trailer brake question

[stormrider]

I drive a full size GMC 1500.

I am going to be purchaseing an new Tracker TX170 in the summer (hopefully)

The total weight will be less than 2000 loaded

I see that an option for the trailers is drum brakes. My questions are:

Do I need them?

Should I get them?

If so how difficult is it to have my truck done to work them?

thanks

[71Rig]

I can't say if you would need a controller for a 2000# boat or not.  I will leave that to the guys that tow bigger boats.

Installation is a snap as most late model trucks have a factory hookup for this under the dash, especially if your truck came with a tow package/hitch.  It's basically plug and play.  

The controllers cost from $60 for a standard model to $160 for one with a lot more then you would need.  It will prolong your truck brake life and also give you more control if you need to stop short. But it will also add one more maintenance step for your trailer depending on the type of millage you put on it.  

If it were me and $$ was not a big issue I would do it for that piece of mind.  Plus you will be able to handle bigger loads if the need arose. Maybe someone with a similar set up can tell you how theirs handles.  

[Jig Man]

You can get by without them but they would be a nice addition.

Your truck should be equipped with a 7 pin rv type recepticle.  The backup light wire is what keeps the brakes from engaging when you back the trailer up an incline.

[Wayne P.]

I am picking up a new TX170 tomorrow and I am not getting a trailer with brakes. The rig is light enough to not require brakes especially when towing with a full size truck. I'll be towing mine with a Chevy Colorado or a GMC 1500. I am just sold my fiberglass bass boat with trailer brakes.

71Rig, an electric brake controller is not needed with hydraulic surge brakes.

[Way2slow]

Normally they are rarely needed on smaller boats but are great when needed, provided they work.

I drive a 98 4X4 1500 chevy pickup with large all terrain tires and had a 17' aluminum boat cause me to have to go through a red light because I couldn't get stopped. I was coming out of Orange Park Fl in one of those rare situations where in had be hot a dry for a few weeks and a light mist of rain had just glazed the road making it like grease. Everytime I would try apply brakes the boat would try to push the back end one way or the other. With traffic on both side of me I'd have to ease off the brakes to get it straight. Luckily the light had just turned red and I guess the other traffic saw I wasn't getting stopped so nobody pulled out.

Also, had I been pulling my Stratos or Javelin weighing over 3000 pounds each, I would have been in worse trouble because they both have trailer brakes but you will spend more time and money keeping them working than they are worth. 95% of my fishing is a five mile drive each way from the boat shed to the boat ramp. The trailer brakes never get used enough to fully dry after backing in the lake and the pistons rust in the wheel cylinders, freezing them up. I would always have to make sure I was not dragging a tire when first leaving the house and rock it back and forth to free it up if I was. I finally let air into the bleeders so the surge didn't work and now I just install new wheel cylinders and bleed them when I'm going to make a long haul, which is rare these days.

[Jig Man]

I am picking up a new TX170 tomorrow and I am not getting a trailer with brakes. The rig is light enough to not require brakes especially when towing with a full size truck. I'll be towing mine with a Chevy Colorado or a GMC 1500. I am just sold my fiberglass bass boat with trailer brakes.

71Rig, an electric brake controller is not needed with hydraulic surge brakes.

Good luck on that Colorado.  I rode one of them down a ditch because the driver couldn't get it to stop a 17' Tracker when a girl squatted her car in front of us.

[Wayne P.]

Thanks Jig Man, I know the limitations of the lighter vehicle and drive appropiately. Even trailer brakes won't save one from the stupidity of others: been there, done that. A 21' fiberglass bass boat, tandem axle trailer with disc brakes on both axles, when pulled with a 2500 4X4 pickup won't "stop on a dime". Drive defensively !!!!

[mattm]

You probably won't need them 95% of the time but you should get them for the 5% of the time you do.  

[Grey Wolf]

If you drive hilly terrane , I would say yes.

[George Welcome]

Boat trailer brakes are hydraulic actuated, not electric. Nothing is needed to be done with the truck as the brakes actuate as the trailer surges forward. They will definitely help by taking some of the load off the truck.