Trailer questions

[Fallon]

If you dont mind...how do they work, I think Ive seen a hydraulic brake line on my trailer ( one single line coming up to the tongue ) but you make it sound like its electric?

There are 2 main types of trailer brakes for non CDL trailers. Electric drum brakes & hydraulic surge brakes.

Electric are the most common. The controller in the tow vehicle sends varying levels of power back to magnets in the brakes. Those magnets engage the brake shoes. The more voltage the harder the braking.

The other type, popular with boat trailers & rental yards are hydraulic surge. They operate just like brakes in your car. Push in brake pedal, which pushes on the master cylinder, which pushes on the slave cylinders squeezing the brakes. Only the master cylinder is in the tongue of the trailer. When the vehicle slows down, the trailer tries to ram into the hitch & compresses the master cylinder.

You can easily test a brake controller by hitting the override lever & letting the trailer brakes slow the vehicle. Really you should be doing that every time you hitch up to validate things & recalibrate power levels every time the load changes. It's a bit harder to validate surge brakes are working correctly. They need periodic maintnance too or they freeze up & dont work.

Manually engaging electric brakes also stops sway in emergencies. Stomping on vehicle brakes makes sway worse. I have a big preference for electric brakes for this among other reasons.

 

[zoltanthegypsy]

There are 2 main types of trailer brakes for non CDL trailers. Electric drum brakes & hydraulic surge brakes.

Electric are the most common. The controller in the tow vehicle sends varying levels of power back to magnets in the brakes. Those magnets engage the brake shoes. The more voltage the harder the braking.

The other type, popular with boat trailers & rental yards are hydraulic surge. They operate just like brakes in your car. Push in brake pedal, which pushes on the master cylinder, which pushes on the slave cylinders squeezing the brakes. Only the master cylinder is in the tongue of the trailer. When the vehicle slows down, the trailer tries to ram into the hitch & compresses the master cylinder.

You can easily test a brake controller by hitting the override lever & letting the trailer brakes slow the vehicle. Really you should be doing that every time you hitch up to validate things & recalibrate power levels every time the load changes. It's a bit harder to validate surge brakes are working correctly. They need periodic maintnance too or they freeze up & dont work.

Manually engaging electric brakes also stops sway in emergencies. Stomping on vehicle brakes makes sway worse. I have a big preference for electric brakes for this among other reasons.

Well said, and I can't argue with any of it. But... since most of my 40+ years of towing has involved boat trailers and salt water, I won't suffer drum brakes of any kind. Typical scenario: shoes wear into drums, adjusters rust solid, can't back off the adjusters to get the drums off. Lots of bloodshed and navy language ensues...

Both of my trailers: the one I haul my 6000# boat on, and the one for my little kubotas, have quad disc surge brakes. Easy to maintain, easy to flush off, and highly effective. By skill with tongue weights (make that dumb luck...) I've never had a sway issue <knock on wood> so I'm a disc/surge fan and wouldn't have anything else.

Z

 

[1930]

I'm sorry that I didn't get pictures but just to update, I removed the steel ramp plate and that made a world of difference, I went from going very slow to about 55ish before it started feeling squirrely.

I then thought that if I leaned the ramps back a bit they would catch less wind.

Nope, only made things worse by adding weight even further out.

Looked at axles and they are bowed like a smiley face so I'm assuming not bent

I put my B6100 on it all the way forward, 65-70 down the highway with no issues whatsoever.

It's truly all about the weight placement and the ranger being a small truck.

I don't think there is anything wrong with trailer, drove my small Kubota and a full loaded truck 130 miles Fri evening and no issues

Kubota dealer finally came out to my property yesterday a.m, showed me how to remove my implements.

Trailer is now sitting on my property and may not be used again for months but when I do need it I'm sure it will be ok, with the backhoe/front end loader removed.

 

[fried1765]

My heavier trucks are at home with me, the property where I am working is 2 hrs away, I keep the ranger in the same storage container as the tractors, I drive the Ranger maybe 20 miles in 2-3 months, the trailer is used much less, it sits outside my storage container.

