Large boat trailer brake question

General Boats and Motors
1

I have about zero experience towing large boats with trailer brakes, and I hate being ignorant, so somebody enlighten me please.

I got a large boat in this morning for a transom rebuild, a 27’ Parker, big and heavy. My boat shed was full, my shelter was full, DFreedom’s boat was in the main drive, so I told the man just to park it off on the side until I could re-arrange some boats and put his under the shelter, so he did, and left.

I moved my boat out of the way, moved Doug’s almost out of the way and hooked up to the big girl with my little Toyota Tacoma. It out weighed me by about 7,000 pounds I think. Mrs. Cracker says I ain’t got enough truck to move that boat. I thought I did.

So I pulled it about 10 feet and came to a sudden halt. Tried to back up and couldn’t even push it. My tires were spinning and truck fishtailing around, boat ain’t moving. Dry and level ground, dirt. Mrs. Cracker says told ya so. She likes to do that.

I let half the air out of my rear tires and tried again. Dug bigger ruts. Had my truck and 27 feet of boat stuck cattywhompous across the driveway blocking everything, including DF’s boat. Which is where I was when he arrived. That was a little embarrassing.

I’m slow, but it finally dawned on me that the trailer had brakes and they had to be locked up tight. My truck should pull this boat across the yard. Doug and I pulled, pushed, pried and beat on everything on the trailer tongue trying to release the brakes, to no avail. Thought they may be electrically controlled, but the wiring harness had more wires than my truck harness. The only thing I could figure to do was to disconnect the main hydraulic line to the brakes and relieve some pressure. That worked. As soon as I broke it loose, both the trailer and truck breathed a sigh of relief and then I pulled it with no problem.

I imagine the brake fluid will need to be filled and bled before they will work again?

I’m almost certain these are electrically controlled somehow. It doesn’t appear to be a surge brake system

2

You ask good questions…

“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad

Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 19 year old (boy of leisure)
1 - 1 year old (fishing maniac)
1 - wife (The Warden)

ECFC

3

And whatinell is that lever on top with the cable on it for? We knocked it everywhere but Sunday and it didn’t seem to do a thing.

quote:
You ask good questions.......

It takes good questions to get good answers :smiley:

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

4

larry, pm sent

5

I cant remember which one it is on the round connector, but one of those is the solenoid for releasing the brakes. Put 12v on all the wires(except the ground wire) until you figure it out( you should hear the solenoid click). Then when you figure it out, put a jumper wire from your reverse lights to that wire. That way when you need to move it or another boat with surge brakes it’ll be easy. And yes you will need to bleed the brakes.

'06 Mckee Craft
184 Marathon
DF140 Suzuki

6

I think it is called Tear away brake or something like that…The cable on that lever should have a hook on other end that attaches to hitch on truck so if trsiler comes loose it will trip lever actuating trailer brakes.

Those look like surge brakes.

Also, that is the same plug that I have on my boat and no electric brakes…just surge.

NN

07, 23 Key West, Twin 115 Yammys

“Coastal Bound”

www.joinrfa.org/

7

sent you a pm w/phone number. i can talk faster than i type. see if there is a blue wire on the trailer wire harness. this should activate a solenoid that releases the brakes when trying to back up. it works off the back up lights of the tow vehicle. if your truck doesn t have enuff wires/connections you can straight wire it to get out of your driveway. you will need to ground it and find the corresponding connector to wire it to. when you get the right one, you should here the solenoid click when it s activated. also, the coupler must be pulled out for initial release. i am pretty sure the lever your talking about is the emergency activator in case the trailer separates from truck. it gets connected to tow vehicle. kinda brief, but, you sound like you re in a jam. just trying to help.

8

Tigerfin, you nailed it, thank you sir :sunglasses: Got it figured out now. The round thingy just in front of the hydraulic line in the picture is a solenoid, I see the wire to it now after further inspection. It’s just like the fuel cut off solenoid on my riding mower. I can work a volt/ohm meter. This ain’t no sea for a sailor, got it from here, thanks again.

quote:
Those look like surge brakes

No, surge brakes need a sliding piston arrangement of some sort, this is a solid tongue connection. It has to be electrical. Something I’ve never dealt with. I’m smarter at the end of this day than I was at the start of it. That’s my definition of a good day:smiley:

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

9

Wordsandmusic, thank you very much. You were right on the money too. PM replied to, question resolved, problem solved and I’m smarter today than I was yesterday on at least 2 different subjects :smiley:

Appreciate all of the knowledge sharing on this forum. Somebody on here knows the answer to dang near anything :sunglasses:

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

10

Thought there may be a sliding piston arrangement but could not tell at that angle.

