Boat Trailer locking up

[deerreeper]

4300lb Boat
1400lb - trailer weight

Full set up and trailer pics attached, thank you all so much for the help!

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Nice boat and set up. You definitely have surge brakes. The none painted part of your trailer that hooks to your ball slides inside of the tongue on the trailer and applies pressure to a master cylinder when you stop. Works the same way as the brakes on your pickup. The harder you press the peddle the more braking power. Being a new trailer you shouldn't have any problems with them but stranger things have happened. I would say it's exactly as the one member mentioned, that your trailer is bouncing behind you with no weight on it and it just feels like the brakes are on. Since this is all new to you, you are probably a little nervous and hyper sensitive to every little thing you feel or hear. A couple of things you can do for your own piece of mind is to pull the trailer as you normally would, then raise the trailer up off of the ball. Then jack up each tire like your going to change it and spin it. There shouldn't be any brakes applied and should spin freely. If you have only a short trip back and forth to where you launch your boat. Go for a little longer longer drive. Get it up to highway speed for a little bit, keeping an eye on your mirrors, then stop a check your brakes. Surge brakes are a pretty trouble free system as long as they are maintenance properly.

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[Anthony Musto]

Look on the trailer , Does it have a break fluid cap? sounds to me like have built in breaks on the trailer. Do you have an extra hole to move the pin to disengage trailer brakes?

 

[crash68]

Do you have an extra hole to move the pin to disengage trailer brakes?

Since there is a 7 pin trailer plug on the trailer, it probably has a reverse lock out solenoid valve. No need to use a lock out pin while backing up

 

[dhay13]

Since there is a 7 pin trailer plug on the trailer, it probably has a reverse lock out solenoid valve. No need to use a lock out pin while backing up

Yep. Mine has the electric lockout, no hole to manually lock it out

 

[Hogrider57]

Is it possible your trailer has some sort of inertia controller on board that is activating the brakes? I would check with your dealer for an empty tow override.

 

[pacofortacos]

Most definitely surge disk brakes - nice setup.

I don't see a lockout hole BUT look around the coupler - if there is one it should be near the front slide (the part in the black just after the transition from silver to black). If you have one, mine does even with electric lockout, just put the pin in it when empty and it will prevent the brakes from coming on.

It is possible that the brakes are locking if you stop fairly quickly, I have seen it happen.

 

[GTyankee]

You need to ask advice from Boat owners

 

[Brent 1955]

Ignorant question warning!!!!
Just purchased a new boat and for the first time the trailer has real braking not surge. I have a 21 ram with everything other than trailer brake control. After launching the boat I often have to drive the unloaded trailer home, when this happens the trailer brakes often lock up. Would adding trailer brake control solve this?

So what your saying is that you don't have the adjustment slide under your radio.

 

[dhay13]

If you have the electric lockout pretty sure it should be a blue wire.

 

[dhay13]

So here is a question...if you have electric over hydraulic I assume your brake controller operates it? So you see the data on your dash? That is if you have the factory brake controller. I ask cause obviously my surge brakes are not activated by my truck brake controller but I MAY buy a new trailer and will consider electric over hydraulic. My boat trailer is rated to 7250lbs and my boat with all tanks empty weighs about 7400lbs. I'm sure I will be fine but I'd rather be safe than sorry. It sucks cause my trailer is a 2016 Venture that was brand new when we bought the boat. The previous owner had the marina order them one and they undersized it. The first time the trailer ever saw the road was when I towed the boat to the river for sea trial. Only have about 400 miles on the trailer

 

[deerreeper]

So here is a question...if you have electric over hydraulic I assume your brake controller operates it? So you see the data on your dash? That is if you have the factory brake controller. I ask cause obviously my surge brakes are not activated by my truck brake controller but I MAY buy a new trailer and will consider electric over hydraulic. My boat trailer is rated to 7250lbs and my boat with all tanks empty weighs about 7400lbs. I'm sure I will be fine but I'd rather be safe than sorry. It sucks cause my trailer is a 2016 Venture that was brand new when we bought the boat. The previous owner had the marina order them one and they undersized it. The first time the trailer ever saw the road was when I towed the boat to the river for sea trial. Only have about 400 miles on the trailer

Yes, that's the general idea. I don't have any personal experience with the electric over hydraulic myself but a buddy of mine has that set up on his boat trailer and seems to really like it. I would do your research and see what works best for you.

