whadja do today?

[2treeornot2tree]

Mu 2012 dodge 3500 came with a brake controler installed from the factory. All my other trucks I had to install one

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[DR. P. Proteus]

Mu 2012 dodge 3500 came with a brake controler installed from the factory. All my other trucks I had to install one

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I think all I need is the controller itself and a pigtail to plug in under the dash. The wires to the hitch connector are there already. The only wires that need to be dealt with are from controller to under dash connector which I believe is the one right there by the parking brake pedal. How much is this going to cost?

 

[treevet]

Mu 2012 dodge 3500 came with a brake controler installed from the factory. All my other trucks I had to install one

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got a fact one in my newish one ton Silverado

 

[ducaticorse]

I think all I need is the controller itself and a pigtail to plug in under the dash. The wires to the hitch connector are there already. The only wires that need to be dealt with are from controller to under dash connector which I believe is the one right there by the parking brake pedal. How much is this going to cost?

Brake controller is about 70 bucks

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[DR. P. Proteus]

Brake controller is about 70 bucks

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Yeah and thank god. Not to jinx myself but I think that is "all" that is needed plus a few minutes.

I was thinking it would be a " lets rewire the whole godamn truck" sort of thing.

 

[DR. P. Proteus]

got a fact one in my newish one ton Silverado

I looked under there and saw a connector labeled 'brake controller'. What's this world coming to? Isn't everything supposed to be really hard and cost thousands?

 

[pdqdl]

Ive had buddies get pulled over for not having plates for cars they were towing on dollies. MA sucks, if wheels hit the public street, it needs to be taxed, titled, registered and inspected.

As far as overweight goes, I've had the DOT weigh me, then check the GVW, GCRW, the registered ratings and even the ratings on the tires to get me for overweight. I would have been ticketed for being over on any one of those.

I spent a little time trying to research Ma weight regulations. If they are the DOT pests you suggest, it is particularly offensive that they completely don't post any of the regulations on their website. I couldn't find anything on the Ma DOT website about truck weight regulations.

I DID find that sometime in the recent past they passed some sort of legistlation that obliges them to follow the Federal regulations on trucking. So...you probably cannot get a ticket even in Ma for exceeding the GVWR. I've posted it before, and nobody has ever taken me to task for being wrong about it. Here are the five ways to get an overweight ticket:

1. Exceed posted Gross Vehicle Weight limit. BIG tickets if you exceed a posted bridge limit.
   
2. Exceed licensed GVW. Fines are usually pretty minor.
   
3. Exceed per axle weight limits (as limited by statute or axle rating)
4. Exceed tire weight ratings.
5. Exceed "bridge law" calculations for GVW & length formulas.

 

[pdqdl]

Not necessarily. You could tow it behind a truck with a GVW less than 15000 and not need any kind of CDL. Trailer over 10k PLUS combined weight of over 26000 is what classifies needing a CDL A.

Not quite correct, according to the federal rules. Just hooking up to an over 10k trailer usually obliges you to have a Class A cdl. Most medium duty trucks will have a GVWR greater than 16k. Add up the GVWR rating of the towing vehicle and the trailer, and you have the Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR)

http://www.mmucc.us/mmucc-training/lessons/FMCSA/GVWR_files/GVWR02.htm​

There is a distinction between ratings and actual weight. You can have a truck rated for 16K, a trailer rated at 10k, and be driving down the road completely empty, weighing in at less than 14k and you still must have the CDL. Actual weight has no bearing on the CDL requirements. What counts is the GCWR.

 

[pdqdl]

Straight from the MA DOT website
http://www.massrmv.com/rmv/license/2diflic.htm
Different Classes of Licenses
Class A- Any combination of vehicles with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds provided the GVWR of the vehicle(s) being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds. (Holders of a Class A license may, with any appropriate endorsements, operate all vehicles within Classes B, C, and D)

So, if the trailer is 11k, the truck can be up to 15k, no cdl.

I don't agree with it, I think that a 60k log truck pulling a bobcat trailer that's registered at 16k should be allowed on a class b, when the landscaper with an f250 can tow the same trailer with a passenger license.

Umm...you and Ma are in agreement. Note the underlined area from your quote.

From the same page you quoted: "Class B- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing a vehicle not in excess of 10,000 pounds GVWR. (Holders of a Class B license may, with any appropriate endorsements, operate all vehicles within Classes B, C, and D)."

 

[pdqdl]

Yeah, I know, the thingy with the knob. I don't have one in the pick-up that I can see so I guess there is none. I am not sure how the thing is wired. There might be a wire to the rear harness connector, maybe it does get energized, maybe its just there waiting to be hooked up.

