Your advice on brakes

[Just Because]

I am going to purchase a trailer to haul the golf cart and the Buick Enclave. I have been looking at the HD model by Racecars......com.

They offer the surge brake model and the electric brake models. This has a platform for the golf cart and a tow dolly for the vehicle. Now before I buy, here is my question.
I have the SMI Air Force One on the Buick Enclave. This is air activated by the MH. Now with the front tires on a dolly, do I need additional braking offered by the tow dolly or will the rear tires on the Enclave be enough?

Your thoughts?

[George Z]

My thought would be to not use the brakes on the Enclave other than for break away. Get surge brakes on the trailer/dolly and just use them. Keep in mind, this was only my opinion.

[Mekanic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by George Z My thought would be to not use the brakes on the Enclave other than for break away. Get surge brakes on the trailer/dolly and just use them. Keep in mind, this was only my opinion.

X2 I belive the brakes on the dolly are set for stopping the weight of the dolly AND The vehicle on it .

I also think I'd hook the Air Force breakaway brakes so that if the dolly breaks away from the RV it will be applied as well as the breakaway brakes on the dolly.

[gcsprayjr]

Agreed with everything above, except for the surge brakes. Electric trailer brakes are far better then surge brakes on many levels, first of which is control. If your unit sways for any reason, a quick tap on the electric brake will pull it back in alignment. Decending a hill with surge brakes is a PIA, as the brakes will engage only when the tow vehicle is stopping, but will not assist in slowing the rig on decent.

I recently converted my tandem axle boat trailer that hauls our 22 foot sport cuddy from surge brakes to electric. Electric brakes will not hold up in salt water usage, however our boat is a fresh water lake boat, so there is no problems. We have towed our 17 foot bass rig with electric brakes for 20 years with no issues at all. We love the control and shortened stopping distance with the electric brakes over the original surge brakes. The electric also has much smoother operation. None of the jearking and banging that surge brakes are famous for.

[Hikerdogs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gcsprayjr Agreed with everything above, except for the surge brakes. Electric trailer brakes are far better then surge brakes on many levels, first of which is control. If your unit sways for any reason, a quick tap on the electric brake will pull it back in alignment. Decending a hill with surge brakes is a PIA, as the brakes will engage only when the tow vehicle is stopping, but will not assist in slowing the rig on decent. I recently converted my tandem axle boat trailer that hauls our 22 foot sport cuddy from surge brakes to electric. Electric brakes will not hold up in salt water usage, however our boat is a fresh water lake boat, so there is no problems. We have towed our 17 foot bass rig with electric brakes for 20 years with no issues at all. We love the control and shortened stopping distance with the electric brakes over the original surge brakes. The electric also has much smoother operation. None of the jearking and banging that surge brakes are famous for.

I agree with gcsprayjr on the electric brakes. I've had a couple trailers with surge brakes and didn't like way they operated. With a heavy load they would activate much quicker than when the trailer was empty. They also had a tendency to grab and release when going over rough or uneven terrain.
Our latest trailer and our tow dolly both have electric brakes. They can be set in several different modes and dialed into the load you are pulling. We use a Tekonsha Prodigy controller which can be set to provide proportional braking meaning it can be set to apply the brakes on the trailer/dolly at the same rate as the towing vehicle.

I would never want to go back to a surge brake system.