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Post Info TOPIC: Electric Brakes and River Crossings
mjt57


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Electric Brakes and River Crossings
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I see a few "offroad" vans being reviewed in the various mags. Some of them have photos of vans being towed through river/creek crossings.

Now, most of these, if not all, would have electric brakes. How do they fare being submerged in water?

Mates who own boats tend to either have a hydraulic override actuated system or some form of electro-hydraulic system where the brakes themselves are hydraulic but are actuated by other means. One setup has a small compressor and air receiver on the boat trailer. Not totally sure how it all works but it's expensive. A workmate has this arrangement for his boat trailer.

Just wondering how common this is for caravans.

 



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Vince


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Have towed a camper trailer with electric brakes around a fair bit of this country and through lots and lots of water crossings

I would say that is 99% fresh water crossings

Never had any issues and when we sold the camper it had easily done over 60,000 Ks in the 18 years we had it, brakes still working fine.

Our caravan however will not see anywhere near as many crossings as the CT did but in my opinion based on what we have done

I feel you should have little to no problems with submerging brakes in fresh water, but it may be a different scenario in salt water

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Cheers from Vince

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patrol03


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G'day MJT,there is no problem immersing electric brakes in creek crossings .The water drains out very quickly and the heat generated from further braking dries out the magnets,drums and linings.It is the wheel bearings that you need to be concerned with.The standard seals provided with most caravans are inadequate as far as immersion in water is concerned.I have boat trailer seals in my four hubs and I also seal the bearing cap with silicone after servicing the bearings .Keeps dust and water out far more efficiently than lip seals. P03



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Explorer


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Mjt57 Hi,

As others have stated no problems with water in the brakes. I normally have a cuppa & walk the crossing & by this time bearings etc. have cooled down enough to not cause a problem there. If the water is not deep enough to come inside the van There shouldn't be a problem with the running gear on Your van or to the tow vehicle.

Enjoy Your travels.

Mike. 



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Peter_n_Margaret


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Drum brakes don't perform well when wet, irrespective of how they are actuated.
Discs are far superior in this regard and dry out much quicker.

Cheers,
Peter

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OKA196, 4x4 'C' Class, DIY, self contained motorhome. 960W of solar, 400Ah of AGMs, 310L water, 280L fuel. https://www.oka4wd.com/forum/members-vehicles-public/569-oka196-xt-motorhome
 

 
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