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Posts: 512
| hey all, just had a question. thinking of upgrading to a glass boat, but im concerned about the heavier boats and trailers with surge brakes.. ive heard stories of problems traveling through mountains, and i may have asked about that before..
im just wondering if any of you have had any issues towing through the mountains with surge brakes?
thanks
Dave
Edited by Dave T. 11/7/2020 7:16 PM
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I towed my Gambler 209TE thru the mountains of Kentucky and West Virginia with surge brakes, never had a problem. They just need to be properly adjusted so that going down hills there is some tension but not to the point they grab. m | |
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Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
Still thinking about this...  You gotta get the boat my friend!!
I'm thinking your best option would be to convert the surge trailer to electric over hydraulic. It's a little pricey and you'd have to purchase an actuator/reservoir and mount it on the trailer frame, but this would be the safest option. This allows you to have a brake actuator in the vehicle, and when you push the brakes, the system is then activated for the trailer.
Going straight surge leaves the problem of going downhill...there will always be pressure on the brakes, which on a long descent will heat the brakes up and could be catastrophic if the shoes/pads fail completely.
Converting to electric brakes would be a decent plan as well...the only issue being is you'd be using drum brakes rather than disc/rotor which is not as efficient. Not a bad option unless you are looking to dump your boat in salt water... Then...not so good on things...
Steve
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| I have electric brakes on my boat trailer and had them on my 27 foot travel trailer. Work well.
But have rented a couple of double axle trailers for moving my children and they had surge brakes. One worked really well including some pretty hilly terrain, the other was awful, on similar hills. Pulling both with same 3/4 ton pickup. I think Mikie hit it on the head with his comment about being properly adjusted. | |
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Posts: 512
| VMS - 11/8/2020 9:19 AM
Hiya,
Still thinking about this... You gotta get the boat my friend!!
I'm thinking your best option would be to convert the surge trailer to electric over hydraulic. It's a little pricey and you'd have to purchase an actuator/reservoir and mount it on the trailer frame, but this would be the safest option. This allows you to have a brake actuator in the vehicle, and when you push the brakes, the system is then activated for the trailer.
Going straight surge leaves the problem of going downhill...there will always be pressure on the brakes, which on a long descent will heat the brakes up and could be catastrophic if the shoes/pads fail completely.
Converting to electric brakes would be a decent plan as well...the only issue being is you'd be using drum brakes rather than disc/rotor which is not as efficient. Not a bad option unless you are looking to dump your boat in salt water... Then...not so good on things...
Steve
ha yep Steve, im always on the look out.. was looking at a ranger 1760 recently.. didnt realize how heavy the first models of those are! around 1800 pounds i believe.. it just sux i like to go down to Florida in the spring and have to tow through the mountains to get there... thanks for the replies, ill figure something out..
did you put surge/electric on your trailer yet Steve? i was up in your neck of the woods in september. stayed on Big lake for a week since Canada is closed.. was tough fishing. only caught one ski and saw another.. thankfully the one i got was a 4 footer, so that helped with the tough week... | |
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Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya!
I've not pulled the trigger on it because for me to use the axle I have would require disc brakes, but then I would have to change out my entire swing tongue as it has a welded tongue rather than bolt, so there'd be a lot of fussing with it.
My other option would be to swap axles, but then I'd have to go heavier, which means changing out my rims and tires to 15", which is not possible.
If I ever got lucky enough to find a salvage trailer that had all the right stuff on it, thats what I'd look for I think...otherwise I'm looking at a huge cost as I'd have to go electric over hydraulic and those pumps are not cheap... Easily would be $1400... | |
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Posts: 1209
| If the trailer pushes into the truck on a down hill, the brakes will grab just a hair and slow it. Those brakes will be fine with that light pressure. | |
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surge brake question/opinions