4 launches. Now, I never unplug them. No problems whatsoever.

 

[Need A Vacation]

When I first installed electric brakes, I did, out of an abundance of caution. That lasted about 4 launches. Now, I never unplug them. No problems whatsoever.

TY!!!

 

[dingbat]

I have electric on one trailer and surge on the other.

Actually prefer surge for ease of use and maintenance reasons.

1. Rodents don't eat SS brake lines.
2. No breakaway battery / charging system to deal with or worry about
3. Disc don't require adjustment
4. Easier to swap brake pads than deal with drums and shoes
5. No brake controller required. Can be towed by anything with a hitch
6. No messing with brake controller settings pending load conditions

Everything equal, electric over Hydraulic disc would be my first choice. Can't justify the cost using my average tow conditions.

Clunking indicates a needs to bleed the brakes or replace a defective actuator dampener.

 

[Lou C]

I have hydraulic surge drum brakes and when properly adjusted they do not clunk. I can slightly feel the actuator working but it is nothing objectionable. Here in salt water it is enough of a challenge to keep the trailer lights working so I don’t think I’d try electric brakes here. However if you look around you can find galvanized electric brakes and zinc coated drums both of which would make your brake system
last longer in fresh water.

 

[pullin]

hydraulic surge is the way to go, I have kodiak disc like Scott above. Electric brakes require a battery on the trailer to be legal (at least in my state, not sure if it is universal), and that is just one more battery to check and maintain.

Because I'm lazy and my ramp is 1/4 mile of semi-private gravel, I don't connect the trailer lights the vast majority of the time either. Brakes still work as they should.

You can buy a breakaway kit for $29.99 from Amazon. Includes wiring, battery, and breakaway switch. It charges from the red wire on your 7-wire connector. It won't work if you're going to use a flat-5 connector.

I just added electric brakes to mine (one axle) for about $300, including shipping. Disclaimer: I have a lot of wiring and connectors at home from previous boats/projects, so I didn't have to buy all that. And my truck already has a controller.

 

[frankthomas]

Well I went with surge hydraulic brakes I was preferring electric but the mechanic said he could find an electric kit that would fit my wheels. I dunno.. a Shorelanr with 14” wheel seems pretty standard to me. But I really do like the brakes I got. Very smooth and effective.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I think your mechanic either doesn't know much or isn't being honest with you... all you need is a brake flange on the axle. If you can find hubs for your trailer, you can add electric brakes...

Anyway, glad you're happy with what you have!