camper trailer brakes what is better???

[4runnernomore]

Hi all,

I have purchased a Cub Camper and wil be picking it up later this year.

What is the best brakes to use, electric or Hydraulic disc overide?

I know there are advantages and disadvantages for both. I will be using it behind two different vehicles though pending distance and terrain travelled.

I like the idea of electric but it will be a pain wiring up two cars. Is it worth it or stick with the over rides.

Love to hear your experiences comments.

Cheers, Chris

[75 cruiser]

I picked up my drover 007 spacematic in april and i opted for the Hydraulic disc overide.It travels no problems at all.I went down a winding hill offroad and all was fine!

[BOGFROG]

Wiring up is easy if you use a 4 pin plug for back of unit you can use same unit on each car its only 1 x positive (black) via a ciruit breaker & 1 x negative (white) to battery then one to activate the unit (red) off the brake wire the other one (blue) goes to the trailer plug pin 5 worse part is getting thru the fire wall, should only take 45mins to do each car no stress!

[ozy1]

i agree with the eletric option, so far i have wired up 3 4bys with eletric brakes, and they all work no dramas, id have to say best setup thus far,

i will be putting eletric brakes on the car trailer later in the year,

[awill4x4]

Definitely go electric and use a Tekonsha Prodigy or P3 brake controller. You can also get an extra wiring loom and plug and just swap the controller from one vehicle to the next as required.
Regards Andrew.

[BundyRumandCoke]

Electrics are the go, because- in off road situations, descending a steep slippery hill, and the camper starts to push the rear of your 4wd off line, you can independantly apply the camper brakes to straighten everything out again. You cant do this with override brakes, they will only make it worse.

[ROCKRASH]

Descending a steep hill with over rides - get half way down, realise you are on the wrong line, try to back up, trailer brakes lock even more. Get out to engage the lockout, over ride ram is compressed just enough to stop the lockout disabling the brakes. Go back to the car get spanners, drop fluid, have no brakes. Been there done that, will never ever use over rides off the road ever again. Did I mention ever

[75 cruiser]

[quote="ROCKRASH"]Descending a steep hill with over rides - get half way down, realise you are on the wrong line, try to back up, trailer brakes lock even more. Get out to engage the lockout, over ride ram is compressed just enough to stop the lockout disabling the brakes. Go back to the car get spanners, drop fluid, have no brakes.

All i done was rolled forward a little bit which took the pressure of the over ride ram enabled the lock out system drove to the bottom of the hill without a drama.

[v6hilux]

Electrics are the go, you can independantly apply the camper brakes to straighten everything out again. You cant do this with override brakes, they will only make it worse.

Head this advice! May not be related, but when I used tow a car on a trailer, the electric brakes saved heaps of "jack-knife" situations for me.

It became automatic, at high speed, down hill on a bend, I always moved my hand into a position to operate the trailer brakes if required.

All i done was rolled forward a little bit which took the pressure of the over ride ram enabled the lock out system drove to the bottom of the hill without a drama.

This works, but sometimes you have to get out and chock the trailer wheels to go forward (because of the down hill and trailer weight), to release pressure from the hitch to flip the over-ride disable in.

[Dozoor]

Yep electric is the go , another senario slippery clay up hill ,
that you need momentum to get over. If you don,t make the top with overides the trailer will drag you back down the hill and probly off the side,
overide don,t work in reverse . Electric do but usually a little less then in foward .