Electric Brakes

[Stimw]

I have 4 wheel electric brakes and would not be without them!!
Also have a Reese Controller from Walmart that works great and is adjustable, amount of brake pressure and speed they apply.

 

[s219]

Should not even be a decision -- absolutely go with brakes -- they are fantastic. If you look at the tow ratings of most vehicles, they actually require trailer brakes to get the actual rating. Many vehicles are limited to only 1000# or so for unbraked trailers.

 

[Travelover]

Yes to brakes, for all the reasons previously stated. Many SUVs don't come pre-wired, so you'd have to wire in a new harness on each one or go with the Tekonsha wireless. Surge brakes work OK but need periodic maintenance, especially if they sit. Also, an electric controller can stop trailer sway whereas a surge system cannot. I prefer electric brakes and they are very cheap to replace as a whole assembly, if needed.

 

[Fallon]

Brakes are a key safety item. No way I'd tow without them. In most states they are required on anything over 3k for a reason.

As far as drums vs disks... my 2009 Tacoma & 2005 F250 have rear drums along with a lot if recent trucks & all big rigs. Drums have a few advantages over disks, although disks can stop harder most of the time. Disks would be nice, but I dont loose any sleep about them on my trucks or all my roadworthy trailers.

Surge brakes are better than nothing, but being able to activate the trailer brakes separately can save your life. Actuating the trailer brakes if you fishtail will stop the sway. If you actuate your vehicle brakes it will make it worse & could kill you. Not to mention gives you the ability to easily check their status. I check brake function & adjust every time I hitch up or change the load. Surge brakes should be self adjusting. The harder you brake your vehicle, the harder the master cylinder on the hits gets pushed & transfers force to the brakes.

Both surge & electric require some maintnance. In reality probably as much as the wheel bearings you should already be paying attention to every so often. It cost me around $200 & an afternoon for new brakes, drums & bearing on our new to us 10 year old single axle 3,500lbs travel trailer. Well worth the extra expense even if bearings & drums weren't needed. Electric over hydraulic are going to be the worst of both worlds & double the maintnance. They have their benefits, but not on a cheap light trailer.

I'd take either electric or hydraulic over keeping a mechanical linkage adjusted & working freely.

 

[aczlan]

Brake controller swaps between vehicles should only cost you a harness. Vehicles today are plug and play most times for the controller. I.E use your old controller in the new SUV

A harness is cheap ($15-20ish), I would go that route.

if you changes vehicle regularly etrailer sells a prodigy kit where the entire brake controller is on the trailer, all you get inside the vehicle is a wireless controller. that maybe easier for you.

That would be a good option.

My runabout has surge disk breaks and like it also, and have also installed a switch in the cab to block the breaking when needed.

As long as they work properly. I rented a almost new (9 months old?) man lift last month and the surge brakes were stiff coming on, stuck a little bit on and the reverse lockout did not work, so it was almost impossible to back it up a hill.

Aaron Z

 

[4570Man]

Would you drive a car with electric brakes?

Some people drive cars with electric steering.

 

[s219]

Some people drive cars with electric steering.

Electric "power assist" is a better way to describe it. Still a regular mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the road.

 

[Raspy]

Brakes are a key safety item. No way I'd tow without them. In most states they are required on anything over 3k for a reason.

As far as drums vs disks... my 2009 Tacoma & 2005 F250 have rear drums along with a lot if recent trucks & all big rigs. Drums have a few advantages over disks, although disks can stop harder most of the time. Disks would be nice, but I dont loose any sleep about them on my trucks or all my roadworthy trailers.

Surge brakes are better than nothing, but being able to activate the trailer brakes separately can save your life. Actuating the trailer brakes if you fishtail will stop the sway. If you actuate your vehicle brakes it will make it worse & could kill you. Not to mention gives you the ability to easily check their status. I check brake function & adjust every time I hitch up or change the load. Surge brakes should be self adjusting. The harder you brake your vehicle, the harder the master cylinder on the hits gets pushed & transfers force to the brakes.

