These are all good thoughts. I just got my first trailer with brakes 2 years ago. The lockout is unreliable, but otherwise they are ok for a 20 footer on a trailer. Iuse SS safety wire to hold the reverse lockout in place.
I have a friend who likes the electromagnet brakes for use on boat trailers, as they are potted and have fewer moving parts, he says. He owned a trailer shop for a while, for whatever that is worth.
But looking at the Redneck Trailer website, I can't find electromagnet disc brakes, so I might be chasing unicorns...
Maybe I will just convert this to surge SS disc brakes an call it good. But I swear fixing a trailer costs 10x what buying one does. Hills aren't a real problem. We have them, but brakes on hills isn't a bad thing. It isn't an issue with the 20 footer.
I will have to change brake fluid. I have Castrol GT Low Moisture Absorbency now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bushwacker
The electromechanical brakes like they use on RV type trailers are not an option if you're gonna dunk the trailer!
Surge brakes work pretty well if you use silicone fluid (DOT 5) in them, since it doesn't absorb moisture and rust the brake cylinders like conventional DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid. The only disadvantage with them is they'll come on when you coast going down hill, so could be a problem if you towed in the mountains, but that's not a problem in Florida! Also, if you run disk instead drum brakes, (and you want SS disk brakes on a trailer that will be dunked!) they'll also come on when you back up, so you need a valve between the actuator and brake line to shut them off so you can back up! I use a manual valve since I normally get out of truck anyway to drop the tailgate when backing up so I can see the trailer tires, but they also make solenoid valves that tie into your backup lights to shut off the brakes when you hit reverse. I have enough trouble just keeping the lights working without one more wire to worry about!
There is another more expensive option (about $2-3K more than surge brakes), electric OVER hydraulic brakes, which uses an electric motor to power the hydraulic system. One advantage is it can apply the brakes when you're backing down the ramp. It requires a trailer brake controller mounted in the truck, which feeds current to the actuator as a function of how hard you're applying the truck brakes. These actuators also have a way to apply the trailer brakes alone, which could help stabilize a trailer that started to fishtail. There is a real good article on them in the winter issue of the BoatUS Trailering magazine: http://www.boatus.com/trailerclub/ma...ulicBrakes.asp
Denny |