Electric Brakes for Towing Caravans

Australians love nothing more than hitting the open road for an adventure! If you’re bringing your caravan along with you, it’s often a good idea to have a REDARC electric brake controller kit on hand. Electric brakes are simple devices that protect you while you’re on the road to help avoid many of the common hazards that come with towing. For anyone looking to tow a trailer or caravan, electric brakes are an important feature, and you may be legally required to have them in some cases. In this article, we’ll take a look at the regulations to figure out when electric brakes are required for towing!

Electric Brake Controllers Explained

Electric brake controllers are simple devices that control the brakes on a trailer. They’re hooked up to your tow vehicle’s brake pedal. Any time you press the pedal, a signal is sent to the brake controller, activating the trailer’s brakes.

Electric brakes are one of the most important safety features on a trailer. The cars and 4WDs used for towing have brakes that are engineered to stop a certain amount of weight. Adding a trailer to the back of your car can easily exceed the maximum limit. This compromises braking performance and can result in a serious accident. To avoid that, many trailers come with brakes of their own. Those brakes can be activated in a number of ways, but electric brake controllers are the most effective solution.

Do You Need Electric Brakes?

You don’t necessarily need electric brakes to tow a caravan. Towing regulations vary depending on where you live, but in Queensland there are a number of rules about when you do or don’t need trailer brakes:

• Trailers that weigh 750kg or less with a single axle don’t need brakes
• Trailers that weigh 750kg to 2,000kg need brakes fitted on at least one axle
• Trailers that weigh 2,000kg or more need brakes fitted on all wheels
• Overrun brakes can only be used on trailers under 2,000kg
• Trailer brakes have to be operated from the driver’s seat of the towing vehicle

Most caravans weigh more than 750kg, so you’ll need to have some kind of braking system installed. Heavier trailers often come with overrun braking systems that use a mechanical sensor to detect when the brakes are applied. These work okay in some situations, but they aren’t the best solution for caravans. For improved safety, smoother braking, and less wear and tear on your vehicles, electric brakes are recommended on any trailer that weighs more than 1,000kg.

How Electric Brakes Work

Electric brake systems are typically broken into two parts: an internal unit that’s installed under the dashboard, and an external unit on the trailer. When you press the brake pedal, a low-power signal is transmitted to the internal unit. This unit senses information such as braking force, and then sends instructions to the main unit on the trailer. The main unit receives its instructions and applies the trailer’s brakes.

Modern electric braking systems are even simpler than that. Some newer electric brake controllers use wireless technology to communicate braking instructions. This makes them more reliable and extremely simple to install. In fact, some products are even designed to be installed at home with simple tools!

The Benefits of Electric Brake Controllers

Having an electric brake controller installed by a professional auto electrician is the best thing you can do for your tow vehicle and trailer. Electric brakes can go a long way to protecting your family and vehicles from unnecessary damage. They also come with a few other major benefits:

• Improved on-road safety – electric brakes are far more reliable than overrun brakes. This means they contribute significantly to on-road safety and help to avoid things like jackknifing while braking.
• Better brake control – trailer brakes are often all or nothing. That can create a harsh braking experience that increases the wear and tear on your trailer and tow vehicle. Electric brakes have better electronic controls that can sense how much pressure is on the pedal and provide a variable amount of braking to the trailer.
• Off-road compatibility – electric brakes are more effective and intelligent than overrun brakes. If you tow your trailer off-road, electric brakes offer the responsiveness you need for rough surfaces.
• Simple installation – modern electric brake controllers are simple to install. A professional could finish the work in an hour or two. Some types of plug-and-play controllers can even be installed at home without professional help!