how can i temporarily quickily disable the trailer brakes?

STANG KILLA SS

weve got a ramp thats the road down to it is very steep. probly 35 degrees. and when they poured the road, they laid 3/4" rebar every 2" to make deep grooves for some reason. its like a washboard, and when the boat is off the trailer, because of the steep downgrade the brakes are on. it makes the trailer jump in the air and bounce violently. litterally the tires come of the ground. the tires are locked(braked) so when it comes back down the torsion axles chirp the tires and send the trailer right back in the air. its very violent and loud. only happens on this steep washboard road.
how can i disable the brakes when bringing the empty trailer down to load up. weve tryied driving .5 mph, and we tryed mega fast to outrun/unbrake the trailer nothing works.

how can i quickly temporarily disable the trailer brakes?

jgriffith · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 7:17 am Post subject:

C-clamp, where the brakes engage (that worked on my last trailer).

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

Are they the surge type brakes?

eeven73 · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 7:46 am Post subject:

There should be a slot in the tongue of the trailer that slides forward when the trailer is pushed towards the tow vehicle. This activates the trailer brakes.

They make a sized to fit insert that stops this slide from happening. You can fab something similar fairly easily. However attach the piece to your trailer as it is only held in place by friction.

In fact a C clamp may be a better idea.

ridininmd · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 1231

Do you have a 5 pin connector on the trailer and the truck? They should always be bypassed when you are in reverse. If they are coming on there is a wiring problem somewhere. Or if you are hooking the 5 pin to a 4 pin on the tow rig just flip the trailer plug over. This will put the headlights on your brake bypass, then turn the lights on and the brakes will be off.

eeven73 · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 8:01 am Post subject:

NO^ Not if there is a surge mechanism.

ridininmd · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 1231

If it is a surge brake system with a 5 wire harness which on his boat it should be, the 5th wire is hooked to the reverse lights and disables the brake system when the tow rig is in reverse. so YES.

eeven73 · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 8:32 am Post subject:

I apologize you are correct.

I was thinking about an occasion where the wiring harness for my Durango crapped out so the 5th wire was not working.

ridininmd · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 1231

right on, I'm thinking that's what his problem is here also, it's either a bad harness on the tow rig or he's hooking to a 4 pin connector. Either way though, the brakes shouldn't be locking up in reverse.

Wheeler · Criminal Joined: 04 Sep 2010 Posts: 74 City: Decatur, AL

I don't think he's backing up when it's happening. Different brake manufacturers have different way of locking out. I like that c-clamp idea.

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 10:12 am Post subject:

youll have to forgive me, not familiar with the proper term. not sure if mine are "surge" or not. it is the typical 5 wire setup, with the sliding tongue.

correct. im having the problem when driving foward, down the steep hill to get to the ramp.

so pretty much a mechanical stop on the tongue slider is my only option?

ridininmd · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 1231

Yeah, those are surge brakes, the other type would be electric where you would have a brake controller in the truck that would activate the brakes, not very common on wakeboard boats though.

You can either stick something in there to stop it from sliding or flip the plug on your trailer and turn the lights on. This will put your running lights on what it normally the brake lockout wire and will override them as if you were in reverse. Once you load the boat just flip it back over and go.

3MileBayWaker · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 10:23 am Post subject:

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

If he is driving forward down a hill and this is happening, how will the disengage of the brakes electrically solve his problem?

ridininmd · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 16 Feb 2006 Posts: 1231

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 11:10 am Post subject:

yeah i thought the flip trick only worked for electronicly disabling the brakes while reversing.

jjaszkow · Posted: Jun 05, 2012 11:20 am Post subject:

If it's flipped, voltage is sent to the selenoid when you turn the lights on, and therefore electronically disables the brakes.

Wheeler · Criminal Joined: 04 Sep 2010 Posts: 74 City: Decatur, AL

One more thing that can make this worse, when you unload, the weight is off the axle and the trailer rises. This can make the trailer 'nose down' which can apply surge brakes also.

ontrider · Ladies Man Joined: 30 Jul 2003 Posts: 16491 City: Russia

Yeah, we have one with a 4 pin and just throw some vice-grips on at an uphill so the brakes don't lock up when backing in.

Broccoli B · Posted: Jun 06, 2012 4:57 am Post subject:

STANG KILLA SS, Maybe they don't do this anymore but my 2004 with a boatmate trailer had a brake lockout key in the bag with all the manuals for the boat, there is a slot on the side of the tounge where you put this in to lockout the brakes. It is a pressure fit so I throw a peice of duck tape over it to make sure it doesn't fall out.

pet575 · Posted: Jun 06, 2012 11:14 am Post subject:

This^^^

I'm sure this varies from model to model as well, but my trailer has a pin you put in it when you hook up that goes right behind the ball of the hitch (goes on the boat side of the ball, not the car side). When you want to manual lockout, you pull that pin and there is a hole on the tongue you stick it in that is the same size. The pin is made to fit in either spot so that you can use it in either place but not both at the same time.

Look for a hole in your tongue that is supposed to be there. You will probably see the hole close up when backing up with the boat loaded. That is the surge brake actuator sliding back inside the trailer tongue.

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jun 06, 2012 11:34 am Post subject:

hmm i dont rember seeing a spare 1/4" hole, but i will look specifically for it! thanks!

12string · Newbie Joined: 16 May 2012 Posts: 3

My trailer has a D shaped piece hanging off the coupler latch. A D shaped piece that goes in the slot on the side of the coupler where the sliding pin sticks out. You put the piece in the slot in front of the pin and the surge section can't move forward. I use a bungee cord to keep it from falling out.

Okie Boarder · Ladies Man Joined: 03 Mar 2008 Posts: 10056 City: Edmond

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

jjaszkow · Posted: Jun 07, 2012 9:04 am Post subject:

STANG KILLA SS, who makes your trailer? I know that my boatmate and my friend's extreme both have the pin shown in this video (it's about the size of a nickle). There are some good suggestions in this thread about how to secure it (that was always my worry, so I just flipped the connector instead and turned on my headlights).

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jun 07, 2012 10:56 am Post subject:

boatmate

flixmaster · Site Owner Joined: 30 Oct 2003 Posts: 7488

When my Supra trailer would go into 'lockdown' mode it turned out to be I was blowing my fuse. I bumped my fuse to a 15 amp from a 10 and I have not had a problem since. could you have a fuse problem in the truck that is not causing it to release when you hit the brakes or put it in reverse when they lockup going down the grade?

Your tongue does have a surge brake on it. When the trailer is coming forward it pumps fluid to the brakes and slows down the trailer. You should also have that D ring clip but mine would never stay in on my trailer to stop the tongue from moving forward.

That would be scary if you hit the brakes and it locked up at at a high rate of speed.

STANG KILLA SS · Posted: Jun 12, 2012 5:15 am Post subject:

ok we tried the flip 5 wire, and headlights trick last night. it worked amazing! she was able to drive down the road as fast as she wanted. no bouncing or nothing smooth as silk! then after we loaded we fliped the 5 wire plug back to normal, and the brakes work normal for the drive home.
thanks guys! such a simple fix too!

jjaszkow · Posted: Jun 12, 2012 5:21 am Post subject:

Glad it worked for you!