surge or electric brakes

[charlestown]

I have a 31ft motor home, im towing a prius so I must invest in a tow dolly,these cant be towed all 4 down , I do want breaks since it weighs 3000 lbs so whats the difference between electric and surge brakes , I know what and how each one works but what would be best used on a tow dolly

[RJsfishin]

Surge brakes, hands down !! Never have to mess w/ anything. Just hook up and GO !!
And 3Xs for the Demco Kar kaddy, best in the west,.....and east !

[sundancer268]

One thing to remember is that Surge Brakes are Hydraulic and like a car if the brake fluid is not changed on a regular basis you will eventually be facing a major repair bill from Master Cylinder, Caliper or wheel cylinder failure. I also do not know of any type of surge brake or electric brake being self adjusting as most newer vehicles are. Either type will require periodic adjustment depending on how hard they are used. One advantage of surge brakes are the self limiting nature of the braking effect in that they will never try and slow the motor home down, just supply a slight push over the bare Motor home braking. Miss adjusted electric brakes can be adjusted where they are trying to brake the motor with their brakes more than the motor home brakes and consequently wear out faster, or worse not supply enough braking to slow down at the maximum rate when required. My personal preference is electric, having removed the surge brakes on my double axle 9000 pound boat trailer. Pick your poison, either is better than no brakes. It is cheaper to replace dolly brakes then motor home brakes due to excessive wear when trying to brake two vehicles with one vehicles brakes.

[dbates]

I've pulled my Vibe on a Demco KarKaddy dolly for 11 years and 54,000 mile in all kinds of terrain (see map below) with no problems and the surge brakes work just fime.

KarKaddy is Demco’s best model. It allows you to fold the ramps up and the tongue back to reduce home storage space by almost 50%. It’s fully galvanized so you never have to worry about rust and the dolly wheels are rack & pinion swiveling rather than toad wheel plate swiveling.

I’ll have to agree with “blknomad” above about the nay sayers but will admit as I get older (76) it’s getting a little harder to get down & up from my knees to hook up the toad to dolly safety chains. It may take 3 to 5 minutes longer to hook up but that’s no big deal and if you strap it down correctly you’ll NEVER have a problem with loose straps.

By the way you're not supposed to back up 4 down or with a dolly (with or without brakes) but I've backed up a few feet with my KarKaddy with not surge brake problems (you just have to take it easy).

Dave

[mowermech]

"I'll point out that you really have no choice about whether to have brakes or not. Most states require them on any towed vehicle weighing over 3,000 or 3,500 lbs, both of which you are going to exceed, counting car and tow dolly."

Actually, not quite factual. Some states have no laws regarding brakes on towed vehicles. Many states have "Braking Performance Standards" codified in law, which requires a "combination of vehicles" to be able to stop within a certain distance (often 40 or 45 feet) from a certain speed (often 20 MPH). These laws pretty much mirror the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
The laws requiring brakes on a towed load exceeding 1500 lbs. unladen weight or 3000 lbs. GVW most often ONLY apply to trailers. Towed motor vehicles do not meet the legal definition of a trailer in many states.
Now, as to the braking system: It is purely personal preference. Both electric brakes and surge brakes work quite well. Electric brakes DO require the installation of a Brake Controller (and the associated wiring) in the towing vehicle. Well, let me take that back; it used to be that way, but a recent development allows the brake controller to be mounted on the trailer or car dolly. From what I have read about it, it works great!
Surge brakes are, of course, completely self contained.
My old dolly was a Demco Kar Kaddy, according to the decals on the tongue.
I have no idea what a "Kar Katty" is.

If I ever buy another dolly, it will be this one:

http://www.americancardolly.com/

[blknomad]

Get surge brakes and don't believe the stuff about not being able to back up. I have pulled a Demco Kar Katty for 7 years behind 2 motor homes with 2 different cars and never had a problem. Just hook load and go. There are people who put a lot of negative info on here because they bought a cheap dolly or they never learned how to use one. And no you don't have to have extra lights. I have pulled my dolly in every state except Alaska and Nebraska without a problem. Buy a good Demco with surge brakes and forget it.

[Bobbo]

You need a brake controller, like this one:

http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/prodigy-p2-brake-control/50057

[charlestown]

ok im leaning toward electric brakes on my tow dolly but is there something I have to have installed in my rv for that type of braking system or do I just plug into my 7 pin plug , im new at tow dolly info

[naturist]

I'll point out that you really have no choice about whether to have brakes or not. Most states require them on any towed vehicle weighing over 3,000 or 3,500 lbs, both of which you are going to exceed, counting car and tow dolly.

In any case, most folks will probably recommend electric brakes because they are much more adjustable in use. You want them to brake fairly hard when needed, but how hard they can brake depends on the surface. Dry pavement grips much better than wet, or gravel, so it's helpful to be able to change the braking force of the trailer/dolly depending on the load and surface. That is hard to do with surge brakes.