Trailering without the boat

J

Jazzmanic

New member
I just returned from a trip from Twin Bridges to Seattle, approximately 100 miles, trailering my King Trailer without the boat on it. On two occasions, applying the brakes hard and stopping quickly and braking slowing going downhill on a freeway offramp, the brakes reacted very strangely, like they were locking up and causing the trailer to jerk violently.

Being new to trailering, Caryn and I surmised that since the 5-pin connector was used, the surge brake actuator was actuating whenever there was any forward pressure to the trailer brakes. Since the load was so light (only the trailer), the surge brakes must have caused the trailer brakes to lock up. Does this make any sense?

This jerking action did not occur on flat surfaces. So tell me, should I have used the 5-pin connector (connecting the surge brakes) with no load? Or should I have used the 4-pin connector with no brake connection. Is this usual to happen when not towing a heavy load (i.e. the boat)? Are there any special actions we should have taken when towing the trailer with the boat? Lastly, do you think this problem will occur when we are towing the boat back from Seattle to Twin Bridges? I checked the brake fluid and the reservoir was full.
 
Depending on which brake actuator/coupler [master cylinder] style you have , you can creatively lock the brakes out when towing trailer only .Sometimes a pin or bolt will keep the sliding part from sliding to actuate the brakes . That should solve the empty trailer dance problem . If you can e mail or post a pic or get a make/model I might have had experience with it and know a trick .
Marc
 
I've had to tow car dollies, and other trailers empty before, and I usually deflate the tires so they absorb the road abit. A trailer thats capable of carrying 4000 lbs. + will bounce like a basketball if the tires are full up.
A BIG C-clamp can sometimes be used to stop the slide action of surge brakes, if a pin can not be used as suggested by Marc.
 
Some of the newer trailers with reverse solenoids have manual lockout levers as well, but you have to tie the lever down or it can pop back when you hit a bump.

Just don't be tempted to temporarily wire the solenoid to a battery to defeat surge braking. Those solenoids will burn up with prolonged current and they're a little spendy.

Don
 
I have a new (April) EZ-Loader with surge brakes. On the top of the surge controller is a round cap with two arrows, one says "backing" and the other says "remove". There is a pivoting bar in the center of the cap that must be depressed to rotate the cap. If I rotate the cap in the "backing" direction I think...it disengages the brakes to allow backing without the brakes locking up. If your trailer has a similar setup placing the cap in the "backing" position may solve the problem. Incidentally I had a hard time figuring that out because on my trailer both the cap and the bar were immoveable until I found a (rubber) hammer. I put anti-seize lubricant on them and now everything moves easily. I am very glad to see this thread because I have been having problems with the trailer locking up when backing even on a straight flat road. Sometimes I could get it to unlock by pulling forward, other times I had to pull forward, try to back, repeat, repeat, etc, etc, until it finally unlocked. I suspect the solenoid is malfunctioning but don't know how to check it. Can anybody help me there?? I'm new to surge brakes, had electric brakes on my travel trailer, sure wish I had them on the boat trailer
 
colobear":25la4soa said:
I have been having problems with the trailer locking up when backing even on a straight flat road. Sometimes I could get it to unlock by pulling forward, other times I had to pull forward, try to back, repeat, repeat, etc, etc, until it finally unlocked. I suspect the solenoid is malfunctioning but don't know how to check it. Can anybody help me there?? I'm new to surge brakes, had electric brakes on my travel trailer, sure wish I had them on the boat trailer
Click to expand...

You are not alone and it frustrated me no end until I realized it was the 7 pin to 5 pin adapter I was using. Intermittent disconnect on the backup light pin. After buying a second adapter, it happened again after a few uses so I gave up and hardwired a separate 5 pin (vehicle end) connector. Never happens now.

I never had a problem until I started removing the adapter and moving it between my hugely capable, highly rated, much better than Dodge, :wink Chevy Duramax beast and my 4Runner. I guess those adapters don't like change.

Don
 
Thanks for all the replies, guys.
Dan wrote:
The term "surge brake" indicates they are actuated when the trailer surges forward, not electrically.
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Thanks Dan, why didn't I think of that? It all makes sense now. :embarrased
Marc, our trailer is a King Trailer KBT400 with a Titan Model 60 Surg-o-matic actuator.

Peter
 
c-dancer":38qyqv4t said:
our trailer is a King Trailer KBT400 with a Titan Model 60 Surg-o-matic actuator.
Peter
Click to expand...

I'm guessing that we have the "same" trailer, hitch/actuator etc. (even though my model # is KBT4000.....one more zero, but since a "zero" is "nothing"..... :roll: ). ...I'd try sliding a bolt/pin as suggested and that would stop the brakes from applying). (You can also use the "pinning method" so you can back the loaded or unloaded trailer without the brakes applying when you do not have your electrical connections plugged in).

P.S. Great meeting and talking to you and Caryn at the B'ham Gathering.
 
You're right Dave, forgot the last 0. I'll definitely try a bolt/pin to stop the surge brakes from actuating. I don't plan on pulling the trailer sans boat often but all the suggestions totally make sense to a newbie like me.

Likewise, I really enjoyed meeting and talking to you at Bellingham. Hope to see you out on the waters real soon.

Peter
 
Wefings":195upyzg said:
I dont seem to have the capability to post pictures or I would
Click to expand...

You mean like this? :lol:
5436.jpg
 
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