Both surge & electric require some maintnance. In reality probably as much as the wheel bearings you should already be paying attention to every so often. It cost me around $200 & an afternoon for new brakes, drums & bearing on our new to us 10 year old single axle 3,500lbs travel trailer. Well worth the extra expense even if bearings & drums weren't needed. Electric over hydraulic are going to be the worst of both worlds & double the maintnance. They have their benefits, but not on a cheap light trailer.

I'd take either electric or hydraulic over keeping a mechanical linkage adjusted & working freely.

Excellent post.

The added safety of having brakes makes them mandatory on anything I tow. The ability to apply them independently of the tow vehicle brakes is a huge safety feature, and can save you if your trailer ever begins to sway.

Electric drum brakes are everywhere and very easy to get parts for if needed. They are extremely reliable and work very well. Adjusting them is easy and should not be needed any more often than re-packing the wheel bearings.

Greasing the wheel bearings with a grease gun is likely to eventually push grease past the rear seal, or pop the seal
out. Then you'll get grease on the shoes and have to replace them.

 

[3Ts]

I'm not sure about annual maintenance. I don't do anything to mine as long as they work. If you tow a lot, they may need adjustment but other than adjustment and eventual shoe replacement there isn't really any maintenance. Wheel bearings probably need more attention than brakes.

I check my trailer brakes (shoes, adjustment, etc.) when I check the wheel bearings every other year.

Brakes are a key safety item. No way I'd tow without them. In most states they are required on anything over 3k for a reason.

Some states go as low as 1500# trailer weight.

Also, I've got many many more than 10,000 miles on my 7500# GVW utility trailer, about half & half local and highway driving (it's been from coast to coast several times) and it's still on the original set of brake shoes. Just have to be sure they are adjusted properly.

 

[fried1765]

I have never seen electric brakes before I came to Canada.
In Europe trailers over +/- 1000 pounds have brakes. Surge brakes, either with steel cable, or hydraulic. No controller needed.
There is a third safety cable that pulls the hand brake on the trailer if a trailer comes loose from the towing vehicle. The handbrake can also be used if the trailer is parked.
The harder you brake with the towing vehicle, the harder the trailer brakes. No adjustment needed on a controller.
This system is superior to electric! As an retired electrician I would never trust electric brakes. Would you drive a car with electric brakes?

I have a 14K equipment trailer with electric brakes, and towed by a HD 3/4 ton GMC with 392 V-8.

I would not have considered surge brakes for a 14K trailer, even if they had been available (they were not).
I had a 6K trailer (boat) with surge brakes, and there is no safety comparison.

Electric brakes are infinitely manageable.
You can set them to come on whenever you want,.... what ever braking level you choose.

With surge brakes, you get what you get.
You are along for the ride.
There is no way to adjust surge braking from inside the vehicle.

 

[dodge man]

Keep in mind surge brakes on popular on boats because they are often dunked in the water. Not good for the electric brakes I assume.

 

[Gem99ultra]

I wouldn't even consider a trailer without brakes. BT-DT, no thanks. Electric brakes on my trailers have been super, but I have no experience with hydraulics on any trailer, and especially a dump trailer of any size or load. You'll thank yourself for the electric brakes assisting with stops.

 

[fried1765]

Keep in mind surge brakes on popular on boats because they are often dunked in the water. Not good for the electric brakes I assume.

Surge brakes or electric brakes dunked in SALT water.......not much difference!
Neither will work after just a few dunks.

 

[Reg]

Just be aware that some factory installed integrated brake controllers are not compatible with electric over hydraulic systems.

That WAS true of some of the early ones, circa 2003.
There was a "fix" for them that was little more than a diode to soak up the sensing pulses that (some of) the integrated controllers sent out to detect presence of the trailer.
It took about 6 months for the fix to get into general distribution, there might still be some available.

