Posted: 4/28/2016 1:05:15 AM EDT
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch
Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds |
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Take it easy, turn wide, overdrive off. I have pulled many much things and never used one o them load distributing hitches. Make sure brake controller is set to right level before you get on the highway or in traffic.
Also plug in trailer harness to make sure it's wired right before you head onto the road. Not all are wired the same. It will be obvious if something is wrong. |
| A few simple things OP, make sure all the lights work on both, make sure the controller works and is adjusted right before going over 40mph....make sure all tires on both are fully inflated..stop about 5 miles down the road at the highway speed limit and walk around and lay your palm on each tire and hub..if its too hot for your hand to stay on it..you have issues and need to fix them...Every time you stop do a walk around, check your hitch, connectors, the ball nut, wheels/lugnuts and aforementioned palm trial on treads/hubs.........make sure both truck and trailer have a good aired up spare, and you have tools to change them..... |
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. |
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Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? |
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What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? No, just make sure you leave extra stopping distance, especially if you're driving a 150. And make sure you attach the safety chains properly. |
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Quoted: What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? You shouldn't have any problems with sway. If you do, stop, because something is wrong. Because an empty trailer shouldn't be swaying. If you load it, do not put the heavy shit on the rear...that will make it sway. Ask me about my 40mph 180 degree spin out in the middle of a highway because a fat ass coworker was mad that he had to actually work to load an enclosed trailer with heavy oilfield parts and fittings and left all the heavy ass flanges, ball valves and check valves sitting at the rear and my boss running in a muck to have me send it out to the location before I even got back from another location. Fucking cockfags |
| Stopping distance is key in a F150. Mine has disks all around but I am still pretty leery towing anything over a couple k lbs. Brake fade is no joke. Make sure that your brake controller is adjusted correctly for the load. They can help you with this when you pick up the trailer. |
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You shouldn't have any problems with sway. If you do, stop, because something is wrong. Because an empty trailer shouldn't be swaying. If you load it, do not put the heavy shit on the rear...that will make it sway. Ask me about my 40mph 180 degree spin out in the middle of a highway because a fat ass coworker was mad that he had to actually work to load an enclosed trailer with heavy oilfield parts and fittings and left all the heavy ass flanges, ball valves and check valves sitting at the rear and my boss running in a muck to have me send it out to the location before I even got back from another location. Fucking cockfags Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? You shouldn't have any problems with sway. If you do, stop, because something is wrong. Because an empty trailer shouldn't be swaying. If you load it, do not put the heavy shit on the rear...that will make it sway. Ask me about my 40mph 180 degree spin out in the middle of a highway because a fat ass coworker was mad that he had to actually work to load an enclosed trailer with heavy oilfield parts and fittings and left all the heavy ass flanges, ball valves and check valves sitting at the rear and my boss running in a muck to have me send it out to the location before I even got back from another location. Fucking cockfags Details? Forgot to mention its 8.5' wide. Going to turn it into a food/concession trailer. Been wanting to do this for a few years. I will post a pic tomorrow |
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Details? Forgot to mention its 8.5' wide. Going to turn it into a food/concession trailer. Been wanting to do this for a few years. I will post a pic tomorrow Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? You shouldn't have any problems with sway. If you do, stop, because something is wrong. Because an empty trailer shouldn't be swaying. If you load it, do not put the heavy shit on the rear...that will make it sway. Ask me about my 40mph 180 degree spin out in the middle of a highway because a fat ass coworker was mad that he had to actually work to load an enclosed trailer with heavy oilfield parts and fittings and left all the heavy ass flanges, ball valves and check valves sitting at the rear and my boss running in a muck to have me send it out to the location before I even got back from another location. Fucking cockfags Details? Forgot to mention its 8.5' wide. Going to turn it into a food/concession trailer. Been wanting to do this for a few years. I will post a pic tomorrow You need tow mirrors if you plan on seeing down the sides. This is a dual axle trailer with brakes on both sets of wheels? |
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What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? Depends on the wind, and a cross wind will suck as much gas and cause more sway than a headwind. If there is sway w/o wind, something is wrong. Once you load that trailer down, never let yourself forget about it when you go to turn or stop. |