07, 23 Key West, Twin 115 Yammys

“Coastal Bound”

www.joinrfa.org/

11

OK, repeating two initial questions, just for clarification, so I’ll know next time. A trailer with electric brakes defaults to a locked up parking brake mode when power is not applied? Is that normal? And is there any manual release of any sort besides powering the solenoid or cracking a fitting and releasing pressure? Even the power trim on a boat has a manual release.

Thanks all.

Big thanks to DF too for helping me with this big thing. It was only 100 degrees this afternoon. I reckon he didn’t have a lot of choice though, his boat wasn’t leaving until this one did :smiley:

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

12

Larry, that is a surge coupler, looks like a Titn Model 10. Follow he tongue to the rear from the coupler, it will disappear into the ‘frame’. That’s the plunger that operates the master cylinder. The only way to release trapped pressure is to pull the rig forward, or tap a bleeder. Electrics default to OFF, and surge solenoids default to OPEN. That’s why the brakes locked when you tried to back up without the solenoid powered …:wink:

13

Now I’m more confused. What is the solenoid for? I’m sorry, I’m either dense, tired or been in the heat too long, all 3 probably, but I still don’t get it. I’ve established that there is an electric solenoid directly in line with the hydraulic line. What does it do? If I put 12V on that solenoid will it release the brakes? That’s what I need to know.

quote:
The only way to release trapped pressure is to pull the rig forward

I moved forward about 10 feet before coming to a sudden halt. After that I couldn’t move it forward or back.

At least the big SOB ain’t blocking the driveway anymore. It barely fit through my 12’ gate. Next time I move it I’m going to get my neighbor’s John Deere. It will drag it whether the wheels roll or not:smiley:

As always, appreciate all input.

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

14

Cracker! I know that Guy’s hate to ask for directions! Call the guy that left the boat and ask him how to get the (**()ed brakes off.:wink: Looks like Surge Breaks from here! Might find a lock out hole that you can just put a screwdriver or pin in and disable the whole kit and caboodle:wink: Besides, when did they start considering a Tacoma a truck:question:

15
quote:
Cracker! I know that Guy's hate to ask for directions!

Not me, I’m asking right here :smiley: 2 questions I thought were simple. 1. If I put 12V on that solenoid will it release the brakes?
2. Is there a manual override to release them?

I’ve tried calling the guy, but crabbers don’t hardly answer phones.

quote:
Might find a lock out hole that you can just put a screwdriver or pin in and disable the whole kit and caboodle

That’s what I was thinking, there must be a manual override somewhere.
Oh well, tomorrow’s another day. I’ll figure it out.

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

16

Cracker, push and pull on that tongue a little and see if a hole doesn’t open up behind one of the holes drilled into the outer casing? If a hole appears on the inner beam and lines up, shove a screw driver in there and see what happens[:wink: ]:imp::question:

17
quote:
Originally posted by Cracker Larry

Now I’m more confused. What is the solenoid for? I’m sorry, I’m either dense, tired or been in the heat too long, all 3 probably, but I still don’t get it. I’ve established that there is an electric solenoid directly in line with the hydraulic line. What does it do? If I put 12V on that solenoid will it release the brakes? That’s what I need to know.

about the solenoid:

the solenoid is in line between the surge master cylinder and the brakes. it is normally open (unpowered) allowing brake fluid to pass back and forth freely. when power is applied to it (reverse lights pin blue wire), it closes and stops the flow of hydraulic fluid either way. this means you can push on the coupler in reverse, but the pressure cannot get to the brakes. now you can back up. keep in mind that it is not a relief valve. for example, sometimes i cannot back my trailer up after coming to a stop. reason being that the surge brakes were activated during the stop, and the coupler has not been pulled out to release the pressure on the master cylinder. in this case, even with the solenoid working properly, i still cannot back up due to the solenoid closing and trapping the pressure in the line and therefore the brakes activated. pulling forward a couple feet to return the coupler to the extended position before backing solves the problem.

fthe emergency brake may be engaged. make sure that the piece on the trailer where the small cable is connected is pushed back towards the boat. pulling the lever forward will apply brakes in forward and reverse.

if nothing else, the surge coupler may just be jammed up. hook it up to the truck and give it a couple q

18

Looks like somebody wudda told somebody before dropping the boat off and hauling ace…jus saying

I wudda been mighty pissed.

19

Now I get it! Thank yall much for the explanation and patience, sure do appreciate it :sunglasses:

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose

20
quote:
Looks like somebody wudda told somebody before dropping the boat off and hauling ace....jus saying

I wudda been mighty pissed.

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Ever dealt with crabbers? They are a different breed. I don’t get mad, but I did get mighty frustrated :smiley: I’m sure he just assumed that I knew more about it than I did. I assumed the same thing, but I was wrong.

Capt. Larry Teuton
Cracker Built Custom Boats

“Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made.” -Robert N. Rose