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In The Interest Of Safety
You probably already know this but as a lot of people don't understand braking I thought I'd add:
A common misconception is that the trailer brakes need to apply before the brakes on the towing vehicle. Brakes should work from front to back, steering first, rear wheels on vehicle second and trailer brakes last. Of course, this all takes place in less than a second.
The most common causes of jackknifes are applying the trailer brakes first, only or too much.
Vehicles designed for towing are set us so that this is automatic. Of course, some drivers circumvent this by the use of what is commonly called a trolly brake. The trolly brake only works the trailer axles.
The real reason for the trolly brake is to test the trailer brakes when coupling to the trailer. Many companies spec their trucks (power units) without trolley brakes because many drivers don't understand the real purpose of the trolley brake and cause jackknives they could have avoided with less effort.
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