Ranger trail brakes

[bbbill]

Thank to BBC Ranger forum got my 2014 brakes working due to low fluid. Now a quick question: Do the brakes actually engage/work when you depress the brake of your tow vehicle or just in a breakaway situation when cable is pulled?

[AHens]

When you step on the brake pedal of your tow vehicle, the boat surges forward engaging the trailer brakes. The harder the stop, the more the trailer brakes engage. Does that help?

[bbbill]

Yes, thank you.

[TopgunZ521C]

If you bleed your brakes correctly when you step on the brakes the slide pin will only go halfway back if that pin slides all the way back into the coupler then you have incorrectly blood your brakes sew-in easy way to check is to drive your truck at a moderate Pace in an empty parking lot with your boat hooked up and ease the breakdown set your emergency brake on your vehicle put it in park get out and look at where that pin is on your coupler when I say pin on the coupler I'm talking about the oval slot where the round pin slides forward and back as it actuates your surge brakes and the cable should not pull out that emergency brake cable is set at one level for a reason if you were to lose your trailer it would pull that thing forward and set your breaks into action

[TopgunZ521C]

Did you take the time to check your pads and see how much meat is left on them that could be why your master cylinder went low on fluid

[bbbill]

Gun, please explain relationship between pad wear and fluid level.

[TopgunZ521C]

When brake pads wear the fluid level drops as the caliper puck has to push further out to make the pads contact the disc hence the fluid level begins to get lower when you put new pads on your trailer you have to use a C clamp to compress the puck back into the caliper when you do the fluid rise back up in the master cylinder same as a car or a truck.

[bbbill]

Excellent explanation. makes sense! Thanks.

[TopgunZ521C]