Locked Brakes on EZ Loader Trailer

[gozer7]

First time I've used my new 21EC. When I start to backup I go a few feet and the trailer brakes lock up. Have to jockey it back and forth to get it to move, finally loosened a nut on the line hydraulic line, fluid came out and it unlocked, now its locked up again. Unpluged the wire to the vehicle brakes, didn't help.

What do you think?

 

[K7MXE]

Dont fret this is a easy one. You will have to return the fluid and take the air out of the lines to get it back to what you started with and then when you back up you have to have power on the fifth wire on the light plug and that is from the backup light. Or when you move the trailer around from a hitch with no power plug like I do with my tractor I have a small piece of metal that came with the trailer in a plastic bag and it fits into the side of the hitch that prevents it from moving
back and forth. Sometimes it will fall out and a piece of tape works good and I have used a one inch chip of wood to stop
the hitch from moving. The trailer instructions should give good info on how this works. Les Lampman who sold me my trailer new also included a adapter plug from the round six or seven pin to the 5 pin trailer plug and the hard work was done and the tow vehicle had the backup power already routed. Bob Heselberg Eatonville Wa

 

[captain's cat]

I had a bad solenoid in my system. West Marine has them and it's a simple matter to replace it. I tried a block in mine but with the weight of the boat (TC255), even the smallest movement will lock the discs up.

Charlie

 

[j&lgray]

I made the same mistake the first time I used my trailer and the fix is exactly what Bob described. The power from the backup lights opens the disc brakes when backing up. No power to them, no backing up.

My trailer came with a flat four wiring harness plug and my truck has the seven pin RV plug. A $7 adapter from the auto parts store was the fix. Oh, I later found under my truck a flat four plug wired in under the bumper, so I really did not need the adapter after all. The more I discover about my Dodge truck, the more I like it.

 

[captain's cat]

John, shouldn't it have had a 5 wire plug? A standard trailer with no brake connection has a 4 wire plug but mine has a 5 wire flat plug.

Charlie

 

[bbelongie]

BTW...If your trailer has surge brakes instead of electrics, the brakes come on as soon as the trailer moves forward on the coupler and pressure is applied to the cylinder. When backing down a ramp this isn't an issue since gravity keeps trying to pull your tow vehicle to a watery grave... 🙂 However, when backing on level ground or any thing that causes the tow vehicle to "push" against the coupler, the brakes will engage. The solution here is to put a long bolt or a similar obstruction that keeps the coupler from moving back. The IMPORTANT thing to remember here is to REMOVE the bolt before going back on the road or you have a very bad day when that idiot pulls out in front of you, so you hit the brakes and find yourself in a race with your trailer taking the lead!

 

[j&lgray]

Charlie, you are correct. It is a flat four wire, plus the ground connection for a total of 5 wires.

I have a King Trailer and I know the EZ Loaders are the same: They have surge brakes like the prior post said but they the disc brakes will lock while going in reverse. The old drum brakes did not. That is why the electric from the tow vehicle's back up lights are necessary, when energized, the disc brakes stay open.

Some of the couplers used by the trailer manufacturers do not have the option to put a bolt through the sliding piston to disengage the brakes when backing.