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[averageguy]

Take it to the dealer and get a mechanic that knows what he's talking about explain what you have and how it works. Then go for a ride and replicate the problem and ask him what it is and how to correct it.

 

[GTyankee]

I was just thinking, you wrote that you think the brakes are being applied as you travel down the highway, without the boat.

When you get a chance, try to replicate the problem & then immediately pull over & touch test the trailers Hubs for heat

 

[dhay13]

If you find that hole for manual lockout then stick a bolt or something in it and with the trailer empty drive down the road and see if it happens. At that point it would be impossible for the trailer brakes to be applied since you also do not have a trailer brake controller in your truck. If it still does it then it is not a trailer brake issue

 

[charcoal1500]

My surge breaks tend to lock up without the boat on the trailer, mostly when going down the ramp to retrieve the boat. They lock up once start bouncing and then keep locking up. trailer is light, just enough pressure to engage the brakes. This solved my issue.



https://www.ebay.com/itm/1209415592...bggPv4dGgrhcEyx5KfMXV4vyPjzKcxI0aAnU1EALw_wcB

My swing away tongue and surge break actuator is exactly like yours. It's bright orange so you don't forget to remove before adding the boat. Part of my process on retrevial is once i'm in the water and walking back to sucure the boack I pull and put in my pocket.

 

[pacofortacos]

So here is a question...if you have electric over hydraulic I assume your brake controller operates it? So you see the data on your dash? That is if you have the factory brake controller. I ask cause obviously my surge brakes are not activated by my truck brake controller but I MAY buy a new trailer and will consider electric over hydraulic. My boat trailer is rated to 7250lbs and my boat with all tanks empty weighs about 7400lbs. I'm sure I will be fine but I'd rather be safe than sorry. It sucks cause my trailer is a 2016 Venture that was brand new when we bought the boat. The previous owner had the marina order them one and they undersized it. The first time the trailer ever saw the road was when I towed the boat to the river for sea trial. Only have about 400 miles on the trailer

I just installed electric over hydraulic AND the factory brake controller - my test drive will be a trip from PA to the keys.
Not my best idea, but due to time, work and weather, I won't have a chance to check it. So, I can give you my opinion when I return, if I don't get online down there.

Right now my trailer is set on light 5% or something like that, so I may need to tweak that. I haven't had a chance to see if the settings have come up in the radio - I do need to do that before leaving.

My trailer is a single axle #6000 capacity aluminum trailer with big kodiak disc brakes. Boat is maybe #4000 ish??

I never really cared for the surge brake (#6000 capacity surge), mainly because I don't think I have enough weight on it to get them to work to their potential. And originally they built it with a 1/4" hydraulic hose from the actuator to the rear, so maybe that was a part of it?

I do know that my brake pedal actuates the hydraulic pump at least

 

[crash68]

I just installed electric over hydraulic AND the factory brake controller - my test drive will be a trip from PA to the keys.
Not my best idea, but due to time, work and weather, I won't have a chance to check it. So, I can give you my opinion when I return, if I don't get online down there.

Right now my trailer is set on light 5% or something like that, so I may need to tweak that. I haven't had a chance to see if the settings have come up in the radio - I do need to do that before leaving.

If you have the settings in the radio, there is options for EOH trailer brakes, both Heavy and Light
If you have AlfaOBD, turn on the trailer name in the CSM options, makes it easier to keep track of which settings is for which trailer. I know the naming works on a '15

 

[pacofortacos]

Thanks! I only have one trailer at this time, but I think I did enable naming.
I just bought the adapter and alphaobd to enable the controller, so still a complete newbie with using it.

 

[pacofortacos]

Radio appears to have the settings in it, including the name.
+ and - appear to do their thing in the dash, so I am ready to rock!
Box is just extra protection, made out of stuff laying around the house - 1/2" plexiglass, alum. angle and plate, etc.

 

[Randt26]

Update, went to the boat dealer yesterday, they never gave me the lockout pin for the trailer. Put that in last night after throwing the boat in the water, zero issues!