Surge brake hitch question,1992 1206.

[Bradbo]

I have a 1992 1206 Deluxe pop up that I’m working on.
I have never owned a surge brake hitch type trailer. I’ve never actually owned a trailer period. I’m experienced at mechanics but this hitch is making me scratch my head.
Is it possible to buy parts?
Is it worth rebuilding?
I’m afraid if I take it apart to check it i won’t be able to get it back together.

[SloPoke]

eTrailer.com sells rebuild kits for them... and they also sell new couplers that can replace it entirely. I chose to replace mine as it was easier to just do it all at once.

Be sure and flush/replace the hydraulic fluid in the lines and inspect or replace your wheel cylinders at the same time.

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

eTrailer.com sells rebuild kits for them... and they also sell new couplers that can replace it entirely. I chose to replace mine as it was easier to just do it all at once.

Be sure and flush/replace the hydraulic fluid in the lines and inspect or replace your wheel cylinders at the same time.

X2 on all of this. They are not hard to rebuild.

What kills these is rust. The cheesy plastic cap on the actuator is easily damaged and lets water in when it rains. The system then gets rusty inside.

[Scott]

Or better yet, replace it with electric brakes. They are easier to use and maintain than surge breaks, although you need a 7 pin connector and a brake controller. Did that after 3-4 years of having surge brakes on my prior popup. Backing into a site or my driveway was so much easier!

[DocBrown]

Originally Posted by Scott

Or better yet, replace it with electric brakes. They are easier to use and maintain than surge breaks, although you need a 7 pin connector and a brake controller. Did that after 3-4 years of having surge brakes on my prior popup. Backing into a site or my driveway was so much easier!

The electric brakes are certainly more reliable. I hated surge brakes. I didn't suggest it though because the expense and work involved are hard to justify for a 28 year old pop-up.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by DocBrown

The electric brakes are certainly more reliable. I hated surge brakes. I didn't suggest it though because the expense and work involved are hard to justify for a 28 year old pop-up.

Good point, I didn't think about the age of the trailer. Mine was 3-4 years old when I did it. The expense might not be worth it for the OP.

[SloPoke]

Originally Posted by Scott

Or better yet, replace it with electric brakes. They are easier to use and maintain than surge breaks, although you need a 7 pin connector and a brake controller.

oh... I want you to think about this... for a popup trailer... how many times will your kids ask to borrow it when they are growing up and driving... Not one of our kids would put a brake controller on the various vehicles they owned for the years we had a trailer.. Yea, they will invest in a hitch - but would not spend a dime more.

The only way that trailer would have brakes - was to have the surge brakes working.

[Scott]

Originally Posted by SloPoke

oh... I want you to think about this... for a popup trailer... how many times will your kids ask to borrow it when they are growing up and driving... Not one of our kids would put a brake controller on the various vehicles they owned for the years we had a trailer.. Yea, they will invest in a hitch - but would not spend a dime more.

The only way that trailer would have brakes - was to have the surge brakes working.

My boys were 5 at the time I made the switch, so to me the thought of using the surge brakes that I hated for another 15 years or so before they "might" start borrowing it was not a concern for me. Plus, if they were going to borrow my trailer they were going to need my truck too anyway. That trailer weighed over 3k lbs.

I had some major brake problems anyway and it was going to cost 3/4 of what it would cost to upgrade to electric brakes to fix it, so making the switch made sense to me.

But we upgraded to a TT this year, after 4 years of electric brakes on the popup. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I'm a 3rd generation RVer, and never once did I think of asking my parents to borrow their trailer. The thought of doing so never occurred to me. Too bad, might have been a fun time. Maybe because they sold their 25' TT and bought a 38' FW right before I graduated high school...

[Tenttrailer]

I have the same brake system on a 1997 Jayco Eagle tent trailer I bought last year. I gave some info on refurbishing the master cylinder under the heading 'Atwood Surge Brake Master Cylinder' from Oct 2019 on this forum. I put 6000 Kilometres on the trailer this summer (2020) through the Rockies and the brakes worked great. It is virtually impossible to buy specific Atwood new parts for this hitch coupler system since it has been discontinued for a few years. Removing the brake reservoir from the coupler and dismantling the master cylinder parts is not that hard. Some parts such as the c-clip and o-ring for the internal piston can be found at some hardware stores but a new reservoir cap and other internal parts not so. I do highly recommend taking the master cylinder apart because there is probably a large amount of sludge in the cylinder piston sleeve that you cannot get out unless you do. I have been trying to find what parts Atwood may have used for the internal piston, spring, etc. and it looks very similar to a 1960s Chevy Biscayne brake master cylinder internal parts or a Raybestos MK469 piston - not sure at this point.

[SloPoke]

made me laugh, and cry the same time.

My brother - not the sharpest tool in the shed... sold my parents 36' Alpha-gold. and the brilliant guy he is decided to hook the trailer to his F250 that does not have a brake controller and tow it from Utah to California.

Dad gave him the 20' Boat about 10 years earlier and it had surge brakes. He thought the 5'er had surge brakes too. I think he drives for Swift now - have not spoken to him for years to see if he works for another company since.

[camperdave]

Hi After replacing the wheel brake brake insides I found the the kit to redo the master cylinder were not available.


"Dorman TM19356 kit " worked for me so far!!!.......cleaning the body of the old master cylinder is important .....I used the old cir-clip.


I don't know how long it will last however we have been out a few times and all seems well
If it fails or something goes wrong ill post it here... I hope this helps .......Happy Camping!!


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[DocBrown]

Thanks for letting us know how things went!

[mokurt]

Im sure many of these fail because of lack of maintenance.