Am I that green?

[Duncan]

Auto trans, I always back down in neutral. Do not need reverse power and one less thing to go wrong.

[Ewok]

Makes sense for the manuals to be in neutral and I've never thought about putting the auto transmission in neutral. I guess it can't hurt either way. The boat ramp I use most often has a very shallow approach angle and I have to use reverse to get the rig moving. I had the trailer brakes stick there one time and I had to use the manual lockout pin to back up to the water.

[Booms]

I can see putting it in neutral being safer. My wife almost severed my arm off when she thought it was in Drive and she hit the gas and the truck and trailer came back so fast that the bow of the boat squeezed my arm up against the winch so hard I thought I was going to be a lefty.

Will have to try it this upcoming summer.

[Vicseek]

I do the neutral trick as well however, I tell all my buddies who are putting me into the water to simply stay in the truck leave it in neutral (feet on the brakes) and when i'm done and clear from the boat trailer (boat in water) all they simply have to do is put it in Drive and pull out..It pains me to hear them put it in Park and the whole weight of the truck, trailer, and boat hanging on the tranny, then the clunk when they put it back in Drive to pull out. It can't be good for the tranny IMOP

[IDBoating]

When parking on a hill (not just on the boat ramp) with an automatic transmission, I always shift into Neutral (not Park), apply the parking brake, take my foot off the brake pedal and let the vehicle body to shift due to weight redistribution, and only THEN finally shift into Park. This guarantees you won't have all that force against the pin in the transmission. The parking brake is holding the vehicle, no strain on the transmission, and the transmission is acting as a backup if the parking brake fails. I totally agree, I just can't stand the sound/lurch that happens when you take an auto out of Park when it's on a hill. It's so unnecessary. There is a reason auto transmissions have a Neutral position, though I rarely see anyone use it properly.

[Z1Fan]

How does anybody, who's in neutral actuate the reverse lockout solenoid?? AND how steep are these ramps? On the lakes out here you would get stuck on the gap between the concrete blocks on the way down..

[IDBoating]

Many trailers don't have electrically actuated brakes. Mine, for example, is a surge brake trailer which is actuated by inward pressure on the towing hitch. Since backing down a ramp causes gravity to try to separate the trailer from the vehicle, the brakes are solidly OFF.

I have wondered, though... are electrically actuated brakes "normally on"? If so, how do you manually move the trailer when it's not connected to a vehicle? Say, to spin it around when it's just parked somewhere? Wouldn't the brakes be on? That would be a major PITA. If, on the other hand, the brakes are normally off and require electricity to actuate them, then backing down in neutral would work fine because the brakes would be off.

[Smcqueen]

Electric brakes on my gooseneck trailer are normally off. Magnetic coil is actuated to provide breaking force. No power, no magnetic force. I dont know how many boat trailers use electric breaks. I was told, not a good application since they are submerged in water on a routine basis.

[Dandy]

Many trailers don't have electrically actuated brakes. Mine, for example, is a surge brake trailer which is actuated by inward pressure on the towing hitch. Since backing down a ramp causes gravity to try to separate the trailer from the vehicle, the brakes are solidly OFF.

I have wondered, though... are electrically actuated brakes "normally on"? If so, how do you manually move the trailer when it's not connected to a vehicle? Say, to spin it around when it's just parked somewhere? Wouldn't the brakes be on? That would be a major PITA. If, on the other hand, the brakes are normally off and require electricity to actuate them, then backing down in neutral would work fine because the brakes would be off.

WA - The trailer brakes that are in discussion with that rely on the electrical signal from the back up lights for backing are still a surge style brake in normal operation. The issue is that when backing up the trailer on flat ground, up hill (even slightly) or a fairly flat ramp, the TV puts pressure on the surge cylinder and locks up the brakes. The signal from the back up lights activates a solenoid that is a bypass, allowing the fluid from the surge cylinder to bypass and not apply pressure to the brakes. So, to a degree, the brakes are normally on - but only is backing. If you are moving one of these trailers in the yard, you don't need to be hooked up to a vehicle as long as you are moving forward but once you start backing if connected to the ball coupler it will apply pressure to the brakes. I actually thought it was a great idea as I have backed other trailers with surge brakes and it can be a PITA at least this provides a bypass without using a manual lockout.

Ideally I would like to see a trailer that works with a brake controller. This would allow more braking on the trailer which would be better when cornering of sudden stops as the trailer could slow the TV and not push it. This is generally how I set up when towing our enclosed trailers at work.

[Ewok]

My case in point is the Hayden lake boat launch. It has a long flat approach to the ramp and there isn't much pitch on the ramp either. I usually back up on the flats, then stop for a second while the wife grabs the lines to the boat, this is when I disconnect the hitch from the boat, just as it's about to hit the water, and then I finish backing in the rest of the way. When I get the boat deep enough and I can see the bow raise just a hair, I jam on the brakes and the boat floats off, then I shift to drive and park the rig while my wife walks the boat out to the end of the dock, so the next person can get their boat in.

[IDBoating]

Interesting. It's been my experience that surge brakes don't restrict backing up on level ground. I do have to use the little mechanical lockout bracket when trying to back it uphill to where I store it in the summer. But when I was winterizing the boat in the driveway, I would have to back it up the "ramp" from the street gutter to the driveway and while that is most definitely an uphill in reverse, I never had any problems.

Because of the way the master cylinder in the tongue is set up, these systems are naturally proportional - i.e. the more force they feel, the stronger they put on the brakes. I wonder if you are on level ground and just going really easy, if the brakes are on so gently that it doesn't really have any effect? Just trying to explain what I've experienced.

[chpthril]

Interesting. It's been my experience that surge brakes don't restrict backing up on level ground. I do have to use the little mechanical lockout bracket when trying to back it uphill to where I store it in the summer. But when I was winterizing the boat in the driveway, I would have to back it up the "ramp" from the street gutter to the driveway and while that is most definitely an uphill in reverse, I never had any problems.

Because of the way the master cylinder in the tongue is set up, these systems are naturally proportional - i.e. the more force they feel, the stronger they put on the brakes. I wonder if you are on level ground and just going really easy, if the brakes are on so gently that it doesn't really have any effect? Just trying to explain what I've experienced.

A tandem axle can easily apply when backing up if you try to turn a little. The added friction from the tires is enough. It happens to me all the time jockying boats around with my little truck. The revers switch is out, so no 12V for the lock-out solenoid. So I have to grab a 14MM socket and role of masking tape My parking lot is very flat.

[JohnZ3]

If your surge brakes don't engage while backing on flat ground, they are probably bad or dry (no fluid).

Do yourself a favor and get electric brakes, much easier and better. Any boat trailer carrying 5000+ should have electric brakes.

[IDBoating]

Agreed on the tandem axle - but heck, those don't even need the brakes to be aggravating! Once the two sets of tires get out of the same turn radius, the entire thing locks up even if the tow hitch isn't connected to anything. I never had a tandem axle trailer until the Tige... someone here on this site explained what the heck was happening when I couldn't move it around without a truck. Thanks again to whomever that was!

[IDBoating]

If your surge brakes don't engage while backing on flat ground, they are probably bad or dry (no fluid).

At least in my case, I've checked the fluid (it's OK) and the brakes most definitely engage when backing up even a slight sustained incline. But the curb and driveway ramp don't seem to be a problem. Not sure why, but it works out fine.