Not a problem with my gooseneck horse trailer that runs on two 8,000 lb axles and is converted from hydraulic drums to hydraulic disks.
DESPITE the stopping power that I have I try at all times to use only engine braking and to reduce speed as gently as possible - - easier on the horses as well as the whole rig.

Here's what is WRONG with surge brakes;
If you EVER get trailer sway on a slippery road - and I hope you NEVER do - the only way out of it is to pull a little harder, but you can't brake the trailer while doing that, so unless you are going up a grade you will gather speed.
A very BAD SCENE for sure.

 

[Reg]

Surge brakes or electric brakes dunked in SALT water.......not much difference!
Neither will work after just a few dunks.

That is why boat trailers either have galvanized or stainless brakes - and more of them every year have disks (with salt water rated calipers, etc).

 

[RandyT]

That WAS true of some of the early ones, circa 2003.
There was a "fix" for them that was little more than a diode to soak up the sensing pulses that (some of) the integrated controllers sent out to detect presence of the trailer.
It took about 6 months for the fix to get into general distribution, there might still be some available.

Not a problem with my gooseneck horse trailer that runs on two 8,000 lb axles and is converted from hydraulic drums to hydraulic disks.
DESPITE the stopping power that I have I try at all times to use only engine braking and to reduce speed as gently as possible - - easier on the horses as well as the whole rig.

Here's what is WRONG with surge brakes;
If you EVER get trailer sway on a slippery road - and I hope you NEVER do - the only way out of it is to pull a little harder, but you can't brake the trailer while doing that, so unless you are going up a grade you will gather speed.
A very BAD SCENE for sure.

I have heard of people wiring an electric brake magnet into the system to create some resistance for the signal to detect.

 

[oldballs]

Surge brakes or electric brakes dunked in SALT water.......not much difference!
Neither will work after just a few dunks.

My tractor dealer rents trailers and said that the biggest reason for them to stock surge brake trailers is that many renters do not have brake controllers in the cab. Thus that's what they stock. Maybe, nowadays most trucks come with controllers. Of course, as a dealer, they can order a trailer with electric brakes. Being a newbie, I did not know that when I purchased my equipment hauler.

 

[AllDodge]

Surge brakes are still produced today and are DOT approved.

So far as going down an slippery road, not much is going to help. Only way your going to slow down is if the rig is on something which the tires has some kind of hold

 

[Tractor Seabee]

So I've been looking hard my first dump trailer, but I am unsure about brakes. I am considering a brake less 3000 lb or a 5000 lb with brakes. How much maintenance are electric brakes? Also, we lease out SUVs, so my tow vehicle will be changing. I am fearful of the expense of new brake controllers on each vehicle, and the cost of brake maintenance. I'm planning to tow about 2000 miles per year.

I will never tow over 3000 lbs (1800 of payload). But the prices for the 5000 brake trailers are within $400.

Let me know your thoughts.

Don't have time now to read the whole thread and this may be cover. Mot states, mine included, require a fail safe method to assure the brakes lock on a detachment. On my electrics that is a cable operated switch that applies the brakes on a traveling disconnect. Requires a battery that requires keeping charged up. Mine is kept on a trickle charger as it is not used often enough to keep it charge by the truck.

Ron

 

[zing]

Nothing wrong with surge brakes and are most often used on small to mid size boat trailers. The surge brake questions comes up a few times a year in boating forums. There have been several studies by transportation safety folks and all good. I changed over one of my boat trailers to electric because I'm in fresh water and like being able to adjust and control from the truck.

My runabout has surge disk breaks and like it also, and have also installed a switch in the cab to block the breaking when needed.

IMO, electric over hydraulic would be the best all around with disk brakes.

How does the switch in the cab that turns off your surge brakes work? To disable the surge brakes on my boat trailer (so I can back up) I have to get out and put in a metal plug that stops the joint from moving. With the joint immobilized, the hydraulics will not engage. The only way I can see that being controlled from the cab is if there was an electric switch that moved a pin or something that locked the joint that engages the brakes. Just wondering if you have something of that sort, or if there is a completely different design to your surge brakes.