Who is using electric brakes?
 

Who is using electric brakes? I currently have surge brakes and it's time for an overhaul. I had electric brakes on a boat trailer years ago with no problems but I didn't keep the trailer very long. I'd like to hear from those who have electric brakes on their boat trailer about their experience and how well they have held up. I'm speaking specifically of electric drum brakes and not electric over hydraulic

I have had electric brakes on many of my race trailers through the yrs
the good is u can adjust the amount the brakes apply when stopping
lots nicer than a surge that locks up when hit brakes hard makes things out of shape,,,
and no clunking noises when stop and go,,,,
bad is they are still drum brakes
and the magnet can go out
but spare magnets are cheap
also now u are locked in to have brakes to use the same vehicle to tow with
as must have a controller wire in the vehicle
so just cannot tow with anything
so like everything theres 2 sides
surge with disc is nice
as wash easily being open behind tire and pad changing is not as much as a hassle

I have all electric drums on 6 wheels. They work just fine for me. However, if you overload the bearing grease and it pushed out of the rear seal, they are toast. If I were to redo them, I would go with 6 wheel EOH disks.

My electric brakes on my Manning worked awesome. I was very happy with that setup. So much nicer than surge brakes. I haven't towed with an EOH setup to compare that tough.

Electric brakes on boat trailers work well, unplug before backing down the ramp. If you boat in salt water you will have to replace the backing plates every couple of years. Cheaper than electric over hydraulic brakes.

This pretty much sums up my suspicions but I wanted to hear from others, keep the comments coming. Thanks.

I converted mine from surge drum to EOH disc and some of the best money I ever spent! Bought a 2015 GMC Sierra last year with the integrated brake controller and it works flawlessly with the EOH system! If you can afford the extra money then I think the EOH is the way to go!

I have been running electric brakes on my trailer for a number of years now. Unplug before backing her in and all is well. Many newer trucks have an integrated brake controller but its not very expensive to put one in if needed. It cost me less than $100 and a couple hours of my time to put one into my ole Chevy 2500.

I never in 5 years unplugged my electric brakes before dunking the trailer.

You know that it's just energizing an electro-magnet, right? It's not like you're going to short circuit anything by getting them wet while plugged in.

If I took a guess, the energy just fuels the corrosion. Especially in salt.

Provided you wired with good shrink splices and not scotch-locks like most are installed with on average trailers.

I converted my old trailer to electrics and will be converting my Manning tri-axle with chitty and sticky surge brakes in the spring. Love being able to just swap a backing plate, splice wires, adjust, and go. No more clunking, no more dragging and overheating bearings.

It's a shame there isn't a marine version of the electric brakes available, i.e. Stainless / Galv components, either way if you have to change them every couple of years they're cheap enough....

One of the advantages of EoH over straight electric that you ought to unplug when you get to the ramp...
...is that you have braking in reverse, which is especially helpful on wet and/or steep ramps.

Once you hear and feel the front wheels of the tow vehicle starting to slide down a ramp; it's a very, VERY eerie feeling.
I've also seen truck brakes fail at the worst possible time, like on a boat ramp. If your trailer brakes are unplugged, not a good situation at all as you can't use the manual override.

Just my thoughts, take 'em or leave 'em.

I appreciate the thoughts. Although, I don't see much reason to unplug when backing down. I've never unplugged my trailer lights. It would seem like the magnet is not going to care if it's above or below water when it's energized. The problem I see is water eventually getting into either the magnet or the connections, the question is if/when and how often. If I can a 3-5 years out of a set of brakes I'm satisfied when considering the simplicity and cost. If I was trailering for a living I might have a different opinion and strongly consider the EOH option. Again, thanks for the input Sydwayz.

Id rather have wiring then brake lines that leak, rust, or break. One leak and all the supposed advantages of EOH are out the window. I`ve never needed extra brakes backing down a ramp and I tow a heavy ass boat.
I like my electric brakes. Have never unplugged them at the ramp .Only downfall may be the heat in stop and go traffic. My temp gun always reads higher .

And the beauty of that, is with electric brakes you can just turn down the gain :)

Just an FYI - you can do the same with EOH

I take it back, noticed this weekend only one wheel is braking. Thinking about EOH now :stooges:

How old are your electric brakes? You can probably replace all backing plate assemblies for $300 bucks. Or maybe just a handful of magnets for $125. EOH would be great but for me it's $1500ish to convert to discs and EOH. Just seems a bit off the mark for something that's certainly better but is it really worth it? I currently just have drums on one axle and the braking is good. Drums on both would be an improvement in and of itself which is why I was just thinking of going all electric. I'm just curious if replacing the magnets or backing plates is an annual thing or more or less?

If I were to do it all over again:

If I was having trailer issues, I'd sell the thing for a reasonable price. Buy a brand new one with EOH and call it a day. Seems to be the most reliable and cost effective way to go. You can spend a lot of money and time screwing with trailer issues.

But to answer your question ezrizer, depending on how big your boat is...absolutely worth it. I had EoH on my Sunsation Dominator trailer that I pulled with my F-150 EcoBoost. Adding those brakes took the braking from "good enough" to "do I have too much braking now?" It adds a huge degree of stability and confidence. The only time I wouldn't is if I was pulling a small boat that the truck's brakes are certainly plenty and the trailer at that point is a bonus.

I did new loaded 12 by 2 backing plates on mine 30 some bucks a piece on line , individual parts alone will be way more. E trailer 38.95 each.