My Trailer Brake Installation

A few days ago when I dropped off the trailer, they told me they’d call me back with final pricing and schedule. I was surprised when they called me the very next day to say that it’s done already and that I can come pick it up. It also came in $100 under the estimate.

I totally need to do a YouTube video about towing a boat with a smaller car. I’ve learned so much that I wish I knew in advance. The dealer has given me all kinds of misinformation. He told me I needed a five-pin electrical connector on the car, so I went to a lot of trouble to have my four-pin connector on the car rewired. That would have been correct if they had given me the right trailer. In any case, I wound up with drum brakes that don’t lock up in reverse anyway and don’t need the reverse lockout (the fifth pin). So there was definitely some wasted time and money there.

The trailer shop said they use the disk brakes only on bigger trailers with two or three axels. However, people in online forums were shocked at this. They say that nobody uses drum brakes on boat trailers anymore, because they’re so hard to rinse the saltwater out of. I also found out that the factory trailer would have had disk brakes. I’m really surprised the trailer shop didn’t try to upsell me on those. I wonder what the difference in cost would have been. The whole situation with the trailer and its brakes has been one long frustration, but at least I have brakes now. I’m going to have to be diligent about washing them after every saltwater launch.

I got up at zero dark 30 today for a foggy drive to Kent to pick the trailer, so that I could be back in time for an event I needed to attend in Everett. I couldn’t resist a road pastry stop at Wild Wheat Bakery. It does feel great to have the peace of mind of trailer brakes. The metal box on the trailer tongue is the surge brake actuator. Pushing the trailer forwards towards the hitch is like stepping on the brake pedal. It’s also got an emergency breakaway cable which connects to the car. If the trailer comes loose from the car, this cable will get yanked and lock up the trailer brakes.