New to me - Electric Brake ?

[takingAtrip]

Hi Jayco forum. purchased a "new to me" 99 Eagle 10, just towed it home today and am looking forward to sleeping off the ground for a change ! Overall condition seems to be lightly used for its age and pretty clean. My trailer appears to need just a few things to get it up to speed.

Battery Box..and probably a new battery
Awning
Fold down nose wheel ( currently has a jack with no wheel)
Wheel bearing service

Planning to do a "spring over" lift to get the trailer level with my Jeep and help it get into remote campsites w/o damage (slowly). I've also thought about swapping the axle while I'm at it for one with electric brakes or is it possible to add them to my existing axle ???

[Doug]

Welcome to the forum.
Pull up a seat and make yourself at home.
Some great folks here always willing to help out anyway they can.

I thought I seen on Youtube a guy putting electric brakes on a utility trailer.
You may give Tweetys.com a call or etrailer.com a call. You may be able to just buy new hubs for your existing axle.

Best regards,
Doug

[Dirtfan]

I'm sure i'm not in the minority but we stated off by sleeping on the ground, I remember picking up our first popup knowing that we didn't have to sleep on the ground anymore.

[Jagiven]

Congratulations, it is very nice to move up from the ground, especially on rainy days. We went looking for a PU and bought home a HTT (hybrid travel trailer).

Not sure how hard it will be to retrofit electric brakes, but I bet there is a kit, and you will need a new 7 pin wire harness to the TV, as I would assume you only have a four pin wire harness. There would be some nice advantages, as you would also be able to charge your battery while traveling. You do have to have an on board battery for the electric breaks to work.

As for a nose wheel, personally, unless there is a reason to roll the PU around, leave the wheel in the store. Buying a foot style personally is a lot better as they as they give you a little more stability.

We always like to see what people are doing, so keep us posted and share a few photos.

Happy Camping!

[takingAtrip]

Thanks for the reply's. I think I found a couple "how to" articles on the brake swap so Im going to keep researching all the needed parts.

Going to camp in Anza Borrego Ca over Thanksgiving weekend so that should be a great chance to see what I'm going to need /want in the future.

[Spike99]

Check if existing axle has brake flange (which is a steel mounting plate). If missing, one can buy the steel flange and get a certified welding shop to weld it on. Many welding shops (even certified shops) won't install / weld a brake flange - because its alignment must be 1000% perfect. If it's missing, be prepared to replace the axle with a brand new axle - that contains electric brake hubs on both ends. Do "price around" because prices for new axles do dramatically vary.

Note: On my one trailer, it was less costly to buy new axle with bundle brakes hubs compared to buying individual hub parts for existing axle. Thus, do price comparisons of both methods before buying.

For good bolt pattern template, surf: http://www.trailercanada.com/pdf_doc...letemplate.pdf

Assume existing brake flange does exist, simply buy:
- Left Brake Assembly
- Right Brake Assembly
- 2 x hubs (with proper bolt pattern)
- Lots of 10 Gauge wiring.
- Electric Brake "break away" switch (for some regions, one must legally have this item)
- Electric Brake "emergency brake away" kit (for some regions, one must legally have this item)
- 7 Pin "molded" plug on 6 ft cable - to attach to Tow Vehicle's 7-pin outlet.
- Lots of PVC piping and junction boxes and plastic U fasteners (to install brake wires under trailer's belly)

Lots of trailer parts at: http://www.etrailer.com/ Do shop around because prices do dramatically vary.

For wiring, recommend STAR design - instead of traditional Linear design. re:
Linear: http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...ing-Linear.jpg
STAR: http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...iring-Star.jpg

To view brake wiring under a few of my trailers:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...s/100_2449.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...g/100_1429.jpg
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w...g/100_1433.jpg
Note: Above pictures show its PVC/PEX piping - for 10 gauge wire support.

For good U-Tube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOKsU9fhbZ8

&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtzPmNNM34M

Hope this helps.

[Heady]

Congrats and welcome to JOF!