On Jun 14, 11:05*pm, Eric Greenwell wrote:
On 6/13/2012 7:56 AM, Grider Pirate wrote:

I totally agree! *Ever tried to back up a hill with your mechanical
surge brakes?? Good luck with that!
My tow vehicle weighs roughly 5 times my trailer with the glider in
it. I don't really think brakes are all that helpful.

My understanding is the brakes release when the wheels turns backward.
Doesn't that happen when you back up a hill?

I have 170,000 miles on my Cobra trailer, and I can't recall ever having
trouble backing up; however, I don't recall how steep the inclines were.
I did have dragging brakes on one side from misadjusting the brake on
that side, but I don't know if that is also possible with electric brakes..

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to
email me)

The Cobra brakes have the traditional "star wheel" which automatically
tightens up the brake adjustment when applied in reverse or when
backing up hills with a surge hitch. Surprisingly, the trailer shop
tech said there was no hole in the back plate for manually adjusting
the brakes.

As I understand it, the surge hitch has an air spring inside which
must be overpowered before the brakes come on. If this is working
properly, brakes shouldn't activate anytime except on hard braking.