Boat Thread

[Wiregeek]

my switch panels got in, gonna be working on the physical mount of them this evening.. Boat's registered, trailer registration is going to have to wait for a copy of the proof of executorship to come from the lawyer

[Wiregeek]

Finally got a pic of the whole boat uploaded.

[Rajvik]

Oh you poor bugger, its on an EZ loader.
First word of advice, that front roller that the keel comes against, replace it with a carpeted block, it will last longer and cause less damage to the gel coat.

[Wiregeek]

Gel coat is for people without aluminum hulls

[Rajvik]

Ok, point, I missed that.

That said, the pin on that front roller goes while loading your looking at a cracked keel on anything

[Black Aeronaut]

Honestly, a boat that size I'd want two axles for - not only for better support, but also for more braking power.

(It kinda bugs me that surge brakes aren't more popular. The engineer in me just feels that there is so much that can go wrong in an electric brake system - the most common being connection issues with your wiring.)

[Rajvik]

As someone who used to work with them on a regular basis I can say that one of the reasons people don't like surge brakes is because they are a bitch to back up with, especially if you have to back uphill.

That said, I agree that I would prefer two axles to that load, the problem being again it is an EZloader trailer. Their company motto should be "Have it our way"

[Wiregeek]

yeah, EZLoader can fuck its way up a rope. We're putting a 5000 pound leaf spring axle under the trailer, and I have a welder, so I win.

Though I think it's just going to be bolt on, thank god.

[Black Aeronaut]

As someone who used to work with them on a regular basis I can say that one of the reasons people don't like surge brakes is because they are a bitch to back up with, especially if you have to back uphill.

That said, I agree that I would prefer two axles to that load, the problem being again it is an EZloader trailer. Their company motto should be "Have it our way"

That's what a five-flat connector is for - it's just like a four-flat, only with a fifth wire.  The fifth wire uses the current from the reverse lights to activate a solenoid valve that cuts out the brake.  The solenoid valve is designed so its failure mode is in the open position - this way, while it's annoying as hell when it breaks, it at least doesn't prevent the brakes from activating.

I'm kinda surprised that not all surge brake systems use this.

[Rajvik]

BA i have yet to see one like that to be honest with you. and if you are going to go that far you might as well use a 6-round or a 7-round RV plug and have electric brakes, or electric over hydraulic for that matter, of course those get all kinds of fun to diagnose when they have troubles.

EZ Loader is a bolt on set up, however where the bolt holes are for the existing spring carriage are at, is calculated to balance the weight on a single axle, you have to completely recalculate for double axles and drill completely new bolt holes for both sets if you do that. That is assuming an aluminum frame trailer and not a galvanized, (looks at pic again) no that's a galvanized frame, get ready to break out the grinder and the welder, your going to need them.

[LynnInDenver]

That's what a five-flat connector is for - it's just like a four-flat, only with a fifth wire.  The fifth wire uses the current from the reverse lights to activate a solenoid valve that cuts out the brake.  The solenoid valve is designed so its failure mode is in the open position - this way, while it's annoying as hell when it breaks, it at least doesn't prevent the brakes from activating.

I'm kinda surprised that not all surge brake systems use this.

30 cents of wire and a 35 cent solenoid, that's why. Cut the price, yet maintain the profitability, while selling to people who don't know what they're missing and blame the surge brake instead of the cost cutting, and then buy the higher profitability trailer with the simpler system.

[Black Aeronaut]

They do exist, and the price difference isn't crazy. This site has plenty with the electrically actuated lock-out. (Note: a manually activated lockout is an option, but the electric one is more fool-proof as you might forget to turn the lock-out off on the manual version.)
https://www.etrailer.com/dept.aspx?furl=...=-sb-Price

Here's an electric reverse brake lock-out solenoid that can be used to retrofit an existing surge brake system:
https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and...11993.html

And here's a universal vehicle wiring kit with the five-flat connector:
https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Vehi...19177.html

Both of those have videos that go into great detail on the items.