Trailer Brake Problems

Extreme Trailer.

When my boat is not on the trailer the brakes lock up bad. Even going over a small speed bump on flat land at 3 to 5 mph the brakes lock up and the trailer starts to bounce and skid. Going down the boat launch truck first the brakes will lock up and I have to turtle down the ramp at walking speed or less. I look like an idiot.

I have taken it to my dealership and told them about the problems and they told me that those Extreme trailers do that. They looked at it, so they say and did not find anything wrong. Of coarse my boat was on it at the time so it wouldn't lock up.

It has done it to me on both my SUV and F250 truck. My friend has a F250 as well and it does it to him too.

I am going to take it to a mechanic friend of mine to see what he thinks. Any suggestions.

Do you have it pluged into the truck at the time?

Yes, I have tried plugged in and out still the same exact issues. I was so mad on my last outing I wanted my wife to record some footage with the video camera so I could show that dealership, but we were out of batteries. It is putting some major wear and tear on my tires I am sure.

No doubt. I have to say I run into that issue once in a while. Seems like you're surge brake actuator is adjusted wrong, a little to loose maybe. Backing down a ramp and having your surge brakes lock up is not right(that has never happened to me). Call up Extreme yourself and talk to one of their technicians. I had an issue with my trailer this year, there was a short in the wiring harness from the factory. They sent me a new wire harness and even paid me to change it out. They are actually pretty decent to deal with, cut out the middle man and call them up directly, or you're in Cali maybe you're close to them and you could take the trailer to them and have them fix it.

We have had this happen too, albeit a few times bouncing down the ramp and shaking and shuddering the damn trailer all over. Annoying!!!

Then of course, we were renting a slip here in Tahoe and had the opportunity to park my trailer at a buddies house. So, he brings out his quad with a hitch, hooks it up and tries to push it back up the side of his house. We had to fight the trailer, all the way up the hill. At that point we got a carriage bolt, cut it in half and slipped one piece on each side of the slide. Then of course it worked perfect. When I get home and have some time, I am going to CAD out a perfect piece to fit in there. I know I am not the only one, so I might have a little market for that.

There is a spring in the actuator that provides initial resistance against the surge. That spring may be too weak or not adjusted properly on your trailer.

Aquahawk you should have gotten that piece with your trailer, someone already beat you to it.

Mine did the same thing. For me it was getting the trailer level.

I went from a 4 to a 2 inch basically straight stinger. Now when the boat is off the trailer I don't skid every time I put the brakes on.

Check the relay's in the engine compartment and see if you might be missing a relay for reversing. Just a shot in the dark but my Expedition was missing a relay and locked up on bumps going backwards.

My Sweetwater Trailer does the same damn thing. It is going to drive me to drink... or I guess I will drive it to drink, but it is making me crazy. I am getting ready to drop it off at the dealership. However, mine also makes a crazy rattling and loud noise when I brake with the boat on the trailer. And when it is empty, it locks and jumps up and down in the parking lot.

thanks nu bu, i'll look through my goodie bag from malibu within the extreme packet and see if I overlooked it.

if it's as good as I think I can make it, I'll use it. Otherwise it gives me an excuse to make one. ha ha

Ok, so I found my cheap little lockout key. This isn't my trailer, but the same UFP I do have. Also, for anyone interested, here is the link to the video that UFP creates demonstrating the manual lockout. (obvious, I know)

http://bayareaserver.com/aqua/video1.mpg

I am working on some prototypes of something a bit better. These cheap punched keys are crap. Besides, anyone who even knows remotely about engineering knows that uneven pressure across a straight line will cause bending or strain. So using ONE key on ONE side will cause undo pressure on the opposite side of the slide. duh.