Tree work trailer ?

[Davidsinatree]

I am ordering a new 16 ft tandem trailer each axle is rated at 3500#. I am undecided on the need to have elec brakes put on when the trailer is built. I will be towing with 2000 F-350 SRW diesel stick shift. Biggest loades will be logs or fire wood. Do you guys have brakes on your trailers or chippers ? I think brakes will add $150 to the cost.

 

[Dan F]

YES!!!

Get the brakes! There's been times I wished the single axle I was pulling had brakes....

It may not be even legal for you to NOT have brakes on the trailer.

The $150 is cheap insurance that you WILL be able to stop. Brakes on the trailer are also a big necessity if you ever load the trailer too heavy in the rear.... Trailer swinging back and forth, braking with the truck compounds the problem. Let off the gas, apply the trailer brakes manually, it straightens out, and you can then stop and adjust the load.

As for brake controllers, I would reccommend the Draw Tite digital controller. Much easier to adjust, you know how much power you have going back there. MUCH easier than trying to tell whether the little LED light is green or orange or red, or some variation thereof....

Oh, and I think you will find that you can quickly overload a 7K trailer pretty quickly. I don't think I would ever buy anything other than a 10K trailer. Nothing less, nothing more, at least with my current license. Less you can overload really easily, more and you start having to worry about how big of a truck can pull it and you don't need a CDL......

My $.05 worth.


Dan

 

[moose]

Get the brakes on your trailer. It's a lot easier on the truck brakes and it helps to stop easier on wet roads or dirt roads. I have 2 chippers, one is 4000# and one is 6400# and the brakes make a big difference. It will probably cost more than $150 to put them on though.

 

[Lumberjack]

18 ft w/ brakes

I bought a tandem axle trailer about a month ago. Get the brakes, plain and simple. In certain situations they have held/hold much more than the brakes on my trucks. My trailer is 18 ft and it has 2 5200lb axles on it. It cost me around 150 per axle for brakes, get them on both axles.

I have already overloaded my trailer by putting a 12500 load on it by hand. Imagine when I start using a front end loader! I would get heavier axles and frame of a 10k because you are pulling it with a big truck and it will be easy to overload it.

Also if you can get pipe or tube sides, they are stronger, put less of a bend in the rope you tie down with, and to me look better.

Another reason I would get a heavier trailer is because firewood packs much more densely than brush, and getting the trailer would take no time at all.

 

[Dan F]

I alluded to it in my earlier reply, but one thing to remember is the COMBINDED gross vehicular wieght RATING.

Here in Indiana (and I assume it's fairly standard across the U.S.), if the combination of the truck and trailer is rated 26,001 pounds or more AND the trailer is rated at 10,001 pounds or more, then you need a CDL, class A. IF the combination is 26,001 pounds or more, rated, and the trailer is rated at 10,000 pounds or less, you only need a chauffer's license. This, of course, is assuming that neither has air brakes.

What it boils down to is that you can pull a 10K trailer with an F-550 (last time I checked, those were rated around 19k), for a gross combined rating of around 29k. You don't need a CDL for that. However, you tack a trailer rated at 10,001 pounds or more on that same F-550 (combined rating of 29,001 pounds), and you need a Class A CDL.

I think you are safe with an F-350 and a trailer up to about 14k, but check the ratings and your local/state regs. You probably need more than just a regular operators license if the combination is being used for commercial purposes. And a DOT number. And DOT inspection.

Lot'sa hoops to jump through. And I haven't even gotten into different license plates either! All this stuff sucks, but a ticket (or two) sucks worse.... I'm just glad I don't have to pay for all the aforementioned stuff. I leave that up to my boss!


Dan

 

[SilverBlue]

I am building my own custom tilt trailer right now with a hoist, any trailer rated over 2000 lbs needs brakes and $150.00 is a good price. A spare tire is a good idea and don’t forget that you need to fit a brake controller on your truck if not equipped already-and don’t get the cheapest one you can find.
Rob.

 

[NeTree]

Originally posted by SilverBlue
any trailer rated over 2000 lbs needs brakes

Spot-on.

 

[treeman82]

In NYS, if you are driving a vehicle with a GVW of over 18,000 lbs you need a class B CDL. If you want to tow a trailer with a GVW of over 10,000 lbs you need a class A.

