Trailer Brakes

[gungadin]

Ya there are a lot of illegal trailers on the road. All trailes over 3500lbs must have breaks. Also trailer over 6300lbs must have electric or electric over hydralic. So if you have surge brakes on your 8000lbs setup it's not legal anymore.

A friend I fish with has a trailer with surge brakes, I just got off the phone with him and he tells me the trailer came that way when he bought it. It is an older trailer so we were wondering if he has to change over to this electric over hydraulic setup. I know the brakes work great the way they are, and was hoping that they might be grandfathered.

 

[JAC]

I would look into it I think the law changed over a few years ago. If they work well I wouldn't change until you have to. The elec over hydraulic coupler is about 500-600 and you need a controller in your truck

 

[spring fever]

A friend I fish with has a trailer with surge brakes, I just got off the phone with him and he tells me the trailer came that way when he bought it. It is an older trailer so we were wondering if he has to change over to this electric over hydraulic setup. I know the brakes work great the way they are, and was hoping that they might be grandfathered.

The trailer probably came from the States like that or it didn't have a heavy boat on it. I have never heard of any grandfathering and when you think about it-it can't happen. ICBC insures all trailers in BC and if there was an accident with a non-compliant trailer grandfathered by ICBC then that would wind up making ICBC a major target for litigation for allowing a non-compliant trailer. If I was the aggrieved party I would sue hell out of them for allowing it!!!

 

[CCB]

I had to change mine it's pretty simple but I know I paid alot more then that for it. Maybe they dropped in price. Best to call a few trailer shops and see and call the DMV or insurance places. Hydrolic breaks are crap compared to electric over hydrolic.it will save your trucks breaks in the long run. I consistently haul 8-12k with my truck. I don't drive much anymore so it's my daily driver as well until I get the honda fixed up. For what I haul I can say using the break control to put more pressure on the towed vehicle is sweet. Even better add an engine brake. Most new Diesle come with it now but I don't have one and want to get one. In the end it puts far less strain on your truck. I defenitly have felt and noticed a difference.

 

[gungadin]

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.

 

[Tide Up]

Really good info here guys. I have a question
Is it better to replace (when needed) drum brakes and go with disc?
If so why? Is there any longevity differences or is the replacement almost annual ?
Trailer is Ezee Loader with hydraulic surge
Thanx

 

[spring fever]

Really good info here guys. I have a question
Is it better to replace (when needed) drum brakes and go with disc?
If so why? Is there any longevity differences or is the replacement almost annual ?
Trailer is Ezee Loader with hydraulic surge
Thanx

Everything depends on cost. Disc brakes require higher hydraulic pressures to work than drum so the first question is -can your surge actuator supply the pressure needed -or do you have to change that as well as buying the discs? Obviously the time to change is when you require new shoes or backing plates anyway. Why change? I think discs are more efficient and easier to service on a yearly basis-the pads are readily available whereas shoes-you usually will find it's better to change the whole backing plate-not hard but more expensive than disc pads.

 

[Hookin'up]

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.

 

[bigbruce]

In answer to your last question, Tide Up, I would do (and in fact did) the disc conversion rather than rebuild the drums on my last single axle trailer. The rebuild would have required replacement of the backing plates, shoes, springs etc. The cost of the Kodiak disc system with a new actuator (required for the disc system) was a couple of hundred dollars more than the drum rebuild but the ongoing maintenance cost of the disc system is going to be significantly less than having to rebuild the drum system. The disc system has fewer moving parts and is much easier to hose off after a salt water dip. The fact that the disc system performs much better than a drum system is also a big advantage. I don't consider myself much of a mechanic, but I was able to do the conversion myself, including the bearing and race replacement and bleeding. The entire job took about three hours.

 

[Sr SQ]

This essentially means that a surge brake is not acceptable for loaded trailers whose weight is over 2,800 kg.

Correct, this really encompasses most 23' and up boats.

 

[profisher]

2800kg is 6127 pounds. I have a 5800 lb Shorlandr that is surge only.

 

[Hookin'up]

I thought I heard DOT was hitting anyone over 5000lbs but I cant find anything to back that up now
seems 2800kg is the cut point

 

[Tide Up]

In answer to your last question, Tide Up, I would do (and in fact did) the disc conversion rather than rebuild the drums on my last single axle trailer. The rebuild would have required replacement of the backing plates, shoes, springs etc. The cost of the Kodiak disc system with a new actuator (required for the disc system) was a couple of hundred dollars more than the drum rebuild but the ongoing maintenance cost of the disc system is going to be significantly less than having to rebuild the drum system. The disc system has fewer moving parts and is much easier to hose off after a salt water dip. The fact that the disc system performs much better than a drum system is also a big advantage. I don't consider myself much of a mechanic, but I was able to do the conversion myself, including the bearing and race replacement and bleeding. The entire job took about three hours.

Thanx bigbruce, we are going to give it a go

 

[JAC]

Ya it's just over 6000lbs and you need to have electric over hyd or electric alone.

 

[johnfw]

interesting discussion guys. I am thinking of converting my surge brake drums to discs and am wondering if my hydraulic surge actuator will need replacement too? Who in the Comox valley sells the Kodiak system?

 

[bigbruce]

interesting discussion guys. I am thinking of converting my surge brake drums to discs and am wondering if my hydraulic surge actuator will need replacement too? Who in the Comox valley sells the Kodiak system?

CV Marine sells the kits, and yes you will need to replace your actuator. CV Marine sells them too.

 

[Gray Escape]

Bot my Kodiak brake parts from www.trailerpartsdepot.com.
Much cheaper than any local wholesaler, ships via UPS.
Saved over $700 on the parts I bot, well worth it.
They were very good to deal with, wil use them again.

 

[pescador]

I hear Kodiak stainless are the best