Trailer battery life

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Our EZLoader trailer has a small battery that supplies electric power to the trailers electric over hydraulic brake actuator and the battery is coming up on being three years old. I've not had any problems with the battery, everything still works as it should but I'm wondering how long I should expect this battery to last. Has anyone else had experience replacing a trailer battery to know their expected life span?

Jim

 

[knotflying]

Hi Jim,

I am told they can last a relatively long time, as much as 8 years. The way I test mine, besides a voltage test, is to pull the breakaway cord and make sure things engage. Interestingly when I did it last time I discovered that my breakaway switch was broken and needed replacing.

Mike Rizzo

 

[Levitation]

When I checked mine on the way home from Florida this month I discovered that the slide bolts on all 4 calipers are now seized and only the brake pad on the piston side was making contact not giving much braking action. Apparently salt air is not good for trailer brakes.
So the moral is do a pre-flight walk around, errr I mean pre-tow :mrgreen:
The flight might come if you have to stop suddenly on a downgrade and only have about 10% braking. Knowing I had minimal braking on the trailer I was doubly careful. Luckily, the Duramax I have is the upgraded brakes version and I had not even noticed the trailer brakes were not helping much.
In checking the voltage I also noticed the battery is failing and probably has a partially shorted cell - 4 years old. It does charge up when the truck runs but goes down in about 10 days. Gonna have to drop money on a new one :roll:

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Thanks Denny and Mike. My caliper slides also rusted closed and had to be taken apart and cleaned up. Since then I've taken up spraying everything off with a hand pump tank spray device filled with fresh water anytime I've launched or retrieved in salt water. The idea I obtained from Mike Rizzo. It've been doing it this way for 1 year now so I'm anxious to see how the trailer brakes work on our return trip to Michigan. Mike I did plug in my trailer pigtail to the truck and heard the actuator engage, telling me my trailer battery is operational. Anyone else?

 

[Todd]

Jim.
Not sure I follow you. How does plugging the trailer into the truck give you information about the trailer battery. Unplug the truck, pull the breakaway switch and see if the breaks come on. Thats what it is for.

The truck will charge the battery but it should be replaced if it can not hold a charge for at least a couple of weeks or does not have the power to apply the breaks as mentioned above.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Todd:

When our trailer pigtail is plugged into our truck receptacle, just as a test, the electric over hydraulic actuator makes a noise that indicates that there is an electrical connection....meaning that the battery attached to the trailer that generates this power is working. If, when connected, I hear no such noise then it is an indication that the battery on the trailer is not generating power and that the actuator is not working....therefore the electric over hydraulic part of the trailer brakes are not working. This is how I understand how the electric over hydraulic brakes work on our EZLoader trailer operate. If I've missed something please correct what I've described.

Jim

 

[tuggertoy]

Hi Jim,

Your E over H brake system is powered by the output from your in cab brake controller when the trailer plug is connected to the tow vehicle. The battery on the trailer only provides emergency power to the system if the trailer were to detach from the tow vehicle. The brake safety cable pulls the switch to the back up battery engaging the brakes for a period of up to 20 minutes when the battery is healthy and fully charged. All of this is intended to stop the trailer and hold it in place until it can be properly secured after an unintended disconnect while towing.

Eric
Tugger Toy
2006 R-21 Classic
King Single Axle Trailer with E over H Brakes

 

[knotflying]

Thanks Denny and Mike. My caliper slides also rusted closed and had to be taken apart and cleaned up. Since then I've taken up spraying everything off with a hand pump tank spray device filled with fresh water anytime I've launched or retrieved in salt water. The idea I obtained from Mike Rizzo. It've been doing it this way for 1 year now so I'm anxious to see how the trailer brakes work on our return trip to Michigan. Mike I did plug in my trailer pigtail to the truck and heard the actuator engage, telling me my trailer battery is operational. Anyone else?

Jim,

That sound you hear when you plug in the trailer to the truck only indicates that you have power to the actuator. What I said was, when the trailer is not connected to the truck pull the break away release and then you should hear the actuator engage and the brakes should also lock. That will mean the battery is working, the system is working and the switch is working. A voltage meter will only let you know that the battery is charged.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Mike, Eric and Todd:

This has been a good learning experience for me. After your explanations and thinking thru what you've all said I now have a better grasp and understanding of what does what and why. Off to pull the emergency safety cable so I can test the trailers brake operation. Thanks again.