I gave 300 dollars for the trailer if i remember correctly, I gave more initially but called the knot head on the way home, told him I knew he sold me a lemon ( cause of the swaying ) and he quickly reimbursed me several hundred dollars on my paypal cause I made it clear I wasnt gonna just walk away.

I pulled my little Kubota this A.M to the shop, it was loaded as far forward as I could get it, no swaying whatsoever, Im gonna cut the ramps off, take it for a ride, see what happens, if all is good than I will fabricate a new way of attaching ramps so they sit flat on trailer, if the ramps arent the issue than I will get rid of the trailer and start over.

I need a trailer on my property to haul my tractors to the dealer if need be, really no other reason, I have a 20 ft dual axle car hauler at my home that I use often for everything else.

I have no interest in hurting anyone because I was only considering myself

"I have no interest in hurting anyone"

But,.... you WILL hurt someone pulling THAT trailer, with no brakes, and that little Ranger.
I was the VICTIM of an improperly rigged trailer.
Loose trailer on I-95...... at 75MPH.
High speed crash!
Please get that cheap POS killer off the road, and please do NOT sell it to someone else!

Do the RESPONSIBLE thing, and eat the net $100 you paid for the trailer.

 

[fried1765]

If you dont mind...how do they work, I think Ive seen a hydraulic brake line on my trailer ( one single line coming up to the tongue ) but you make it sound like its electric?

You do not even know what electric brakes are, but you have a "car trailer at home"?
The car trailer has surge brakes?
No brakes at all either?

If you hurt me or my family, you will pay me for the rest of your life.
I believe the attorneys call it..... "willful negligence".

 

[aczlan]

Looked at axles and they are bowed like a smiley face so I'm assuming not bent

You assumed incorrectly. They should be like a frowny face so that as you put weight on a trailer, they flatten out. If they are bowed like a smiley face, that means that they will chew up the inside of the tires and it will get worse as you put more weight on it.

I put my B6100 on it all the way forward, 65-70 down the highway with no issues whatsoever.

No issues other than a complete and total lack of brakes on the trailer in case something goes wrong or somebody does something foolish in front of you?

It's truly all about the weight placement and the ranger being a small truck.

That and luck in your case.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

Here is what I hope that you can avoid replicating (on a smaller scale):
https://giant.gfycat.com/SolidGoldenArmyant.webm

Aaron Z

 

[FTG-05]

I'm sorry that I didn't get pictures but just to update, I removed the steel ramp plate and that made a world of difference, I went from going very slow to about 55ish before it started feeling squirrely.

I then thought that if I leaned the ramps back a bit they would catch less wind.

Nope, only made things worse by adding weight even further out.

Looked at axles and they are bowed like a smiley face so I'm assuming not bent

I put my B6100 on it all the way forward, 65-70 down the highway with no issues whatsoever.

It's truly all about the weight placement and the ranger being a small truck.

I don't think there is anything wrong with trailer, drove my small Kubota and a full loaded truck 130 miles Fri evening and no issues

Kubota dealer finally came out to my property yesterday a.m, showed me how to remove my implements.

Trailer is now sitting on my property and may not be used again for months but when I do need it I'm sure it will be ok, with the backhoe/front end loader removed.

With that combination of willful ignorance and attitude, please don't leave FL.

 

[Rock Crawler]

An axle bent like a smile face is a severely destroyed axle. Your axle should be crowned up in the center of the tube and the tires should be leaning out at the top while it is sitting empty as you apply load to the trailer the top of the tires will come back into vertical and the center of the axle tubing itself will deflect downward in the center slightly.

But just as an empty tractor trailer going down the road looks like an arced up bridge in the center of the long flatbed trailer, your axle should be arced up into the center also.

 

[downsizingnow48]

With that combination of willful ignorance and attitude, please don't leave FL.

Agree with that. Hasn’t listened or learned anything.