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What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? An enclosed will catch the wind quite a bit, just keep your hands on the wheel. But an empty trailer should not sway at all. If it is, something is wrong. 3000 lbs really isn't much weight, my boat is about that and I can tow it fine with my Astro van. Leave some extra stopping distance, don't ride people ass, take wide turns, check your blind spots. |
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A few simple things OP, make sure all the lights work on both, make sure the controller works and is adjusted right before going over 40mph....make sure all tires on both are fully inflated..stop about 5 miles down the road at the highway speed limit and walk around and lay your palm on each tire and hub..if its too hot for your hand to stay on it..you have issues and need to fix them...Every time you stop do a walk around, check your hitch, connectors, the ball nut, wheels/lugnuts and aforementioned palm trial on treads/hubs.........make sure both truck and trailer have a good aired up spare, and you have tools to change them..... Good advice here. Bring a greese gun too. I tow a 3500 pound boat with my old Bronco with no issues. |
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An enclosed will catch the wind quite a bit, just keep your hands on the wheel. But an empty trailer should not sway at all. If it is, something is wrong. 3000 lbs really isn't much weight, my boat is about that and I can tow it fine with my Astro van. Leave some extra stopping distance, don't ride people ass, take wide turns, check your blind spots. Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? An enclosed will catch the wind quite a bit, just keep your hands on the wheel. But an empty trailer should not sway at all. If it is, something is wrong. 3000 lbs really isn't much weight, my boat is about that and I can tow it fine with my Astro van. Leave some extra stopping distance, don't ride people ass, take wide turns, check your blind spots. I drove a class b truck for a few years. I just got my class a. The only thing I worry about is "forgetting the trailer" 
Funny story, I pulled my dads 16' trailer a few months ago from my shop to the house, forgot it was behind me and almost took out the garbage pickup bin. Had to back up in the road and then swing it over: I felt like a idiot. |
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Quoted: Details? Forgot to mention its 8.5' wide. Going to turn it into a food/concession trailer. Been wanting to do this for a few years. I will post a pic tomorrow Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? You shouldn't have any problems with sway. If you do, stop, because something is wrong. Because an empty trailer shouldn't be swaying. If you load it, do not put the heavy shit on the rear...that will make it sway. Ask me about my 40mph 180 degree spin out in the middle of a highway because a fat ass coworker was mad that he had to actually work to load an enclosed trailer with heavy oilfield parts and fittings and left all the heavy ass flanges, ball valves and check valves sitting at the rear and my boss running in a muck to have me send it out to the location before I even got back from another location. Fucking cockfags Details? Forgot to mention its 8.5' wide. Going to turn it into a food/concession trailer. Been wanting to do this for a few years. I will post a pic tomorrow Trailer was fully loaded from the floor and on the shelves. He was a warehouse manager by virtue of his brother who's a branch manager at another location. He was prior LE, was forced to retire because he beats his wife, and has no knowledge about parts and fittings related to the oilfield. He was the only person there at thay time to load the trailer as we were already making 2 hour long trips back and forth delivering parts to our customers to built pipelines and pads. It was summer, and hot. He wanted to be done with the work and loaded all the heavy stuff last right at the rear. My boss told me he inspected it and was satisfactory. I should have looked, but he had already pissed me off all week running my ass to the ground taking parts to a location 45 min to an hour away. Would call me as I'm making my way there asking me if I'm on my way back and to hurry. When I got back, he was frantic and demanding that I hook up and go right fucking now. I took off. Adjusted my trailer brakes thinking "fuck...this is heavier than usual". Tested my speed on the highway to see what my limit was. At 55mph I would get trailer sway on a flat surface. It sucks because the way there is up and down hills. Up hill is now problem, down hill you have to go slower. About a 5 mIles from the location (about 50 miles from work), I came around a soft corner going about 45 mph. I heard a bang as if something fell inside the trailer as I was coming out of the curve. Then I felt a jerk. Looked up and saw a car on the other side of the road. Trailer started to sway. I squeezed the trailer brakes and felt it give out.....no more trailer brakes. So I pressed on the brakes a bit to slow down. No dice. I'm going into oncoming traffic because my front tires are no longer on the surface. I miss the car barely, while trying to turn back to my lane as I see the other side of the ditch. My wheels finally hit pavement and shoot me over to my lane. By this time, the trailer was really out of control. I got jack knifed by my own trailer thay was pushing me and made me spin out of control and I ended up in the dirt on the side I