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Bill From Ontario
02-04-2000 09:24:21
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Re: Re: Trailer Plans and/or Kits in reply to RA, 02-04-2000 06:57:44
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You're right, you were very lucky. 11000 lbs. on a bumper hitch, behind a 3/4 ton pick-up? What was the GVW of the trailer? The highest rated hitch is 10,000 lbs, and that has only been available the last couple of years. If you had a 12000 lb. gvw trailer with 12" x 2" brakes, you would have had more than enough braking power.
You're also very right about goosenecks and vacuum over hydraulic brakes, but if you want to know REAL braking, switch to disc brakes. They'll make the drum brakes look real bad.
As far as electric brakes go, they are very capable of doing the job, as long as they are properly installed, and maintained. The whole principal behind electric brakes is to get the power to the magnet, which in turn moves the lever, turns the cam, and forces the shoes against the drum. The process starts in the cab. Is the controller large enough? You can't expect a controller that was made to power a tandem with 10" x 2 1/4" brakes to put out enough juice to stop a triaxle with 12" x 2" brakes. It just aint gonna happen.Bigger is better. How's the power getting to the trailer? The wire has to be big enough, the connections, grounding have to be corrosion free. If you have those Scotch-type connecters, throw them away, they would truly be a weak link. The connection to the trailer, is it corrosion free? A little petroleum jelly every now and then goes a long way. What condition are the magnets? They act on a machined surface on the inside of the drum, are these still true? How are the brakes adjusted? Too loose, and the magnet moves too far and wedges the shoes, and locks the wheels at low speeds. Are the drums out of round? Out of the hundreds of electric brake trailers,I've built, I've not had a problem. However, 90% percent of these had Hayes components. The reason for using Hayes over Dexter, was that the wire leads were silver, not copper (less resistance=more power to the magnet), the shoes were rivetted not bonded, and the drums were solid. The new Dexter hubs have inspection holes, and I am of the belief that these will allow more dirt in the hub, ruining the machined surfaces between drum and magnet. I could be wrong, but the site of holes in the drum in quite unsettling.
The bottom line is; know your equipment, keep it properly maintained, and drive accordingly to your load.
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