There is a cop over here who LOVES to stop truck drivers. If you are overload he will stop you, if you have a light out, he will stop you, whatever he can find. This guy had the audacity to go and ticket a truck which was owned by a detective on the local PD.

So keep that in mind when you go to set-up a trailer, chipper, what have you. There is usually a cop like that in each town who's job it is to stop truck drivers.

 

[Dan F]

Originally posted by treeman82
There is usually a cop like that in each town who's job it is to stop truck drivers.

Yep, here in Indiana, they're called Motor Carrier Police. A completely separate division from the state police. I'm sure every state has similiar entities.

So, David, if you haven't been able to tell, get the brakes, get a bigger trailer, find out what your state/local laws and regulations are, and stay safe!

I agree completely with everything Brian said. It seems the bigger the truck, the more likely idiots are to pull out in front of you when you are doing 50+ mph, and then slam on the brakes to make a turn... The Draw Tite controller I previously mentioned will help to take care of the problems with adjusting the brakes whether you are empty or loaded.

I don't really care to have the trailer brakes engage when backing up (makes it easier) and with the Draw Tite controller it made it very easy to turn off the brakes and then re-adjust them after finishing backing up....


Dan

 

[Lumberjack]

Originally posted by RockyJSquirrel
Tons of wood add up quickly. I used a trailer for years, custom built 18' flatbed with tandem 6K axles. Heaviest load crossed the scales at 20K. Put the largest axles you can get on it. A dinky little trailer will only haul dinky little loads.

Was that truck and trailer? I couldn't imagine 20k on an 10-11k trailer.

Carl

 

[geofore]

brakes

Get the brakes, your life may depend on them. Go with the heavier axles you'll need them also. Use the woodweb's calculator to see how much that wood weighs, it adds up fast. You use the trailer, then you start to think you can haul more on it than it was built to haul bacause the truck can pull it. It NEEDS to have brakes or you will need twice or more distance to stop it and forget about stopping it in a strait line without brakes. You'll be all over the road as the trailer pushes your truck around as you try to stop. Your trucks front brakes are 80% of your stopping power, the trailer can push right through them as it lifts the back of the truck off the road spinning you around. Get the brakes on the trailer and learn how to use them, it'll save your life. A benefit is that it will save the brakes on your truck which would wear out more than twice as fast if the trailer does not have brakes. Your truck brakes were designed to stop the truck loaded and you would be asking them to stop more than what they were designed to handle safely, ten feet behind you and on a swivel (hitch) with no control. Can you say,"wreck waiting to happen"???

 

[NeTree]

In tractor-trailer school one of the first things the instructor taught was the difference between being joe homeowner pulling that little trailer around and being in a big truck.

Your average truck/car pulling a trailer will weigh signifigantly more than the trailer by about 5:1.

As that ratio gets closer to 1:1 you begin to see a massive difference in the handling characteristics of the towing vehicle.

Big-rigs are more like 1:5... or worse. The heavier a trailer is, the more it will push you all over the road.

Wheels that lock tend to lead! In your case, this means that if your trailer doesn't have brakes, your screwed if you have to hit the brakes in a hurry. The rear wheels in your pickup are the most likely to lock up, and you'll jack-knife. Period. (ABS not withstanding).

And don't forget to notify your insurance company that you'll be towing the trailer. Make sure your covered.

=)

JM2C

 

[Menchhofer]

Another vote for brakes.

In the days when I worked out of a trailer, I thought the brakes were not necessary. For years I pulled trailers without them. I knew it was not safe but argued I could not afford to have them installed and the control was too expensive.

To make a long story short.....couple of winters or so ago....was delivering firewood ....icy street...trailer came around....and kept coming around until the truck and trailer did 180 degrees onto the other side of the road. $3,000 damage to my truck, trailer about $1,000. (All out of pocket for I did not want my insurance involved due to my stupidity.)

Since then, when I ordered a new trailer of course it had brakes and (controller installed was only 95.00) I would be foolish to tow one without them again. Braking control on the trailer is wonderful and necessary.

 

[Stumper]

David, I got by for several years with a trailer such as you describe without brakes. GET THE BRAKES!