From what I've read, the surge brake has a shock-style cylinder that activates at 250lbs of pressure applied from the toad in a braking or shoving situation from the toad onto the RV via the surge brake tongue connection. Simple, straight-forward cable connection that if installed correctly, should work in those situation you describe in Alaska. Force is force regardless if its from braking/sliding/slipping/bucking.....too much pressure and the surge brake will pull on the toad brake pedal as needed. Obviously, if the toad goes sideways in a slide all bets are off (as in most all braking systems).