was driving, but facing the other direction. All the heavy stuff busted the pad lock on the rear doors and spewd out all over the place. The flanges alone weighed about 300 pounds each. The driver side tires on the trailer (2 axle) were ripped off the rims. There was a massive crater in the passenger of the bed of the truck. The other car thay I almost hit kept driving. Luckily, there was a TX DOT guy about a half mile down the road who saw the whole thing and came to check me out. I didn't have service on my phone and he let me use his to call my office for help. The work day ends at 5:00 pm. It was 4:40 pm. They were ready to go home and instead of having someone come out in a company truck to help load the parts and possibly take the trailer once it was fixed, the boss just decided to call the nearest NAPA store to have someone come out and put new tires on the trailer leaving me to manually put everything thing thay was loaded in the trailer by aid of a forklift by hand, and then deliver the trailer myself. Cockfags. ETA: Truck was a 2008 Chevy 2500 HD single cab with 6.2 V8 Trailer was about 8' wide and 16' or 14' long. I was the first to get laid off. About a year after thay incident, my boss had me deliver a load of pipe to a location right at closing hours. Which was funny (not really) because they were complaining I was working too many hours and they were trying to save money. The location was 20 minutes from my apartment and about and hour back from the store, knowing I would have to drive back after hours on the company dime only to go back after I dropped the truck off. I was assured there would be workers present with a forklift. There was none. So I called my boss and let him know. He told me they all went home and told me to unload it myself (roll if off the trailer). I did. But when I was securing my straps, I had to stand on the pipe to unfuck my trailer straps. The bundle of 2" pipe gave way and trapped my foot, causing me to fall, which broke 3 metatarsals and dislocated all 5 metatarsals. I called the office. Boss man wouldn't send anyone out, even though there are salary men in a company vehicle. He had me drive back to work with a broken foot an hour away. He had the inside sales lady take me to the ER (fancy by no means...now shut down), where they had me forcibly pull my foot into possition while they rand off and hid for 30 minutes with no pain meds, and the put a temporary cast on my foot and leg the wrong way where the hard side was to the skin and the soft side on the outside. Fucking cockfags |
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Trailer was fully loaded from the floor and on the shelves. He was a warehouse manager by virtue of his brother who's a branch manager at another location. He was prior LE, was forced to retire because he beats his wife, and has no knowledge about parts and fittings related to the oilfield. He was the only person there at thay time to load the trailer as we were already making 2 hour long trips back and forth delivering parts to our customers to built pipelines and pads. It was summer, and hot. He wanted to be done with the work and loaded all the heavy stuff last right at the rear. My boss told me he inspected it and was satisfactory. I should have looked, but he had already pissed me off all week running my ass to the ground taking parts to a location 45 min to an hour away. Would call me as I'm making my way there asking me if I'm on my way back and to hurry. When I got back, he was frantic and demanding that I hook up and go right fucking now. I took off. Adjusted my trailer brakes thinking "fuck...this is heavier than usual". Tested my speed on the highway to see what my limit was. At 55mph I would get trailer sway on a flat surface. It sucks because the way there is up and down hills. Up hill is now problem, down hill you have to go slower. About a 5 mIles from the location (about 50 miles from work), I came around a soft corner going about 45 mph. I heard a bang as if something fell inside the trailer as I was coming out of the curve. Then I felt a jerk. Looked up and saw a car on the other side of the road. Trailer started to sway. I squeezed the trailer brakes and felt it give out.....no more trailer brakes. So I pressed on the brakes a bit to slow down. No dice. I'm going into oncoming traffic because my front tires are no longer on the surface. I miss the car barely, while trying to turn back to my lane as I see the other side of the ditch. My wheels finally hit pavement and shoot me over to my lane. By this time, the trailer was really out of control. I got jack knifed by my own trailer thay was pushing me and made me spin out of control and I ended up in the dirt on the side I was driving, but facing the other direction. All the heavy stuff busted the pad lock on the rear doors and spewd out all over the place. The flanges alone weighed about 300 pounds each. The driver side tires on the trailer (2 axle) were ripped off the rims. There was a massive crater in the passenger of the bed of the truck. The other car thay I almost hit kept driving. Luckily, there was a TX DOT guy about a half mile down the road who saw the whole thing and came to check me out. I didn't have service on my phone and he let me use his to call my office for help. The work day ends at 5:00 pm. It was 4:40 pm. They were ready to go home and instead of having someone come out in a company truck to help load the parts and possibly take the trailer once it was fixed, the boss just decided to call the nearest NAPA store to have someone come out and put new tires on the trailer leaving me to manually put everything thing thay was loaded in the trailer by aid of a forklift by hand, and then deliver the trailer myself. Cockfags. ETA: Truck was a 2008 Chevy 2500 HD single cab with 6.2 V8 Trailer was about 8' wide and 16' or 14' long. Dumb question but I have never done it before. How do you know what the optimal brake settings are? |
