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The moving parts in the electric brake backing plates are the problem not really the water aspect. You can get backing backing plates that are galvanized which will last a bit longer but will still be a problem.
Surge brakes dont act like that.
Surge to electric brake conversion. How to Change a Trailer Equipped with Hydraulic Surge Brakes to an Electric Brake System December 30 2015 By Felling Trailers 9 Comments A common question that we get in our Parts and Service Department at Felling Trailers is in regards to changing the brake system from Hydraulic Surge brakes to an Electric Brake System. You can convert surge brakes to an electric over hydraulic braking system. To do this you will need an electric over hydraulic actuator and a brake controller.
For an electric over hydraulic actuator I recommend looking at the Carlisle HydraStar units. If your trailer has drum brakes you will want part HBA-10. Remove the surge coupler or actuator remove all the lines and finally remove the brake assemblies.
If you have 10 inch diameter hub and drums you may need to replace those as well. If you have 12 inch hub and drums you can re-use them so long as they are in good shape. The moving parts in the electric brake backing plates are the problem not really the water aspect.
The moving parts will rust up and the magnet will not have enough power to over come the rusted joints in time. The hydraulic brakes have less issues with this. You can get backing backing plates that are galvanized which will last a bit longer but will still be a problem.
Electric brakes are more simple than surge brakes but they require a brake controller in the cabin of the tow vehicle. Electric brakes use electromagnets to actuate the drum brakes and you control the electricity to the brakes with the brake controller and the brake light circuit on your vehicle. I have a Trailrite double axle trailer under my 24 Sea Ray and would like to convert the surge brakes to electric does anyone have any info on where I could go to get pricing and parts.
The trailer has brakes only on one axle. I want to be able to tap the trailer brakes. There is a reason they dont come on boat trailers.
Im not an engineer and dont know the exact reason but ALL boat trailers use surgehydraulic brakes for a reason. If electric brakes were ok in and out of the water yous see manufacturers using them especially if it was a better option. May have some thing to do with electricity and water.
Surge brake to hydraulic brake conversion system The Hydrastar Marine Surge Brake Conversion Kit is the solution to all the problems associated with surge trailer brakes. Unlike surge brakes which are inertia based hydraulics Hydrastar gives you all the brake. Are the surge brakes that much of an issue.
The trailers Ive rented all had surge brakes. Past car trailers Ive owned didnt have brakes at all. In fact I have towed a truck only once using electric brakes and wasnt all that impressed even after spending a good bit of time getting the controller adjusted.
The existing hydraulic system coupling needs to be converted from a surge brake or a brake actuator system to a proportional braking system. The new braking system will require an electric trailer brake controller. Alternatively bring your axle into Couplemate for the conversion or call a mobile mechanic to remove the axle from your rig.
People that say electricity and water dont mix simply dont understand how electric brakes work. Sealed electromagnets are unaffected by submersion. The other parts in the braking system are no different materials-wise and function-wise than surge brakes.
I replaced my surge brakes with electric brakes a few years ago. Yesterday I picked it up after switching from the Dico 10 surge brake actuator to a Titan Brakerite SD electric-over-hydraulic EOH actuator. I had replaced all the brakeslines about 18 months ago with Kodiak silver cad so the back end is essentially new discs on all 4 wheels.
With electric brakes after leaving the ramp drag the brakes for a while to dry them out or they do not work when wet. 4 disk brakes on my trailer provide plenty of stopping power with a surge setup. You can feel them grab and slow the truck down.
I was looking into converting our system to Electric Over Hydraulic brakes. This would require adding a controller to the trailer that would tie into the trailer brake controller on our F150. The controller on the trailer would receive a signal from the truck as soon as the normal brake pedal was pushed.
Installing new electric backing plates and. Wiring the new electric brakes. So if you already own a trailer that has hydraulic brakes fear not it is not only possible to have them converted to electric brakes but if you are somewhat mechanically inclined you can even perform the conversion.
Hydrastar Electric brake to hydraulic brake conversion system If there is one single option trailer owners consider a must have its hydraulic disc brakes. Hydraulic disc brakes will stop faster last longer and are considerably cheaper to maintain than electric drum brakes. The Hydrastar Marine Surge Brake Conversion Kit includes everything you will need to convert the outdated surge brake system to an electric over hydraulic trailer brake system.
Simply wire the brake actuator 1600 psi with the hardware provided insert the brake line in to the actuator and say goodbye to your surge brake problems. Titan Brake Rite or Dexter will work great for you. Its really not that difficult of a conversion from surge to Electric Hydraulic.
You can easily do the conversion yourself in a weekend. I highly recommend ElectricHydraulic brakes. Its a good feeling when you apply your brakes and feel the trailer pulling instead of pushing you.
In any event I would never go back to surge brakes i really dont think they work as good as electric and as i said i think electric might be required by law. I know a new trailer cant be made in the state of Kansas with surge brakes dunno about everywhere else. Surge brakes suck.
The hydroboost leaks under the dash in my F250 due to standing on the brake peddle because the surge brakes didnt activate in time. Backing up hills is a pain. Ive been pulled down hills backwards with the truck brakes locked because surge brakes only work going forward.
Adjusting them is a pain in the ass. The Hydrastar Marine Surge Brake Conversion Kit includes everything you will need to convert the outdated surge brake system to an electric over hydraulic trailer brake system. Simply wire the brake actuator 1000 psi with the hardware provided insert the brake line in to the actuator and say goodbye to your surge brake problems.
6 Dec 24 2017. While surge brakes do work the electric brakes are the safest way to go. If there set right the trailer will always be pulling the tow to a stop.
Surge brakes dont act like that. Even tho you only tow 2 times a year it only takes one hard stop to avoid a life changing experience. If its a trailer brake axle with surge hydraulic brakes the change over is reasonable and easy.
All it requires is to change out the backing plates with the shoes. And it goes both ways. If you have electric brakes you can change out the backing plates to the hydraulic ones run new brake lines and hook up a surge brake controller.