Troubleshooting Surge Brake Actuator that Won't Release Brakes

Question

Question:

I had someone move my boat and they didnt plug in the trailer power so the trailer locked up when he backed it up. The problem is that now I cant get it to lock back in so the hitch wont slide back and lock up the breaks. How do I get the hitch to lock back into place?

asked by: Jeff K

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Expert Reply:

Sounds like your trailer has an electric reverse lockout which prevents the brakes of your trailer from applying so that you can back the trailer up. If now the brakes won't release after the issue you had with someone else backing up the trailer that sounds like a mechanical problem. Possible something has bent inside the surge actuator which won't allow the inner piece to slide forward and release the brake pressure.

You should inspect the coupler looking for any damaged or bent components and get back to me with what you find.

expert reply by: Jameson C

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Answer 1

With surge brakes, you have a brake actuator applying the needed pressure to the brakes but to be able to back up you will need to have a manual lockout or an electric lockout solenoid, like #T4748800, which will close when you shift the vehicle…

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Answer 2

Unless the trailer became completely unattached from your tow vehicle causing the breakaway pin to be pulled out, forgetting to lock the coupler to the hitch ball, while certainly something you want to double check the next time you tow, would not…

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Answer 3

As long as your Titan model 60 surge brake actuator is rated for disc brakes and is in good working order it should have not problem activating 4 sets of brake assemblies. If your brakes are sticking all of a sudden after having an additional set…

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Answer 4

If the distance on center between two studs of your hub is 3 inches the bolt pattern you have is 5 on 5 inch. The next piece of info I need is the diameter of the "snout" of your hub where the wheel fits over. That's so I…

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Answer 5

If you want to deactivate the hydraulic brakes on your boat trailer, you can certainly do so. The simplest way to do this would be to drain the brake fluid from the lines by disconnecting the brake lines from the wheel cylinders and allowing the…

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Answer 6

The issue your friend is having with his trailer is a mechanical one so we can rule the vehicle out. The reasoning for this is because the only way you would have been able to back up the trailer with using just a 4-way trailer connector is if you…

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Answer 7

90-120 ft lbs of torque is probably about right for your 15 inch trailer rims. If you check out the lug nut torque chart that I attached you will see that nearly all of the torque specs are that and higher. You'll need to know the diameter of the…

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Answer 8

If your trailer wants to slam forward and back as you apply the brakes of your tow vehicle the shock is bad and needs to be replaced. When a shock goes bad it no longer dampens the movement of the actuator which causes what I described. If the shock…

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Answer 9

There are a couple of ways you can bleed a trailer brake system. Titan offers the following instructions, which I have also linked for you, on bleeding the brakes: Remove the master cylinder cap and fill the reservoir to three quarters full with…

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Answer 10

Surge brakes use a hydraulic actuator to push fluid to the cylinder piston to activate the brake shoes on drum brakes or brake pads on disc brakes. This pressure should only be applied when weight is pushing against the hitch ball, so no pressure…

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Answer 11

When you force the pistons down in the caliper to install new pads you will end up forcing the fluid back from the calipers into the master cylinder since it has no where else to go. So it will fill the master cylinder up. The system is designed for…

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Answer 12

I did some research on your ShoreLandr trailer and found it has a weight capacity of just under 3,000-lbs. To add electric brakes to your trailer I recommend part #AKEBRK-35R-SA for the right hand and part #AKEBRK-35L-SA for the left side of the…

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Troubleshooting Surge Brake Actuator that Won't Release Brakes

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