Adding a 7-Way and Electric Brakes to a Trailer  

Question:

Expert Reply:

Sounds like you are looking to upgrade a trailer from having idler hubs to one that has brakes. There are several things to consider and determine to do this. If you check out the FAQ article I attached you will see exactly how to add brakes to a trailer that didn't have any.

You will need to remove your hubs to either get the bearing numbers or spindle dimensions so that you can determine what hubs would fit your spindle. They aren't all the same so this is a very important first step. The drums are sold separately from the assemblies. Once you pick out the hub that would fit your trailer the fitting assemblies will be listed as related parts on the product page.

Having mounting flanges is also great as that will make the process much easier. Having to add flanges requires a qualified welder.

You would need to remove the 4-pole connector and install a 7-way harness/plug like part # H20046. You would use a junction box like part # 38656, and some 10 gauge wire like part # 10-1-1 to run the brake output circuit from the junction box to the brake assemblies. Each brake magnet will have two wires exiting it. One wire will ground to the trailer frame, the other will attach to the brake output circuit. The junction box provides a neat and weather-protected way of joining the trailer connector to the trailer wiring.

The wires from the existing 4-pole would connect to the appropriate terminals in the junction box, and the wires from the # H20046 would connect using the same terminals. Be sure to look at the table I provided, as the wire color code for the H20046 wiring won't match up color for color with the typical trailer wiring code

expert reply by: Jameson C

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