Electric brakes for boat trailer, nice upgrade.

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

I was told the reason for not having electric brakes on boat trailers is because if you use them in salt water they fail from corrosion, is this true?
Are all the electronics sealed in case the ramp is shallow and you have to back in beyond the coupling?
Any info on them?
I have an 8K dump trailer with electric brakes and they work sweet, I’d love to have electric on my wife’s boat trailer, at 8K it would stop so much easier.

The electric brake parts on my Dexter axles are made of the same materials as the hydraulic brake parts. The only difference is the electric brakes have a sealed electromagnet actuator that grabs the the brake drum and uses the rotational energy in it to apply the brakes. The only potential for problems that's different than hydraulic is the wiring to the magnets. If it's not executed in a "marine wiring" manner, it will corrode from being submerged and fail. Frankly, I expect the electric brakes to last longer than the hydraulic brakes, which I had to repair numerous times. If they do fail, I can get complete replacements for 37 bucks a wheel.

There is no reason to fear dunking electric brakes in fresh water, if you see how they work, you'll understand why. The "electronics" are just a big sealed hockey-puck-like electromagnet on each wheel If you routinely dunk in salt, SS disc brakes would probably your best bet. I rarely dunk my trailer in salt water.