<font color="red"> Listened to a knowledgeable dealer tell me today that electric brakes and their controllers were second fiddle to surge brakes </font> I think he is nuts. As the owner of a truck fleet, I can tell you I wouldn't allow them in my fleet.
<font color="red"> Said the electrics take a signal from the cold lead of the brake lights - by my figuring that signal is either on or off. </font> Again that would be an error. Any of the modestly sophisticated controllers (those starting over $50 or $60) use inertia and pendulums and adjust the amount of brake force needed it is by no means a simple ON/OFF switch.
<font color="red"> I found it additionally attractive that I didnt have to wire a dedicated (one vehicle only) box into my suburban, then hope I have it dialed in right and change it with loads and weather. </font> Well its true you have to wire them in, but many have a harness and can be snapped out and moved from vehicle to vehicle provided you have a harness in each one. Now I'll also say you have to adjust the controllers with the loads, some more often and some less often, but I sort of figure that if I can figure it out, then pretty much anyone can do it because I don't claim to be too bright about this stuff, but it really is simple.
<font color="red"> The surge can be pulled with any vehicle, needs no box and is relatively foolproof in case my father in law wants to borrow it to pull it with his rice burner! </font> Honestly I so strongly disagree with this statement because I simply don't think you will find it to be remotely close to true that I don't know where to begin to address it.
<font color="red"> also as many have mentioned, reliability is no joke when hauling this much gear and $$. </font> And that alone is a good reason not to use something that so many people consider vastly inferior and borderline unsafe.
