Car Hauler Trailer / Towing Thread

[jynx]

That's pretty much what I did. Called and told them what I was working with and they told me what they had. Gonna try to get the tires off the trailer and over to the shop this week sometime.

The breakaway deal makes sense. I kinda thought the same thing. If the trailer comes loose and the brakes are applied then that trailer is going to be a hot mess all over the road instead of being a hot mess in the ditch

 

[radioridge]

Legally, at least in TN if the trailer has brakes it must have break a way but most of the car haulers I've seen around here don't have them. I've been pulling mine around for ten years and it doesn't have one.


Sent by a dumb ass with a smart phone.

 

[Elbert]

I think the break away is a good thing...how much its really going to do in an accident is questionable, but at least the trailer should not be in a free-fall if it were to come loose. I'm not sure what AL law is..nor TN law...but I believe that a break-away system is mandated based on trailer configuration and weight capacity or axles..etc.

 

[Elbert]

The consternation with tires....is that most tires shops will only recommend a ST tire, and the majority of ST tires are crap. Read up on some of the towing forums , RV trailer forums...etc. Purely my view.

 

[DSLTOY]

I have heard of people getting tickets for not having the brake away. We had a guy at GSMTR a few years back that came out of a BBQ place in Murphy that had a big dip and his hitch broke loose. The brake away stopped a 2 car trailer before it went in the ditch.

 

[jynx]

Well if I am rewiring it anyway, sounds like I should just plan on it. They are less the $50 on Amazon.

 

[jynx]

Brake and marker lights came today.

The big ones are turn/stop/run and will go across the back. Got 4 amber and 4 red of the small ones. They are chrome, but I'm gonna sand them and paint them flat black. The amber will go on and in front of the fenders, red will go on back of the fenders and two in the center rear.

I also got my trailer plug for the 4runner too. Will get it hooked up then order another plug for the Ford.

 

[Elbert]

you might consider...to put a marker light on each fender that you can see in your side view mirrors so you can tell where the trailer is at night. I changed my lights over to LED...great improvement. I bought some marker lights like the 18wheelers have on the trailer...it has a nice metal guard to help protect the lens. Anyway you slice it good lights make a difference. Hard to find a good 3 bulb light like that use to mark the center of the rear of the trailers. One day I need to re-wire my trailer, I think I'll look for some type of conduit to protect the wiring a little better.

I thought it might be cool to get a couple of those LED strip lights section...the and put under the trailer like the low riders do...but then again....that might be too much for the 4wd crew

 

[jynx]

I thought it might be cool to get a couple of those LED strip lights section...the and put under the trailer like the low riders do...but then again....that might be too much for the 4wd crew

Only if you can make them change colors and flash to the beat of the latest Katy Perry Jam

 

[Elbert]

what if I have alternating colors and a cool strobe effect....man that would be the shizzle.

Those things do put out a decent amount of light in close proxcimity to their mounting point.

OH...crazy ideas are floating through the "mind"... who knows the depths of my stupidity?

 

[jynx]

Went down to pull the tires yesterday, no worries of anyone stealing it now.

Also found that it has DEXTER EZ-lube axles under it and the idler axle is set up to accept a brake assembly so adding brakes to the second axle will be easy as bolting it on and wiring it up. Should get tires tomorrow and will be working on wiring, weather permitting, this weekend.

 

[FJCRAWLER]

If it raining and you don't want to work outside I know a place that is nice and dry with lots of things to do .

Just saying ...

 

[jynx]

Hey guys, so I have a quick question. I am working on the whole trailer wiring, but not 100% sure I will get the brake controller wired by next weekend, but I should have the basic wiring squared away, so if I plug the 7 pin plugs together and don't have the brakes wired, will the 7-pin still power the functions that are connected?

 

[radioridge]

Everything else should work


Sent by a dumb ass with a smart phone.

 

[Tennessee80]

So am I setting myself for a problem if I go with something like the AT3? Would something like the HT3 be better? I don't mean to sound cheap, but we are trying to be very budget conscious to get this trailer up and going. Perhaps I should just go down to the co-op and pick up a set of 7.5-16 tires to go back on it. Then we can go for something heavier in a few years when we have a little $$ saved back up.

And I looked up those goodyears..... I had to look twice to make sure that was the price for a single tire.... definitely not in my budget right now.

EDIT: Ok, so I foung a Goodyear Wrangler HT commercial tire. 245/75R16 The price is in my wheelhous and they seem to fit with Roger's suggestion. Going to call my local shop tomorrow, or maybe the Co-Op, then I could just drag it over and save myself the trouble of having to un-bolt all those tires.

I had a blowout on the interstate yesterday with the Goodyear 245/75/16 tires on my delivery truck, and they were brand new. Was I running too high if a psi? (70). I would not vote for those. My other delivery truck has mastercraft tires (10 ply) and they are great

 

[Elbert]

the high pressure is for e rated tires.... if the Goodyear tires you mention are "E" rated...then that's in the normal range from what I've seen...check the sidewall of the tire for max pressure.

 

[Elbert]

some good tips

http://www.fourwheeler.com/features/1507-tips-for-towing-your-rig-to-the-trail/

 

[jynx]

I will definitely be looking into the rear jack suggestion. My trailer ramps are removable, so that would help keeping the tongue from lifting while loading.

 

[Elbert]

I just set my emergency brake on the pickup and drive on the trailer...I don't want to carry anything around with me extra. I don't think its smart to unload or load a trailer when the trailer is not connected as the article suggests. Jacks would keep the trailer from rocking but I generally go fairly slow....its not a bad idea for jack stands but not something I personally see a need for. Most of the other tips seem logical to me. I'm also a fan of not compressing the suspension of the loaded vehicle, but I realize that on some setups that may be the only workable solution. I have forgotten to set the e brake once or twice when loading / unloading ...that was dumb on my part.

of course the old rule of thumb applies ....tighten the dogs#$t out of any straps/chains used to tie the vehicle down.

 

[jynx]

Agreed, I would not load a trailer if it wasn't attached to the tow rig, but my trailer is rated at 10k, so loading a small tractor or skid steer would likely try to pick up the tongue. If your ramps are attached they probably have those feet to prevent the tail from moving. Since mine are removable having the Jacks would help eliminate the light tongue when loading heavy.