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Brakes On Trailers


Ryannnnnnnn

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Hey, 

 

Looking at a 6.5m plate boat and am thinking it might sit around the 2 tonne mark at a guess. I have a Triton to tow it. From my little reading, it looks like you need trailer brakes of the loaded trailer if above 750kg. Is that right?

Very new to the idea of trailer brakes, are they are pain to maintain, and how much should I be expecting to pay if the trailer doesn't have it already? I'm guessing the ute will need to be modified to support it as it wouldn't run through the trailer plug? 

 

Cheers

 

 

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31 minutes ago, Ryannnnnnnn said:

Yeah OK cool thanks then it seems like its not a matter of of it has brakes, but what type of brakes. Do mechanical override brakes generally require any special fitments to the car, or does it work completely outside of any electronics? 

Mechanical override brakes are stand alone. Nothing special required.

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Single axle trailers with an ATM up to 750kg do not need brakes

750kg up to 2000kg need brakes and they can be any type including over run style of brakes.

All brake types besides over runs need a brake controller installed inside the car to manually control the trailer if needed.

Over an ATM of 2000kg you need a brake away system installed in case you lose the trailer off the coupling or the tow bar brakes.

You also need to have the axles, suspension, rims and tyres as well as the towbar and coupling of a suitable size to meet ADR standards.

It will depend on final weights and axle spacings as to whether you need a single braked axle or all axles braked.

Converting an old trailer to a braked trailer that fully meets ADR Standards is quite an expensive exersize and could very easily cost a few grand depending on the type and quality of brakes you decide to fit so do some serious homework before you buy the boat.

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On 26/06/2020 at 7:47 AM, Ryannnnnnnn said:

Hey, 

 

Looking at a 6.5m plate boat and am thinking it might sit around the 2 tonne mark at a guess. I have a Triton to tow it. From my little reading, it looks like you need trailer brakes of the loaded trailer if above 750kg. Is that right?

Very new to the idea of trailer brakes, are they are pain to maintain, and how much should I be expecting to pay if the trailer doesn't have it already? I'm guessing the ute will need to be modified to support it as it wouldn't run through the trailer plug? 

 

Cheers

 

 

Mate I'm not an expert and there is some great advice above but just my 2c worth. A 6.5m boat is a beast that needs respecting. Spend the extra $s, get the right trailer and brakes and you will have loads of great trips. Most times if I try and shortcut I end up working on the boat and not fishing. 

Good luck and send some pics of your rig. Sounds awesome.  

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5 hours ago, Drop Bear said:

Mate I'm not an expert and there is some great advice above but just my 2c worth. A 6.5m boat is a beast that needs respecting. Spend the extra $s, get the right trailer and brakes and you will have loads of great trips. Most times if I try and shortcut I end up working on the boat and not fishing. 

Good luck and send some pics of your rig. Sounds awesome.  

Hear hear!

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I think that if trailer is over the 2000Kg mark you will need brakes on all axles, plus breakaway setup and a method to activate said brakes from within easy reach of the driver. There is a manufacturer that does a brake system which relies just on the brake lights coming on and is connected by blue tooth, so it is a kit that installs on the trailer and also connects to your phone via blue tooth ( for the easy reach part) . Don't know much about it as I saw it briefly on a caravan show. Personally I wouldn't get one as I think that if the blue tooth signal link was for whatever reason broken you may have issues,  as well your phone would have to be on all the time and no blank screen and mounted within easy reach.

On my previous 3.5T tailer, I had a Tekonsha P3 which connected to an electric to hydraulic brake unit. The P3 proportional controller  allowed you to set the brake voltage on the trailer brakes hydraulic  pump to increase or decrease the amount of braking power depending on the load. It also had a manual override lever underneath it and a couple of modes for a  light trailer, heavy and full 3.5T. The actuator was a 1600PSI unit capable of handling a tri-axial trailer. The controller needed to be wired to the braking light wiring in the vehicle and a 50A Anderson plug to the back next to the tow bar hitch. The actuator was supplied power by that Anderson plug and also connected by the trailer plug. Worked very well.

My current 2000Kg trailer has override brakes and is a bit of a pain, every time you hit the brakes hard the trailer bangs once the spring compresses.

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Realistically if you are looking at a fairly new boat it should be housed on a suitably rigged trailer. If not, I would steer clear of it. There is a chance that it still comes in under the 2000kg threshold. The latest 4 stroke motors are lighter than the previous ones and you’re looking at aluminium which is lighter than fibreglass and requires less hp than fibreglass. If in doubt, ask the seller to tow it to the nearest  weighbridge with you and ascertain the actual gross weight. My boat is 6.4 metres, fibreglass with a 200 hp v8 on the back and it comes in under 2000kg.

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I have electric drum brakes on my dam boat trailer ( corrosion not an issue as it is only used in fresh water.)and even with the controller set on mininium it still locks up when reversing when empty so I have wired up a relay to the reversing lights that open circuits the brake circuit whilst in reverse. Do not know how legal it is as it also means that the electric brake are inoperative when reversing when loaded.

Edited by rayke1938
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28 minutes ago, Ed. said:

I think that on my P3 you have go into a menu and tell the controller that you are reversing although I have never done that

Was not told about that when I had it installed only told about adjusting boost. Just looked it up and it is there in p2 instructions.🥵

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