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Quoted: Dumb question but I have never done it before. How do you know what the optimal brake settings are? Quoted: Quoted: Trailer was fully loaded from the floor and on the shelves. He was a warehouse manager by virtue of his brother who's a branch manager at another location. He was prior LE, was forced to retire because he beats his wife, and has no knowledge about parts and fittings related to the oilfield. He was the only person there at thay time to load the trailer as we were already making 2 hour long trips back and forth delivering parts to our customers to built pipelines and pads. It was summer, and hot. He wanted to be done with the work and loaded all the heavy stuff last right at the rear. My boss told me he inspected it and was satisfactory. I should have looked, but he had already pissed me off all week running my ass to the ground taking parts to a location 45 min to an hour away. Would call me as I'm making my way there asking me if I'm on my way back and to hurry. When I got back, he was frantic and demanding that I hook up and go right fucking now. I took off. Adjusted my trailer brakes thinking "fuck...this is heavier than usual". Tested my speed on the highway to see what my limit was. At 55mph I would get trailer sway on a flat surface. It sucks because the way there is up and down hills. Up hill is now problem, down hill you have to go slower. About a 5 mIles from the location (about 50 miles from work), I came around a soft corner going about 45 mph. I heard a bang as if something fell inside the trailer as I was coming out of the curve. Then I felt a jerk. Looked up and saw a car on the other side of the road. Trailer started to sway. I squeezed the trailer brakes and felt it give out.....no more trailer brakes. So I pressed on the brakes a bit to slow down. No dice. I'm going into oncoming traffic because my front tires are no longer on the surface. I miss the car barely, while trying to turn back to my lane as I see the other side of the ditch. My wheels finally hit pavement and shoot me over to my lane. By this time, the trailer was really out of control. I got jack knifed by my own trailer thay was pushing me and made me spin out of control and I ended up in the dirt on the side I was driving, but facing the other direction. All the heavy stuff busted the pad lock on the rear doors and spewd out all over the place. The flanges alone weighed about 300 pounds each. The driver side tires on the trailer (2 axle) were ripped off the rims. There was a massive crater in the passenger of the bed of the truck. The other car thay I almost hit kept driving. Luckily, there was a TX DOT guy about a half mile down the road who saw the whole thing and came to check me out. I didn't have service on my phone and he let me use his to call my office for help. The work day ends at 5:00 pm. It was 4:40 pm. They were ready to go home and instead of having someone come out in a company truck to help load the parts and possibly take the trailer once it was fixed, the boss just decided to call the nearest NAPA store to have someone come out and put new tires on the trailer leaving me to manually put everything thing thay was loaded in the trailer by aid of a forklift by hand, and then deliver the trailer myself. Cockfags. ETA: Truck was a 2008 Chevy 2500 HD single cab with 6.2 V8 Trailer was about 8' wide and 16' or 14' long. Dumb question but I have never done it before. How do you know what the optimal brake settings are? I never had done it before then, and I didn't have much instruction on it. Just adjust it to where it slows you down comfortably and safely (don't use the foot pedal when adjusting and drive slow while adjusting...probably without accelerating as well). If your trailer tires lock up really quick, you probably have too much. |
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Dumb question but I have never done it before. How do you know what the optimal brake settings are? Quoted:
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Trailer was fully loaded from the floor and on the shelves. He was a warehouse manager by virtue of his brother who's a branch manager at another location. He was prior LE, was forced to retire because he beats his wife, and has no knowledge about parts and fittings related to the oilfield. He was the only person there at thay time to load the trailer as we were already making 2 hour long trips back and forth delivering parts to our customers to built pipelines and pads. It was summer, and hot. He wanted to be done with the work and loaded all the heavy stuff last right at the rear. My boss told me he inspected it and was satisfactory. I should have looked, but he had already pissed me off all week running my ass to the ground taking parts to a location 45 min to an hour away. Would call me as I'm making my way there asking me if I'm on my way back and to hurry. When I got back, he was frantic and demanding that I hook up and go right fucking now. I took off. Adjusted my trailer brakes thinking "fuck...this is heavier than usual". Tested my speed on the highway to see what my limit was. At 55mph I would get trailer sway on a flat surface. It sucks because the way there is up and down hills. Up hill is now problem, down hill you have to go slower. About a 5 mIles from