Unplug the lights before launch?

[sailor55330]

What does everyone do? I know they say it's ok to leave them plugged in, but the old school in me says pull it. Well, I ran into another situation this weekend where I had to leave it plugged in- My wife goes to back the trailer in and I had unplugged the lights and the brakes locked so the trailer wouldn't move in reverse. Without the weight of the boat keeping the coupler tension up going down the ramp, the surge brakes engaged. I hadn't thought of that one to be honest. I know there's a manual lockout device on my surge brake coupler, but it's a pain as it falls out all the time. It's the little key thing, not a pin.

Not a big deal, but thought it might be a curious discussion. On the bright side, I know the brakes are working well!

[AsLan7]

With LED’s I never unplug.

If you have Incandescent bulbs, they can blow if submerged. Other than that, just leave them plugged in.

[JTinMO]

i leave mine plugged in all the time. I have full LEDs all around though. I need to have them connected to back up as well so the brakes do not activate.

[thunder550]

Both my parents had boats several years ago. Both with incandescent bulbs on the trailers. I never unplugged either one when launching and never had a problem.

[Silverbullet555]

I unplug, not because of lights though. It has to do with the electric brakes activating on an empty trailer. I can turn the controller off, but instead I unplug. If I had surge I wouldn't.

I do run all LEDs but even with regular bulbs I didn't prior to this trailer. Still prefer the electric brakes for the type of water we are in.

[thunder550]

I unplug, not because of lights though. It has to do with the electric brakes activating on an empty trailer. I can turn the controller off, but instead I unplug. If I had surge I wouldn't.

I do run all LEDs but even with regular bulbs I didn't prior to this trailer. Still prefer the electric brakes for the type of water we are in.

What brake controller are you using? I have a Tekonsha P3 and have a second profile stored for the empty trailer that sets the gain to zero, which prevents the brakes from applying. I just switch to that profile in the prep lane.

[Silverbullet555]

I unplug, not because of lights though. It has to do with the electric brakes activating on an empty trailer. I can turn the controller off, but instead I unplug. If I had surge I wouldn't.

I do run all LEDs but even with regular bulbs I didn't prior to this trailer. Still prefer the electric brakes for the type of water we are in.

What brake controller are you using? I have a Tekonsha P3 and have a second profile stored for the empty trailer that sets the gain to zero, which prevents the brakes from applying. I just switch to that profile in the prep lane.

I have a tekonsha p3 as well. Didn't realize it had other profiles. I'll have to look into that. Thanks.

[thunder550]

I think it can store 5? or 10? It shows you which one you are on...look for the "T1" displayed in the corner of the screen.

All you have to do to change, hold down the Boost button (the one with the lightning bolt) for 3-5 seconds, then it will bring up a list you can scroll through and pick. Nice thing about it is you can change the display color for each trailer. My main profile for the loaded trailer is T1, and it's orange to match the interior lighting. The unloaded profile is T2 and I turned the display backlight white so it stands out as a reminder. Works pretty well.

Each profile saves the last selected trailer type (electric vs hydraulic), backlight color, gain, and boost level.

[Ytmsn]

I never unplug. I have LEDs on this trailer as well as the last one, but on past boats I never unplugged or had an issue with it.

[Big Block Power]

Ive never unplugged any of my trailers. If a bulb popped there cheap to replace anyways. I like seeing the lights under the water.

[cmattj]

Plugged in and I have full electric brakes. I look at this way. If there is a issue it will show up with a submerged trailer. It’s only a 12 volt system and fused so if there’s a water continuity issue it will apear.

[liquid]

I unplug. Force of habit. Don't need to, still do. Just the way I learned and it's part of my internal checklist.

[Jeeper]

On my Boatmate trailer I have to leave it plugged in or it locks the brakes when I try to back up. If it doesn’t get power to the reverse light pin on the 7 way plug it will lock the trailer brakes in reverse.

[Bfun220]

On my Boatmate trailer I have to leave it plugged in or it locks the brakes when I try to back up. If it doesn’t get power to the reverse light pin on the 7 way plug it will lock the trailer brakes in reverse.

Same on my Eagle trailer. If not connected the brakes will engage while backing. I no long unplug.

[willyswagon]

With the surge brakes on my last trailer, I secured a plastic wire tie around the entire actuator. Then when she was going to back up I'd place the locking device in the slot, slide the wire tie back into position to hold the lock in place. By doing so the locking device wouldn't fall out if she had to pull ahead to re position. As soon as we got to the top of the slip, we'd strap the boat down and slide the plastic wire tie forward allowing the lock device to fall out and brakes to function normally. We also do this when backing into the driveway( up hill), or when putting the boat away for winter storage. By doing so, we have never had a set of brakes seize during storage.(Knock on wood)