Tractor-Towable LARGE Dump Trailer

[Charlie_Iliff]

Fractal:
I think those are the federal regs for commercial motor carriers, which don't necessarily apply to non commercial, non-interstate carriers. They may be adopted by states, however, for private vehicles.
The part about operating all the time is what may be driving the pending regulation in Maryland - but applicable for commercially licensed vehicles only. I suppose they are worried about not being able to put on the brakes while stopped or while backing up. Most of the risk with a trailer, however, is the trailer overrunning/jacknifig the tow vehicle, which surge brakes handle better than electric. I've not seen anything suggesting that surge brakes are or will be prohibited on private trailers or rental trailers.

 

[Darren]

Charlie, Maryland interprets commercial to mean any vehicle or vehicle trailer combination that exceeds 10,000 lbs. I've been to court twice on this issue. Case dismissed each time. The true definition according to the feds is that to be considered commercial not only must the weight requirements be met but the vehicle must be used in furtherance of a business.

Maryland troopers and their inspectors play more than a few games with the "furtherance of a business" requirement. I had one trooper admit to me that they'd stopped a guy with an 18 wheeler hauling mules. The man and his family went out West each year to trail ride, etc. The truck and trailer was owned by him personally but because no business was involved other than the rquirement to have a CDL, nothing else applied. The trooper said, "We couldn't do a thing with him."

Supposedly that was the only thing the guy used the truck for.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Darren:
It doesn't surprise me that there is something short of exact consistency in application of the inspection regulations. What also is interesting is that there can apparently be quite a disparity between regs for commercial stuff and for private. If your objective is taxation, that makes sense. For safety, it doesn't. (That is not to say I concede that either federal or state regulators necessarily have sufficient expertise to judge what is safer. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.)
My only point in the earlier threads was that surge trailer brakes are not only not illegal, but in a number of ways are safer and easier to work with than electric trailer brakes.

 

[Mainah]

Good to know the round connector is standard now.
I checked at my Kubota dealer today and they can hook up a module and round socket on tractors to run the electric brakes on the trailer and/or the trailer lights. Fellow I spoke with said it worked slick as snot on a rubber boot...but can take 2-3 hours to install...total cost he estimated was $235...sounds a little dear, but if it keeps the tail from wagging the dog....anyway, something to think about.

 

[Darren]

Which round socket is that. Is it the socket with flat blades (RV) or is it the standard socket with round pins?

 

[caddison]

Depending on the size of your tractor be very careful about towing heavy loads that exceed the weight of your tractor. If you happen to encounter an area that has loose gravel and a stop is necessary you may find yourself underneath or between the tractor and trailer.

 

[bgott]

I know what you mean about California. I'm from CA. It's a good place to be FROM. I don't think U-Haul type rental trailers are considered commercial. I remember renting one of U-Haul's car haulers and it had a sticker stating that it was rated for a 3500 pound car max. I thought it was a joke at the time, that was one heavy duty trailer. I immediately shoehorned a 6000 pound truck on it and went merrily on my way, the trailer showed no sign of being overloaded. Mind you, this was one of the older, heavy duty, six lug axle equipped trailers, not one of the light weight trailers I see on their lots now. I think they rated it that way to keep the gross rating under 5000 pounds for legal purposes.

 

[Mainah]

Darren,
From what little I know, it's the round plug not the flat one. The system of plugs I got was from VIP auto center. They make 6, 7 and I think 8 contact pins within the plug. I went with the 6-way set-up. Has marked pins for L+R turn signals, brake/parking lights, ground, and one marked 'B' which I assume is for electric brakes.
Does anyone know what I need to do to my F-150 to make it run the trailer's electric brakes? Someone told me I need some sort of brake module to control the trailer's brakes...wonder how much THAT will cost me LOL.

 

[Charlie_Iliff]

Jim:
<font color=red>"wonder how much THAT will cost me LOL."</font color=red>

$100 to $175 plus installation.
Search on trailer brakes, and you'll see a lot of discussion of controllers. Consensus seems to be Tekonsha is generally good, Jordan Ultima perhaps the best.
For your truck harness, there is generally a plug in pigtail with a ground wire to go to a chassis lug. Make sure you know where that ground wire is connected to the truck chassis. Then, if you get a malfunction of trailer lights or brakes, clean that connection first. A large percentage of trailer light problems are the tow vehicle ground connection. Some clever trailer shops make a mint just taking that apart, cleaning it and putting it back together. Diagnosis and repair $250.

 

[Bird]

Jim, I thought the 6-way plugs were (in no particular order):

1. Left turn signal
2. Right turn signal
(those same two are also the brake lights)
3. Tail lights
4. Ground
5. Battery (travel trailers have their own battery and this is a charge line to re-charge that battery while towing).
6. Brakes

The connectors with 7 pins usually include backup lights (at least on the ones I've used).

And, yes, you need a "brake controller" on the truck; usually mounted on the lower edge of the dash and may be on either side of the steering column. There are some cheap ones, but expect to pay about $70 (plus or minus $10), plus tax and installation unless you do the installation yourself.