Some people I have seen with heavy trailers do adjust the controller throughout the day.

My 4500 pound chipper does not have brakes. There is a controller in the dump truck, never used it. Even with a full load and the chipper the f350 seems to stop OK.

Pulling the Dingo (around 3k with trailer and implements) with a F150 wasn't bad either though if there was leaves on a hilly road and a stop sign in front you would want to be careful.

I don't know about your area, but in Missouri any trailer exceeding 3000lbs GVWR MUST have an emergency breakaway switch and working brakes. I think the regulations are also written to include anything that actually weighs more than 3k, because the Kansas DOT put my chipper out of service until we fixed the emergency break-away switch. (it looked like it worked, but it failed their test). As previously stated, it has no GVWR nor license, either.

If you get caught toting around a 4500lb chipper with no working emergency brakes, you might expect to be forced to carry it home on a rollback wrecker, 'cause they probably will put it "out of service", which means you go to jail if they catch you towing it 10 feet from where they park it.

 

[pdqdl]

For youse guys with little experience with brake controllers, you might want to listen up.

The purpose of a brake controller is to adjust the amount of electric current applied to the electric trailer brakes according to how much braking is needed. Almost all brake controllers have a manual lever to allow the operator to "max out" the trailer brakes independently of the towing vehicle, and most of them also allow the operator to limit how hard the trailer brakes, which is particularly important when your trailer is empty and your brakes are good.

Most controllers nowadays rely on any number of different schemes for limiting the amount of braking applied to the trailer. Too much braking burns up tires and brakes, and not enough adds wear to the towing vehicles brakes and may cause you to crash because the trailer brakes are not helping enough. Older models used swinging pendulums to sense how much the vehicle was slowing and applied more brakes when the pendulum swung further. This worked rather nicely for heavy loads going down highway off-ramps, but not so well in other situations. More modern controllers have several electronic modes you can choose from that supposedly provide a good match for how your trailer capacity and braking requirements fit together. Almost all brake controllers fail to provide adequate braking control in rain or icing conditions; the very time when you need good brakes the most.

In my opinion, ALL electronic brake controllers suck because none of them know how hard the operator is stepping on the brakes. No matter how you adjust the gain, they all hit the brakes either too hard, not hard enough, too late, or too soon ...except this one:* http://www.brakecontroller.com/MaxBrake.pdf No it isn't cheap, but it pays for itself in tires & brakes not damaged by ignorant brake controllers that don't work. Yes, they are a PITA to install, but they are worth it in reliability and ease of use.

*Ford & GM (I think) have started installing factory brake controllers that also sense how hard the brakes are being applied. If you don't have one of those vehicles, you are stuck with either a crappy cheap controller, or a $350 expense for a good one.

 

[sgreanbeans]

Was my birfday, so I bought a .40 S&W Carbine, then at cake.

Actually, it poured in the am, and the tree I had setup is surrounded by freshly turned dirt, so I used that as an excuse to play hookie. No need for 50lb boots.

 

[treevet]

happy happy beans!!

 

[treeclimber101]

I pull a 13,000 lb enclosed with a 4x4 350 ! **** those stupid cops !

 

[ducaticorse]

Volunteered tree removal and a lawn installation for a habitat for humanity project. Should be a nice write off at the end of the year.


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[ducaticorse]

Also called morbark, they're telling me that 2400 I mentioned has a 110 jd in it. Wtf?


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[no tree to big]

Also called morbark, they're telling me that 2400 I mentioned has a 110 jd in it. Wtf?


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Go big or go home! 140 isn't enough in a 15" if being used for crane removals let alone an 18 so yea 110 def ain't no good

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[ducaticorse]

Go big or go home! 140 isn't enough in a 15" if being used for crane removals let alone an 18 so yea 110 def ain't no good

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That's what I was thinking.


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[DR. P. Proteus]

I don't know about your area, but in Missouri any trailer exceeding 3000lbs GVWR MUST have an emergency breakaway switch and working brakes. I think the regulations are also written to include anything that actually weighs more than 3k, because the Kansas DOT put my chipper out of service until we fixed the emergency break-away switch. (it looked like it worked, but it failed their test). As previously stated, it has no GVWR nor license, either.

If you get caught toting around a 4500lb chipper with no working emergency brakes, you might expect to be forced to carry it home on a rollback wrecker, 'cause they probably will put it "out of service", which means you go to jail if they catch you towing it 10 feet from where they park it.

I am going to check into that.

 

[treeman75]

Getting a load of dirt with my 14k dump trailer