Surge brakes

[01yellerCobra]

Sometimes when I'm pulling away from a stop the trailer jerks a little as it starts rolling. Is that the surge brakes releasing? And is it normal?

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[FordandPolaris]

Sounds fine to me. Our new to us boat trailer does that as well. Also has a small surge brake setup. To get them to disengage, the ball has to move a little bit, which would in turn explain the jerking I am sure.

 

[01yellerCobra]

Just making sure. We bought it used and I just wanted to make sure it wasn't going to fall apart on me.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[tonydiv]

Ours does that too. Although I will say that it banged a lot more before we replaced the coupler. It was worn out and rusty inside of the brake fluid reservoir.

 

[01yellerCobra]

Is it hard to replace the coupler? I'm pretty sure the trailer has seen saltwater in it's life.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[Stoned06]

Totally normal. Our trailer did that too, so when I started from a stop, I just let off the brakes until the coupler was fully disengaged/extended before accelerating as to not have a big jerk while starting.

 

[01yellerCobra]

I try to let roll a little before I accelerate. Guess I won't worry about it. I'll give the brakes a once over when I bring it back here.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk

 

[whowey]

Yes... its normal..

Yes... its annoying....

Yes.. its just another symptom of living with surge brakes.

 

[tonydiv]

If the inside of the brake fluid reservoir is clean and full of fluid, the coupler / master cylinder is probably ok. You should feel the trailer brakes come on when backing the trailer uphill.

The toughest part of changing over the coupler is breaking loose the brake lines without damaging them. Other than that, it's just a few bolts.

 

[Mediamonkey11]

Depends on how hard it jerks, a small amount as noted by previous normal, just make sure to check for any rust and for good fluid condition. You don't want those brakes sticking on lol!

I used to know someone with surge brakes on their boat trailer, they thought it was normal to jerk quite a bit until they replaced the coupler then it was almost gone but still there. Their brakes were sticking by the end of the last coupler though.

 

[The Pawnbroker]

When backing up.

You should feel the trailer brakes come on when backing the trailer uphill.

What I think you meant was that you shouldn't feel the trailer brakes come on when backing the trailer uphill. The reverse light circuit blocks the brakes from being activated at all when you are backing up. Otherwise you would not be able to back up because you would be applying the trailer brakes.