OK. So I thought I'd get him some prices, I went to the Roadrunner Trailer site, it's Canadian and they build their trailers in Richmond. He needs a tandem trailer. I went to their tandem axle section and all of their tandem trailers have surge brakes and meet all Transport Canada requirements, and comply with all Canadian and Provincial regulations. I would post a link but am on a tablet and have no idea how to copy and paste with it. So am I missing something here or what? Their bigger trailers are vacuum over hydraulic, no mention (that I could find) of electric over hydraulic though.
their trailers listed are only rated up to 4800lbs and I believe the cut limit for elec/hyd is 5000lbs,
kind of interesting how they have them rated for 3500, 4500, then 4800 rather then 5000 don't ya think
this taken from drive smart BC, reflects the correct weights
5.02 (3) A trailer shall be equipped with brakes at each end of each axle, but brakes are not required
(b) on any axle of a trailer other than a towing dolly if the licensed vehicle weight of the trailer
(i) is 1 400 kg or less, and
(ii) is less than 50% of the licensed vehicle weight of the vehicle by which it is being towed,
The licensed weight is commonly called the curb weight or what the manufacturer says that the vehicle weighed when it was first built.
If your trailer weights more than 1,400 kg it must be equipped with brakes:
Brakes required on all wheels
6.06 (1) Every bus, truck, truck tractor and commercial trailer shall be equipped with a service brake on each wheel.
Don't let that word "commercial" confuse you. If your trailer weights more than 1,400 kg, it is a commercial trailer by definition regardless of what you might think.
"commercial trailer" means a trailer, or semitrailer, or house trailer, with a gross weight of more than 1 400 kg, but does not include a towed motor vehicle that weighs less than 2 000 kg and is less than 40% of the gross vehicle weight rating of a motor home towing it via a tow bar;
You must also have a breakaway braking device:
Breakaway and emergency braking
6.07 (1) The service brakes with which a commercial trailer is equipped shall be of such manufacture and design and so installed and maintained that they will be applied automatically upon the separation of the commercial trailer from the vehicle by which it is being towed, and so that after such automatic application they will remain fully applied for not less than 15 minutes.
Finally, if the trailer weights more than 2,800 kg it must be equipped with brakes in the same manner as the over 1,400 to 2,800 kg category and those brakes must be able to be operated separately from the tow vehicle brakes by the driver:
5.02 (4) Brakes with which a trailer is equipped shall
(c) where the licensed vehicle weight of the trailer exceeds 2 800 kg, be capable of being applied by the driver of the motor vehicle towing the trailer from his normal seated position.
This essentially means that a surge brake is not acceptable for loaded trailers whose weight is over 2,800 kg.