I "think" mine has 4-wires. The plug of the wiring has 3 exposed metal
prongs sticking out and 1 black plastic prong that may or may not have
any metal thing inside. What does this tell me anyway?
It sounds like you have no brakes at all. Generally, electric brakes
have additional wiring running to a control unit and surge brakes have
additional wiring tied to the backup lights that release the brakes in
reverse (pushing the trailer backwards has the same effect as the
trailer pushing the vehicle when stopping.). I won't guarantee this is
always the case but has been the setup on rigs I've seen. Take a look
at the back side of the wheels and see if there is anything that
appears to be a brake with a line of some type running from the wheel
to the tongue of the trailer. Disc brakes are easy to see - a disc
with a caliper mounted - drum brakes would be enclosed. If all you see
is the axle with a spindle attached and the wheel bolted on then you
have no brakes and nothing to worry about.

It sounds like you have no brakes at all. Generally, electric brakes
have additional wiring running to a control unit and surge brakes have
additional wiring tied to the backup lights that release the brakes in
reverse ...

This seems to be true. Oh well, this means I have no less thing to
worry about.

Now, I just have to worry about braking the towing vehicle carefully,
and not pressing the brake too abruptly.

Thanks for the news.

Jay Chan

wrote:



Actually, I don't really know what kind of brake the trailer has, or
whether the trailer has any brake at all. I guess it has an
electric-operated brake. But I am not sure. I will be downloading the
owner manual from EZ-Loader web site to see if I can find any info
about this.

snip...

If you plan on dunking that trailer in sal****er, you'd better hope it
has hydraulic brakes. One of the local trailer dealers here told me
people were buying undersized trailers to avoid the brake requirement.

Don,
Why the need for hydraulic brakes in sal****er?


"Don White" wrote in message
news
wrote:



Actually, I don't really know what kind of brake the trailer has, or
whether the trailer has any brake at all. I guess it has an
electric-operated brake. But I am not sure. I will be downloading the
owner manual from EZ-Loader web site to see if I can find any info
about this.

snip...

If you plan on dunking that trailer in sal****er, you'd better hope it has
hydraulic brakes. One of the local trailer dealers here told me people
were buying undersized trailers to avoid the brake requirement.

Sounds like it is like most EZ-loader trailer. Surge brakes. The
coupler where you attached to the tow ball slides and activates a master
cylinder to provide braking. The 4 wire plug has a ground wire in the
rubber shielded connector and the other 3 are running lights and brake /
turn signals for left and right.

"Tom" wrote in message
...

I "think" mine has 4-wires. The plug of the wiring has 3 exposed metal
prongs sticking out and 1 black plastic prong that may or may not have
any metal thing inside. What does this tell me anyway?
It sounds like you have no brakes at all. Generally, electric brakes
have additional wiring running to a control unit and surge brakes have
additional wiring tied to the backup lights that release the brakes in
reverse (pushing the trailer backwards has the same effect as the
trailer pushing the vehicle when stopping.). I won't guarantee this is
always the case but has been the setup on rigs I've seen. Take a look
at the back side of the wheels and see if there is anything that
appears to be a brake with a line of some type running from the wheel
to the tongue of the trailer. Disc brakes are easy to see - a disc
with a caliper mounted - drum brakes would be enclosed. If all you see
is the axle with a spindle attached and the wheel bolted on then you
have no brakes and nothing to worry about.

Dr. Dr. Smithers wrote:
Don,
Why the need for hydraulic brakes in sal****er?



I should have said 'surge' brakes......although they are a hydraulic
system..aren't they
The brakes aren't needed in the sal****er, but are useful going to and
from sal****er.

Sounds like it is like most EZ-loader trailer. Surge brakes. The
coupler where you attached to the tow ball slides and activates a master
cylinder to provide braking. The 4 wire plug has a ground wire in the
rubber shielded connector and the other 3 are running lights and brake /
turn signals for left and right.

Thanks for the pointer.

I will have to get under the trailer to see if the trailer has a brake
or not. If I see a brake, I will assume that the trailer has a surge
brake because the wiring only has 4 wires. Does this sound right?

Jay Chan

If you plan on dunking that trailer in sal****er, you'd better hope it
has hydraulic brakes.

I see your point of not wanting to mix electricity with water.

One of the local trailer dealers here told me people were buying
undersized trailers to avoid the brake requirement.

This sounds odd. Having a brake in the trailer should help the
stopping power and is a good thing, right? Why would anyone want to
avoid having a brake system if the towing load demands its use? People
must have been buying undersized trailers because of the low price, not
because their being brakeless.

Jay Chan

Don,

Thanks for the explanation, I had surge brakes on my trailer and couldn't
imagine that they had two different trailer brakes, one for freshwater and
one for sal****er, but there have been crazier situations.

I had a smaller boat and trailer w/o any brakes (approx. 2500 lbs.), and
then a heaver boat and trailer (approx. 3500 lbs) with surge brakes. I
would assume there is a maximum weight for towing w/o trailer brakes, but I
couldn't tell the difference between the two. With both of them, you have
to anticipate your stops, it takes substantially longer to stop when pulling
a trailer.



"Don White" wrote in message
...
Dr. Dr. Smithers wrote:
Don,
Why the need for hydraulic brakes in sal****er?



I should have said 'surge' brakes......although they are a hydraulic
system..aren't they
The brakes aren't needed in the sal****er, but are useful going to and
from sal****er.

wrote:


Thanks for the pointer.

I will have to get under the trailer to see if the trailer has a brake
or not. If I see a brake, I will assume that the trailer has a surge
brake because the wiring only has 4 wires. Does this sound right?

Jay Chan


You can tell a surge brake system quite easilt. Look at your coupler
and see if there is an oversized 'box'.
http://www.championtrailers.com/techsup.html#techretro