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mrossum
04-30-2006, 09:38 PM
anyone have surge brakes on their trailer? pro's / con's.

H20 Toie
05-01-2006, 06:12 AM
Yes the pro's are you hit the brakes it slows down the boat.
the con's are that on a long steep downhill they will over heat if you are not careful.
Electric over hydralic (sp) are suppose to be the hot ticket

Outnumbered
05-01-2006, 05:03 PM
Yes the pro's are you hit the brakes it slows down the boat.
the con's are that on a long steep downhill they will over heat if you are not careful.
Electric over hydralic (sp) are suppose to be the hot ticket
That about sums it up. Only other bad thing is backing up hill if you have a manual lock out kinda sucks to get out and lock it in--especially if its already on a hill.
What are you towing with and what are you towing??? You may not even need them.

502 JET
05-01-2006, 07:20 PM
Before I installed the trailer brake system I would have to be very careful towing the boat it was tough to stop.The boat weighs 5500 lbs plus the trailer.I installed Tie Down Engineering stainless hydrolic surge actuated disc brakes on my saltwater fishing boats trailer.I only have them on one axle and it made a huge difference from not having any brakes at all.Before you back up you have to install a lock out pin or you cant back up the brakes will lock.I purchased a electric lockout solenoid like a line lock that will wire to the reverse lights and block fluid flow when backing once installed I wont need to get out and install the pin.Having trailer brakes will help save wear on your tow rigs brakes.We dont have to worry about steep down grades in NJ its pretty flat here.I have been running this system for four seasons with no complaints or problems.

mrossum
05-01-2006, 08:40 PM
What are you towing with and what are you towing??? You may not even need them.
am towing an 18 ft flatbottom jet with a late model tahoe. don't really need the brakes, but i just picked up a decent tandem trailer that already has them. i can disable them easy enough, but don't know that i want to. if the boat is light enough, my thinking is that it won't actuate the brakes unless i hit them pretty hard.

Outnumbered
05-01-2006, 09:13 PM
am towing an 18 ft flatbottom jet with a late model tahoe. don't really need the brakes, but i just picked up a decent tandem trailer that already has them. i can disable them easy enough, but don't know that i want to. if the boat is light enough, my thinking is that it won't actuate the brakes unless i hit them pretty hard.
You sure don't need them but maybe you can adjust them so they won't engage unless you are really ON the brakes. I'm not sure how they adjust but someone here can probably let us know.

Riomouse911
05-02-2006, 12:04 AM
If ya got them (brakes), keep them. Anything to help you maintain control during a panic stop is a good idea. I towed a customer's boat (3,200 lbs total weight I think) down from Lake Arrowhead using a shop trailer w/out working brakes, and you bet I could feel the difference in the shop truck during the downhill. (I didn't know they were bad until the drive down, unloaded I could't tell) If the angle/speed etc. are right, I'm sure it's a lot easier to jackknife towing an unbraked trailer than a braked trailer.

Flying Tiger
05-11-2006, 07:16 PM
Surge brakes come with a dopie little key to insert for backing if the brakes jam.
A dime held in place a piece of duct tape in the slot work far superior.
The newer stainless disc hydro brakes aren't too bad.
Not super durable or built to last,, but ok.

socaldj1
05-11-2006, 07:34 PM
My trailer came with a 5 wire harness. The 5th wire locks out the hydralic brakes when the back up lights come on. I just added a toggle switch to the dash that lets me lock out the brakes on a long downhill. I saw the hydralic lock out at West Marine for $49.