Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes

   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Cowboydoc, Thanks. I will check the adjustment and see if it makes a difference. The difference may be the axle ratings and brake sizes.
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #12  
<font color="blue">How will a trailer with locked brakes come around on you?

</font>
When your trailer wheels lock up, you essentially lose any lateral traction you may have. If you are not going straight, have your trailer brakes lock up and your trailer is heavier than your truck, than the tail can literally wag the dog and around you go. I wonder when ABS will become available with an electric brake system. I've seen some large airbrake trailers advertised with ABS.
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #13  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( How will a trailer with locked brakes come around on you?

If the tow vehicle was slowing faster than the trailer? )</font>

You got it. As a good example of this go find a small car with a stick shift and a parking brake between the seats. Now, find an empty dry parking lot. Get the car up to 20 or 30 MPH heading west. Now throw in the clutch, yank up the parking brake as hard as you can and give the wheel a yank to either side. In the blink of an eye you will be facing backwards but still heading west. This is because as soon as the rear wheels locked up, they lost traction and when you yanked the wheel, the rear of the car started going west faster than the front of the car. I think the same thing could happen if you locked up the wheels on a trailer and tried to avoid something in the road. Hope I never find out /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #14  
Actually, I prefer to set my brakes so they won't lock up, even under panic stop conditions. Had a bad experience one time on a gravel road, pulling a horse trailer. Had to slow down quickly, and when I hit the brakes, the trailer brakes locked up and started skidding and the trailer started coming around me. Luckily, there was no one coming the other way, but the trailer almost got 90 degrees to the road before I could let off the brakes and step on the gas to straighten it out. Nearly had to change shorts when it was over. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

If you ever have to trailer in slick conditions, like we have now in VA, you definitely do not want the brakes to lock up when you touch the brakes on your tow vehicle. Just like in your tow vehicle, once your tires start sliding, you have no control, which is why they invented ABS systems.

As long as the trailer brakes are helping to slow down the total outfit, I don't want them to lock up. I do adjust them differently for a light load vs. a heavy load. With the heavy load, the wheels won't lock up as easily. I also back off the power on the controller if I know I will be travelling on slick or gravel roads.
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #15  
Mossroad

I think I'll take your word on that one /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

I don't have small car and if I told someone why I wanted to borrow theirs they'd get a bit shirty /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #16  
David, we used to call that a "bootleg" turn; except in the days when I was doing it, we just had a foot operated parking brake (much easier with the hand lever type parking brake). It takes a little practice to hit the clutch, shift to neutral, stomp the parking brake, turn the wheel, immediately back to the clutch, shift to 1st, and release the parking brake and clutch almost simultaneously to do a very quick 180 and take off the other direction, usually with the wheels spinning forward while you're still rolling/sliding backwards.

One question I used to use on safety quizzes was, "If the brakes on your car fail on one end, would you rather have working brakes on the front wheels or the rear wheels?" It's surprising how many people think they'd rather have the rear brakes working, and that's definitely the wrong answer. If the rear wheels lock up, even with the front ones still turning, the back end is almost sure to go to one side or the other, but if the front ones lock up and the rear ones are still turning, you're almost sure to continue in a straight line. And of course, the early anti-locking brakes, only worked on the rear wheels for that reason. Now with the 4 wheel anti-locking brakes, you will go in a straight line if you hold the steering wheel straight, or even be able to maneuver in the direction you want.

And, as you said, the same applies to trailers.

Incidentally, for those of you who have anti-locking brakes on your car, but have never stomped the brake hard enough to activate that feature, you really ought to try it someday in a safe place before you really need it. That pulsing of the brake pedal and the different sound and feel have caused some people (including some police officers) to release the brake pedal in emergency situations, have an accident, and blame it on "faulty brakes" when they were actually working as they should and the accident might have been avoided if they hadn't let off the brake pedal.
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #17  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( we used to call that a "bootleg" turn; except in the days when I was doing it, we just had a foot operated parking brake (much easier with the hand lever type parking brake) )</font>

Yep. The first car I tried it on was a '70 Nova with a 3 on the tree and a foot operated parking brake. Lots of tire squealing and smoke, but the car changed directions 180 degrees in its own width( or length, I guess). Believe it or not, I learned about it in Time magazine when I was 16(1977 or so). There was an article about drivers training to chaufer big wigs and escape kidnapping attempts. The guy was doing it in a Volvo. It looked interesting. Soooo, being 16, I just had to try it /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Then I tried it in my parents' Toyota Tercel with the parking brake between the seats... much easier. I even took my mom out and showed her how to do it. What a hoot. Grey haired old lady smoking tires in a parking lot with her 16 year old sitting next to her, both laughing their keisters off. We never talked to dad about it /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #18  
Bird;did you perfect the Bootleg turn before or after joining the force????

Egon
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #19  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( did you perfect the Bootleg turn before or after joining the force )</font>

Mostly after. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
   / Proper strength of Electric Trailer Brakes #20  
I drove a VW bug for a while as a teenager in Montana. You found out real quick about that emergency brake making you turn better. Those things pushed pretty good on snow/ice. Of course then we would see just how fast we could get through a corner for fun /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Love the center hand brake since it let you keep your foot on the clutch for the power slide portion. Scared the crap outa more than one person...LOL!!

Everyone should play around with the anti-locks. Its better to step on them harder a lot of times.

Its' ironic that when I was a teenager we would go to a big empty parking lot and test vehicle responce and got chewed out for it. I tell ya, all those 360 spins at 20mph in a striaght line and catching it, spinning the car forward from reverse etc..etc.. is invaluable experciance that everyone should have.

Anyway, the brakes on my trailer will not lockup loaded either and glad they don't.
 

Tractor & Equipment Auctions

2009 Mazda 3 Sedan (A51694)
2009 Mazda 3 Sedan...
Ryobi Sliding Compound Miter Saw (A51573)
Ryobi Sliding...
2018 FORREST RIVER CRUISE LITE CAMPER (A52472)
2018 FORREST RIVER...
2025 New/Unused LandHero 1 in Air Impact Wrench (A51573)
2025 New/Unused...
FRONTIER LP2196 LOT NUMBER 113 (A53084)
FRONTIER LP2196...
2010 Ford Edge SE SUV (A51694)
2010 Ford Edge SE...
 
Top