trailer brakes

[hillslider]

Bird,

Hope you enjoy your trip to WV. The trees are about peaked here....north of Charleston. You should have some great scenry to enjoy. If you ever find yourself going north through WV on I77 let me know......I will let you drive the L3130 around the fields. That is of course the best place to be during the fall to look at the colors and the hills of WV.

Rob

 

[ronjhall]

Here is a thread that will lead you to another using Equalizer Hitch . This is the same type of hitch that travel trailers use.

 

[Bird]

Rob, I've been through Charleston a few times, but haven't been north of Charleston in over 30 years. One of my wife's brothers just finished building a new home in Vienna this year. Don't know if or when we'll ever get up there. We might be a little late for the peak foliage, but I've no doubt it'll still look pretty good next week.

 

[Hambone]

<font color="red"> no law requiring trailer brakes </font>

State of Indiana requires trailer brakes on any tandem axle trailer. They don't recognize surge brakes either.

 

[rdln]

no surge brakes really? even on a boat trailer? Given how electicity and water dont mix.

 

[Hambone]

One of my vendors recieved a nice ticket. Maybe commercial, or weight limit thing.

 

[chucko]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( State of Indiana requires trailer brakes on any tandem axle trailer. They don't recognize surge brakes either.
)</font>

that is all u-haul and such have so how to they rent trailers up there?

 

[Hambone]

That is a good question Chucko. I never thought of that and you are right. Maybe I was mis-informed. I will do some checking if time, but, I am positive on the brakes on tandem trailer thing.

 

[chucko]

all of these are surge

 

[Bird]

Texas has some very lengthy, complex, and detailed statutes on trailer brakes, but the oversimplified version is that trailer brakes are required on trailers over 4,500 pounds and surge brakes are permitted up to 15,000 pounds. At one time, at least, there was a federal standard (recommendation, not a law) that trailer brakes should be required on any trailer that weighed as much as 40% of the weight of the towing vehicle.

 

[Hambone]

Thanks Bird,
Maybe my vendor was over that limit carrying all those truck tires, or plated higher anyway.

 

[ronjhall]

<font color="blue"> I tried to distribute the weight as best I could, but had to have a 5-6' tiller up against the front of the trailer and drop the FEL bucket on it. I not sure if that could account for the wheelie I was doing, but I'm sure it didn't help. Any other tips on distributing the weight on a car hauler? </font>
Woodlot
I took a couple of pictures this morning when I picked up my JD Front Mower. It weighs about 1500 pounds. Put it all the way forward on the trailer.
First picture is with mower off trailer.

 

[ronjhall]

Second is with mower on trailer.

 

[GaryM]

Looks a little too far forward to me. I'd load so that the CG of the mower is about even with the front trailer axle. That should put a reasonable amount of weight on the hitch.

 

[DannyD]

I have noticed that my brake controller on the sport trac is now showing 0.0 when I dont have the trailer on and brakes are applied. It is supposed to be just a dot. I just had a brake job done on the trac, wonder if they screwed up something. It is a Reese controller and the trailer company that installed it had to run all the cabling.

Any ideas?

 

[Soundguy]

I thought DOT was mandating brakes for anything over 5k in many states? ( and break-away safety devices ).

As for tounge weight.. i like to keep the bulk of the weight near the center of the to rear axles.. then gauge tounge weight on the truck for fine tuning.


Soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( my brake controller on the sport trac is now showing 0.0 when I dont have the trailer on and brakes are applied. It is supposed to be just a dot. )</font>
My controller from drawtite also shows a dot when disconnected but breaks on.. , and then the x.x when the trailer's connected depending on breaking force.. etc.

Soundguy

 

[woodlot]

I got my new brake controller yesterday, works great. I was getting strange LED lights on the old one, especially when the trailer was NOT connected. I called tech support and he had me explain the light pattern. Right away he said it was defective and had a new one in the mail the same day. My advice, if you think something might be haywire call tech support. Oh, the trailer breaks where not working too, that was another tell-tale sign.

 

[virgil]

brakes are a good thing to have.. also chains and binders. virgil