Question surge brakes

[PaulB]

I've just read some information about how surge brakes work. We are new and have not even purchased an RV yet and never have. The salesman was telling us that we needed something installed on our truck for the surge brake system. Is that true? I haven't been able to find a reference for this in the articles I have read so far. Are they just trying to make more money off of us?

 

[Kevin D Pem]

surge brakes are mostly associated with boat trailers. They use hydraulic master cylinder on the tong of the trailer. TTs use electric brakes and require a brake controller. You can use low cost controllers but the action is not as good as a high end unit.
The numbers vary from state to state but for a reference, trailer brakes are require at about 2000 lbs trailer weight.

The short is yes the salesman didn't try a fast one.