Brakes and Breakaway Systems Give us your thoughts
18 PCMS Operations, Safety & Maintenance V3.0 Ver-Mac 2018
7 Brakes and Breakaway Systems
Proper braking is critical to the safe towing of any PCMS unit trailer.
Ver-Mac PCMS unit trailers can have:
An electric brake system (braking activated by an electrical connection to the brake
pedal of the tow vehicle)
or
a hydraulic surge system (braking activated by a special trailer coupler-actuator with no
control from the towing vehicle)
or
Manual brakes system for additional safety in stationary position.
no independent trailer braking system (lightweight trailer models only)
Adding extra weight to trailer can adversely affect braking and
steering.
7.1 Electric Brakes
This component is an option on Ver-Mac PCMS. Please check that your PCMS
has this component before proceeding.
An electric brake system operates in conjunction with drum brakes on the trailer
wheels.
Under normal conditions the tow vehicle supplies the power to the trailer's electric
brakes. The amount of braking applied to the towing vehicle regulates the process.
All trailers with an electric braking system have a safety switch fixed to the trailer
tongue. This switch automatically applies full power to the brakes if ever the trailer
detaches from the tow vehicle during driving. The safety switch is connected to the 12V
battery system for the PCMS and linked to the tow vehicle by the breakaway cable.
In a breakaway situation the cable pulls the plunger out of the safety switch and so
completes the electrical circuit, allowing the battery to power the electric brakes and
bring the trailer to a stop.
Do not use trailer breakaway system as a parking brake.
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