Brakes

[charlsara]

I am getting ready to order a Lil Snoozy. It has surge brakes. Electric brakes are available for a little more money plus the cost of a controller. Is it worth it to have a little more control? Has anyone with surge brakes have any dislikes. Any opinions would be appreciated.

[J.R.]

I have towed trailers of one type or another for the past 50 years and never had a surge brake trailer stop like electric brakes which are adjustable. Personally I prefer the electric brakes and would pay extra for these. This type of brake with the brake-away switch is also a valuable safety device should the trail become disconnected while underway.

[Jack L]

I've used surge brakes when towing boats with no problem but with a boat I never experienced side to side sway where electric brakes would help some.

Replacing electric brakes is a lot easier and less expensive than surge brakes.

A big factor would be what your TV is. If the Snoozy is close to the maximum weight capacity of the TV I would personally choose electric brakes.

[Bob Miller]

Electric brakes also give the driver up-front control of the trailers brakes. If, on a long down hill run, surge brakes can sometimes do weird things if sway occurs.

Actually I would think that electric brakes should cost less as there is less hardware to install and only wires to run, not brake lines, and a lot less labor.

[Jack L]

Originally Posted by Bob Miller

Electric brakes also give the driver up-front control of the trailers brakes. If, on a long down hill run, surge brakes can sometimes do weird things if sway occurs.

Actually I would think that electric brakes should cost less as there is less hardware to install and only wires to run, not brake lines, and a lot less labor.

I believe the Snoozy frame is built on a production frame supplied by a "boat trailer" frame manufacturer. It's a galvanized and probably is only available from the factory with surge brakes. Electric brakes should be a lot less expensive but when they are a special it must increase the cost.

Surge brakes are used on boat trailers because they can be submerged in water where electric brakes would be ruined. Surge brakes are also used by rental yards because they are easier to attach to a customers tow vehicle.

[ericw]

Originally Posted by charlsara

I am getting ready to order a Lil Snoozy. It has surge brakes. Electric brakes are available for a little more money plus the cost of a controller. Is it worth it to have a little more control? Has anyone with surge brakes have any dislikes. Any opinions would be appreciated.

I have had trailers with both and would be willing to pay extra for electric brakes to get greater control.

[MC1]

Electric is the 1st choice for most trailer manufacturers.

[J.R.]

Another quick thought! It has been my experience to learn that a large number of people surpass the towing capacity of their vehicle when they think the manufacturers' weight quotes are for the trailer only; when in fact it includes the additional weight of passengers and items carried inside or on top of the tow vehicle, thus the better braking quality of electric can be adjusted to compensate for all weight while surge brakes only handle the trailer weight. I do not think this is the safest way but I am a firm believer in adhering to the complete manufacturers recommendations and read "all" of the details they release.

[Glenn Baglo]

Is it true that Lil Snoozy offers propane brakes?

[RogerDat]

I would guess that electric brakes would probably carry a better value at resale. Just because many folks know about electric brakes & brake controllers. Surge brakes you might have to explain more to get buyer to understand.

The need to insert pin to disable in order to back up, and not forget the disabling pin when leaving or you have no brakes also reduces the value of surge brakes in my mind.

[Antonia]

I had a '73 Sprite with mechanical surge brakes and found that I needed to drive, rather apply the brakes differently than with the electric brake systems. The surge brakes really did not activate until the trailer felt the sudden brake in speed from the tow vehicle. When the surge system activates, you feel a thump at the hitch which at times caught me by surprise. Going over mountains and driving in heavy traffic was not as comfortable due to brake reaction time and the lack of brake away safety. We added electric brakes to our 1991 13'scamp so that we had better control coming down mountains towing with a '90 Jeep. It's real easy to tow a trailer but you have to have the butt to stop one.

[charlsara]

Thanks so much for sharing all your experience and knowledge. What a great forum. I had already asked for the electric brake option then started second guessing myself. They charge 100.00 more for them. I suspect that is more for paperwork than mechanical cost. I don't mind paying a little more if we are satisfied with the result. I drove a couple of trucks pulling cargo trailers in the military. They worked but felt a little strange at times. Glenn, they would not do propane brakes but were open to "solar"

[FTTRV]

I owned a 1993 Casita 16ft it had surge brakes and they worked very well.
Chuck

[Night Sailor]

Originally Posted by charlsara

I am getting ready to order a Lil Snoozy. It has surge brakes. Electric brakes are available for a little more money plus the cost of a controller. Is it worth it to have a little more control? Has anyone with surge brakes have any dislikes. Any opinions would be appreciated.

I hate surge brakes. Hateful things. I recommend electric or none.

[Borrego Dave]

I've had both, surge on a boat trailer, electric on TT's. Spend the extra for the electric brakes on the TT. Different braking apps for different towing uses.

[Jared J]

X14 on electric brakes. The first time you have to back up a hill with surge brakes, it'll be worth the cost for electric.

[Eddie Longest]

The cost difference of the brakes is more than likely the extra cost of wiring. Seven pin pigtail, breakaway switch and running wires from the battery to the brake system.
Eddie

[frank_a]

Originally Posted by ericw

I have had trailers with both and would be willing to pay extra for electric brakes to get greater control.

I agree.

Frank

[Carol H]

The extra $100 to get electric brakes sounds like a good deal to me as well, you will not be sorry you did it. I have pulled boat trailers with surge brakes and the electric brakes with a good controller are a way better option - hands down!

[Melanie B in NC]

We got our Lil Snoozy last fall and used it for several trips. The surge brakes have worked fine. I worried about this a lot before buying and read a lot about it on several threads on this forum. We finally decided to go with the surge ones. At that time there were lots of opinions on both sides of the issue. Perhaps a search of previous threads would show some of the information offered by others. My husband drives conservatively and carefully and always assumes the trailer is going to try to kill us! That is, of course, if one of the other crazy drivers out there don't do so first!