On 6/1/13 3:51 PM, Eisboch wrote:


"Hank©" wrote in message
eb.com...

On 6/1/2013 3:05 PM, Eisboch wrote:


"F.O.A.D." wrote in message
m...


I don't think a truck that size has the brakes to successfully control
and stop a 36' trailer.

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Don't think that's the issue so much. The trailer should have brakes
designed to handle it's weight.
The problem is the light duty nature of the truck in terms of engine,
transmission, frame, suspension, etc. To the best of my knowledge a
F-150 or the 1500 series from GM or Dodge are recommended for very small
5th wheel trailers and that's a stretch for them. A 36 footer is going
to weigh in at 12,000 lbs or more. Way too much for a light duty truck.


Sometimes trailer brakes go hooky falooky on you.

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True. Then you're in deep doo-doo. I don't care what kind of brakes
your truck has .... it's going to have a tough time stopping it plus a
12,000 -14,000 trailer at any kind of speed.

Remember the green '97 Dodge Ram 1500 I had? Towing that old '82
Century ark was a real thrill. The surge brakes didn't work on the
trailer.
I had to plan stops well in advance. If a light turned red and I tried
to stop the damn boat would push me halfway through the intersection.
I think that boat and trailer probably weighed 6,000 to 7,000 lbs.




After my father died and I was selling off the boat store inventory, I
had to deliver a new 22' Cruisers, Inc., cabin boat I had sold to a
customer who wanted to take delivery a bit later in the year at a local
marina. My dad had a Ford stake truck to tow boats and trailers for
"dry" deliveries. There were no brakes on the boat trailer, at least
none of which I was aware. I was exiting the Connecticut Turnpike near
Campbell Avenue by the waterfront in West Haven, and I almost lost the
truck, the trailer and the boat, right over the barrier on the curved
exit. The truck's brakes when towing a boat were for ****. Pretty scary
couple of moments, but we lucked out and I was able to stop the damned
thing. This was in 1973. I didn't own a trailer boat until the early
1990's, but the first thing I looked for was that what I bought had a
trailer with decent brakes.