Electric brake conversion on RT188

[atljar]

Anyone ever done this on single axle Ranger Trail for RT188 and can give any insight to the process? No brakes on the trailer as is and I would love to install some for peace of mind on longer road trips

I was looking at the Dexter 10x1.5 electric kit and their 10x1.5 drums which are the correct 5x4.5 wheel pattern. I cant find anywhere what the flange pattern of the brakes are where it would bolt to the axle though. I measured the trailer and it looks like its 2.75" square but not sure if that's common or not

Then my next questions would be on bearings and trying to keep the Vault bearing caps. The drums accept bearings 1-1/16" (L44649) x 1-1/4" (LM67048), which I have no idea if those would be compatible with my axle?

Finally, I have the vault caps which I realize are love / hate, but I happen to like them. Could I still install these back onto the drums (they are 1.98 which is the same as my boat)


Thank you!

[tcesni]

I can't add any insight regarding the Vault bearings and such but I am interested in what you have for a two vehicle. I own two RT188's, one with surge brakes and one without so I do have experience in towing the two versions of the Ranger trailer. Plus I tow with a 2014 Ford Edge AWD and not a 1/2 ton truck which many folks consider the minimum for towing anything larger than a canoe.

[bassfisher444]

Don't need them on a boat that light.

[atljar]

Towing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee with SRT brakes (bigger than anything you are going to find on any 1/2 ton truck, 380mm rotors). Does it stop ok? yes including trips through the mountains.. Have I had any close calls? Nope. Is spending $600 better than not stopping 1x when i really need to stop quickly? Absolutely. The post wasnt so much as if do I need them. Its more that I want them.

From what I found so far, those bearings wont work on the trailer. I think our trailer runs 3500lb bearings, which are 68149 and L44649, can anyone confirm that? This also means I would run 10x2.25 drums instead of the 10x1.5 i was originally looking at.

[sheffism]

https://www.easternmarine.com/ Has everything you need. Look at a complete axle swap, seems it would be the easiest route.

[tcesni]

Towing with a Jeep Grand Cherokee with SRT brakes (bigger than anything you are going to find on any 1/2 ton truck, 380mm rotors). Does it stop ok? yes including trips through the mountains.. Have I had any close calls? Nope. Is spending $600 better than not stopping 1x when i really need to stop quickly? Absolutely. The post wasnt so much as if do I need them. Its more that I want them.

From what I found so far, those bearings wont work on the trailer. I think our trailer runs 3500lb bearings, which are 68149 and L44649, can anyone confirm that? This also means I would run 10x2.25 drums instead of the 10x1.5 i was originally looking at.

You don't need the brakes, I can barely tell the difference between my two rigs and I'm sure you have far better braking capacity than I do.

[Transom]

Also although electric brakes can work on a boat trailer time and experience has proven that surge brakes are the far better choice for a boat trailer.

[1BADAIR]

Surge would require a lot of trailer mods. Electric brakes rust and are not reliable from being under water . If you absolutely need them I would consider an electric over hydraulic system

[atljar]

Agree surge would be the better option, but the retrofit becomes quite involved quickly. I ordered some parts that I think will work, I'll report back with results

[rmward]

Don't need them on a boat that light.

May not "need" them to help you stop, sure doesn't hurt any. However, trailer brakes help keep the trailer stable in a panic stop and slows the trailer down in the event it comes loose.

[atljar]

Follow up:

Installation of electric drum brakes complete. Used the 10x2.25 TruRyde electric brakes for 3500 lb axles and TruRyde matching drums. The bearings stayed the same size as stock, L44649 and L68149 although I did replace mine with Timken brand as a proactive maintenance item. Factory wheels fit and clearance great. Only other change I made was to mcgard lug nuts with a smaller hex drive, so that its easier to get a socket on them and not rub on the lug nut bore on the wheel when removing the wheel

I also bought new Dexter Vault caps and installed onto the drums using their vault grease and their replacement instructions. EVERYTHING was standard sizing and nothing specific to Ranger only. Im pretty sure the only thing that Dexter hubs require is their cap, their grease and a axle that has a grease zerk in it. At 8 years old, the original Vault caps were still pressurized and not leaking. However, the grease that drained out was rather thin in comparison to the new Vault grease going in, (think gear oil thickness for the old fluid).

Trailer was converted to a round 7 pin using one of those conversion boxes from Amazon. Super cheap, seems like good quality. New wiring ran from the box back to the brakes. Terminated with weatherpack connectors so that the brakes can be easily removed without rewiring if ever needed (or disconnected if something ever fails)

Results: Night and day difference in stopping power and a HIGHLY recommended modification. Maybe the factory ranger brakes are inefficient or dont work well, but these I installed do their job. I have the controller setup so that applying the brakes I can feel the trailer slow the tow vehicle down very slightly, which is my preferred setting (in other words trailer stops harder than the car at low brake apply)

[tcesni]

Thanks for the follow up report.