2 or 3 axles?

[Corm]

TexasJeff - Thanks for the tip on the slide in ramps. I can definitely see how they would be a real bear to slide back in if they were to get bent. Thanks also for the words on the axle capacities. I knew better, just didn't think it through.. Another good thing to write down on my list to make sure the right parts get ordered... Thanks again.

Corm

 

[s1120]

Corm,
Don't forget brakes. Go with discs, they work a lot better, and are easy to work on.

Paul Bradway

 

[Bird]

Paul, you've made me curious. I've never seen electric trailer brakes that were disk brakes. I know how to work on disk brakes on cars and pickups, and I know how to work on electric trailer brakes, but do electric disk brakes exist now?

Bird

 

[s1120]

Oh, I dont know. I have spent most of my time working on boat trailers. They have surge brakes. I forgot all about elect. brakes. Here is link to try
http://championtrailers.com/

Paul Bradway

 

[dullpain]

For an answer to all, including disk brakes.

www.dexteraxle.com

Really good site.

 

[Bird]

Paul, didn't you leave something out on the URL? Shouldn't it be http://www.championtrailers.com/? But all I saw there was drum and shoe. Do they make disk surge brakes yet? I haven't seen any.


Bird

 

[Bird]

McCallum, that's a good web site. I like Dexter products, but hadn't seen their web site before. However, the only disc brakes I saw on their site were hydraulic. I know such a thing as air disc brakes exist now, but I'm guessing that there still may be no such thing as electric disc brakes or surge disc brakes.

Bird

 

[gordon]

Bird I believe you guessing right the only disc brakes that I've seen on trailers are vacumn over hydraulic. They used to be used on Airstream traveltrailers. There still a few trailers out on the road now with them, very few. We have replaced many a set of disc with electric brakes. Parts no longer available for the vacumn system on the trailer. Man did those disc brakes stop great.

Hayes is also another good brake/axle setup.
Gordon

 

[john4nh]

Hey It sounds like you got the experience of the guys from this board about why not to go with three axles. Iam just wandering why two 7000# axles wont do the trick? I have a custom built inside the trailor 20' w/two 7's and I haul a 580 case and before I sold it 450 case dozer not to mention my smaller farm machines.. The axles were strecthed to accomadate the width of the 580. The danger with going with the dual wheel axle set-up is loading and un-loading. I have not seen this brought up yet but when its wet or you got mud on your tire the sliding effect is quite spooky, let alone the height of the trailor. This is why I went with the low-boy with the custom axles. On the ramp issue I can tell you that I have heavey ramps that fold up. I like these for one reason, if the tractor sone how gets loose it would not make it past the ramps. On the other side mine arent detachable so they are a hand-ful to cut off and store when I dont need them. (I take them off if iam doing demo work and not hauling equipment.) If anyone has pics of a good way to have the best of both worlds Id like to see. I have some ideas time permiting. Just curios if anybody has considered this from a safety stand point? I have eletric brakes but I just cant remember what they are. Good luck to you, and go for working with the pro welder youll learn lots.. Oh yah one thing that I would do over is go with channel iron instead of angle iron. I do have bowed angled where the dozer set. will replace time permitting with channel.. My thoughts.

 

[s1120]

Yup, there are surge disc brakes. Most good boat tralers come with them. They are hydraulic, it is the surge coupler that activates the brakes

 

[s1120]

Bird,
Thats strange. That is how the address is book marked in my system, and it works when I click the book mark. But it wont come up any outher way?? Oh, well, I will never get this internet thing.

Paul Bradway

 

[Bird]

Me neither, Paul. I thought you just left something out, but guess it works one way for some and another for others. All I could get was "unable to open page" message until I added the 3 Ws.

Bird

 

[Bird]

Well, it doesn't surprise me. There are a lot of things out there that I haven't seen yet. I know how surge brakes work, but have just never seen one with discs.

And I do like disc brakes. How many of you are old enough to remember the drum and shoe brakes on all 4 wheels, no power steering, and no power brakes, and when you drove in wet weather you knew if you hit the brakes, it was going to pull one way or the other; you just didn't know which way or how hard?/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

Bird

 

[s1120]

I used to drag race my old Mustang. 4 wheel non-power drum brakes. When you hit the end of the track doing over 100hph, and hit the brakes, the real fun begens! It has discs now. for a look at it now go to.
http://hometown.aol.com/s1120/myhomepage/auto.html

Paul Bradway

 

[TexasJeff]

The ramps on my lowboy are detachable but very heavy 3 inch channel iron with the hinge part 2 inch od pipe the hinge pin is solid rod. A guy I know has a identical trailer he hauls a 10000 lb komatsu dozer he said the trick on the ramps are to either park on level ground or crib up the support leg on the ramps.

 

[TexasJeff]

here is a pic of the side view of the ramps they are able to slide about a foot toward the center for narrow equipment

 

[scruffy]

Bird, in your diatrib about braking with 'old' style brakes in wet weather, to make it really interesting, throw in a worn out pair of front shocks, tires down near the safety bars (did they have them on the old tires?) and a broken bracket on the drivers side of the front seat!

 

[Bird]

Dang, scruffy, even my '46 Chevy wasn't that bad./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif However, I've actually driven cars that bad (or worse). Did you ever drive a car with NO shocks. That's certainly interesting, especially when you stop and sit there and rock back and forth. I don't recall when tires first started coming out with the wear indicator bars, but I consider them a fairly recent addition. They didn't exist during my teenage years working in the service station.

Bird

 

[ERNIEB]

Back in those days, brake shoes were fine, because there was nothing else. How could you miss something you didn't have? And besides, in those days I was more interested in making a car go. How to stop was, well, an afterthought.

ErnieB
"Who will follow old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
Ben Milam 1835

 

[scruffy]

Bird, I sure didn't remember any safety bars on the old tires! The car in question in my previous post was an old 46 ford 2 door. It wasn't all that bad, just needing attention that I wasn't gonna give it! All my funds were going towards getting my 55 dodge 2dr h/t up and running with a 325c.i. hemi head in it. Sure wish I had that old ford now!
Never tried no shocks, but that old ford was darn close!
The worst thing on it was the seat. Not too long after that, I did a 'quick' start from a stop sign onto the hiway, and wound up in the back seat...and going straight across the road into the brush on the other side! Major OOPs! Scared the heck out of some tourists, and me too.