what is the purpose of the battery mounted on the trailer with elect brakes and what maintenance should be done. I was under the impression the braking action power came from the towing vehicle.
thanks jim
In case the trailer is detached while towing and the safety cable is used, the battery applies the brakes. An emergency braking power source since the TV can't power the brakes.
It is best if your battery is charged by the towing vehicle but on some of my trailers that doesn't always work so I charge them when I do regular maintenence twice a year. I like the battery boxes that have a test light to show if the battery is charged
If you have the battery, you should also have a breakaway switch and a thin cable that connects to your tow vehicle. If the trailer broke free, the battery would activate the brakes and (hopefully) stop the trailer.
If you have a small battery, like a motorcycle battery, do NOT charge it with a normal battery charger or you risk having the battery blow up. Most of the small batteries charge at 500MA, you can also buy an adapter to charge it off the tow vehicle, the adapter reduces the charge amperage
Never heard of a system like that, a picture would be nice to see. Most hydraulic system - surge brakes - are hydraulic from the unit at the coupler to the wheels. Would love to see a system you are describing, the only time the battery would get charged would be when the brakes are applied - can't see how that would work?
Never heard of a system like that, a picture would be nice to see. Most hydraulic system - surge brakes - are hydraulic from the unit at the coupler to the wheels. Would love to see a system you are describing, the only time the battery would get charged would be when the brakes are applied - can't see how that would work?
Well now I can go home as I learned (saw) something new today :joyous: Thanks for showing me this, I still don't get how the break-away battery is charged off this system.
I have a set of 4 Dexter electric brakes on my trailer. I removed the original (single-axle) surge system and put electric drum brakes on both axles.
The I then simply bought a separate battery and break-away switch from a local trailer place.
The battery is a rather small gelled electrolyte battery (just like the battery in a computer UPS) that is charged by the vehicle when in tow and so far after more than a year mine has not discharged sitting in the garage.
The battery container has the charge controller and battery charge-level indicator right in the enclosure with status lights, press-to-test button etc.
You can buy breakaway kits at just about any autoparts store for less than $50. The amount of braking power is not such that it'll lock the wheels but it will bring the trailer to a stop if it becomes disconnected from the tow vehicle.
