Surge Brakes
 

We are looking at buying an 03 VLX. The boat is in great condition. The only thing that's worrying us is the trailer brakes. The owner says that the brakes kept going dry on him. He said he talked to a mechanic and decided that not having brakes wasn't a big deal.

Does anyone have an idea about what it would take/cost to get the brakes working again?

We will be pulling the boat home, about 5 hrs, with an 06 f150. Any concerns about no brakes while getting it home?

I'm not sure what kind of trailer it is.

Thanks in advance.

Sounds like a leak in the line; could not tell you how much it will cost to fix though, would not think it would be too much since new trailers are not terribly expensive.

Your truck weighs in at about 7K lbs, boat is a little over half that, just keep those 2 weights in mind as you drive you'll probably be okay for the short term - your other option would be to add break fluid for the trip and then get the trailer fixed at home.

it wouldn't be terribly expensive to get it fixed. depending on what is wrong of course. i'd guess a few hundred bucks to have someone go through it completely, find the leak, check the master cylinder, bleed the lines, refill, etc.

i just had a new actuator assembly and master cylinder installed on my trailer. lines blead, brakes double-checked, etc. it was several hundred, but i had to buy the entire actuator assembly clear back to the break-away from MC, have it metal-etched, painted, clear coated, etc.

i would not want to trailer any great distance without brakes. why not somehow make it a condition of the sale? not sure what state you're in, but many states require brakes on any axle that comes in contact with public roadways.

In VA brakes are required once the trailer/cargo is more than a certain weight (3000 lbs I think) - a yearly safety inspection is required as well.

My 2 axle boatmate trailer has brakes, but none of the single axle cargo trailers I have pulled had them. In any case it is a risk, his truck brakes will eventually stop but will definitely require increased distances and more prior planning before slamming.

Would go with Bruce's recommendation regarding making it a condition of the sale - either by reducing the price or having a mechanic fix the issue.

When we bought our boat the trailer needed work, which we were aware of, what we didnt know is the surge brake were not working entirely untill we got it home. We drove 6 hrs w/o brakes on trailer. Good news is we took it slow and didnt have any issues. Bad news is we ended up warping the OEM the rotors on the explorer after the long haul FYI

that sucks, F150 will be heavier duty but probably better to get the trailer fixed to be safe......

Boat brakes
 

I just purchased all new calipers, rotors and actuator for my 2003 boatmate trailer. I bought the kit which included all new hardware and lines and cost me 480 shipped. That also included the caop that goes on the actualtor to allow backing up with out the wire harness being plugged in. This is all UFP stuff.

Don't know what it will cost to fix, but you definitely want brakes..... My 2003 boatmate seems to work fine at this point. Only takes one incident where you need them to pay for the repair work. I wouldn't think it would be more than a couple hundred unless you end up replacing major parts.