the location (about 50 miles from work), I came around a soft corner going about 45 mph. I heard a bang as if something fell inside the trailer as I was coming out of the curve. Then I felt a jerk. Looked up and saw a car on the other side of the road. Trailer started to sway. I squeezed the trailer brakes and felt it give out.....no more trailer brakes. So I pressed on the brakes a bit to slow down. No dice. I'm going into oncoming traffic because my front tires are no longer on the surface. I miss the car barely, while trying to turn back to my lane as I see the other side of the ditch. My wheels finally hit pavement and shoot me over to my lane. By this time, the trailer was really out of control. I got jack knifed by my own trailer thay was pushing me and made me spin out of control and I ended up in the dirt on the side I was driving, but facing the other direction. All the heavy stuff busted the pad lock on the rear doors and spewd out all over the place. The flanges alone weighed about 300 pounds each. The driver side tires on the trailer (2 axle) were ripped off the rims. There was a massive crater in the passenger of the bed of the truck. The other car thay I almost hit kept driving. Luckily, there was a TX DOT guy about a half mile down the road who saw the whole thing and came to check me out. I didn't have service on my phone and he let me use his to call my office for help. The work day ends at 5:00 pm. It was 4:40 pm. They were ready to go home and instead of having someone come out in a company truck to help load the parts and possibly take the trailer once it was fixed, the boss just decided to call the nearest NAPA store to have someone come out and put new tires on the trailer leaving me to manually put everything thing thay was loaded in the trailer by aid of a forklift by hand, and then deliver the trailer myself. Cockfags. ETA: Truck was a 2008 Chevy 2500 HD single cab with 6.2 V8 Trailer was about 8' wide and 16' or 14' long. Dumb question but I have never done it before. How do you know what the optimal brake settings are? You set it to where you feel a slight deceleration when you push the slider on the brake controller. Don't set it by using the actual brake pedal, just let off the gas going like 20 or 30 and use the slider on the brake controller to engage the brakes. You want a gentle decel, not instant lockup. |
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Dumb question but I have never done it before. How do you know what the optimal brake settings are? OK, a few more tidbits...trailer sway, if it sways at all, pull over, move weight from the back/middle of the trailer to the front..tongue weight stops trailer sway, nothing else will.... adjusting trailer brakes...your controller..read the instructions on it..many newer ones have an additional adjustment for g-force/angle which applies more brakes on sudden stops/downhills... once hooked to the trailer put truck in gear to drive away and apply trailer brake by hand as you take off..you should feel the trailer brakes only lock up.... if you don't adjust up the gain until you do(hopefully the brakes work), then roll down an empty street at 10-15 mph and step on the brakes..if the trailer jolts it is set to high, if all you feel is truck its not set high enough..when its right you can feel trailer brakes but its not overpowering the truck brakes.......you may need to adjust even for different road surfaces/ weight in trailer.... |
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Setting the controller will be a bit different based on which one you have but for most,
First test them, put truck in gear roll forward with your foot off gas. Press the override button all the way in, trailer should easily stop the truck. Then set the controller by adjusting the trailer brakes up until the trailer is doing slightly more of the stopping work then the truck. You should be able to just start feeling that "tug" from behind you felt when you tested the breaks. The controller setting will change based on the trailer load The important thing is you want the trailer stopping harder then the truck or the trailer will try to pass you every time you stop, and will succeed in an emergency stop situation. If the trailer tire lock up, controller is set way too high. If after you stop, you let off the break to go and feel a pop as the trailer breaks let go it is set slightly too high. |
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Setting the controller will be a bit different based on which one you have but for most, First test them, put truck in gear roll forward with your foot off gas. Press the override button all the way in, trailer should easily stop the truck. Then set the controller by adjusting the trailer brakes up until the trailer is doing slightly more of the stopping work then the truck. You should be able to just start feeling that "tug" from behind you felt when you tested the breaks. The controller setting will change based on the trailer load The important thing is you want the trailer stopping harder then the truck or the trailer will try to pass you every time you stop, and will succeed in an emergency stop situation. If the trailer tire lock up, controller is set way too high. If after you stop, you let off the break to go and feel a pop as the trailer breaks let go it is set slightly too high. This is bad advise. You do not want the trailer brakes doing more work than the truck brakes. Set brakes like that and the trailer will try to pass by you on slick, wet, or icy roads. Or even loose gravel. With a heavy enough load and a tractor I might somewhat agree, but not an f-150 with an empty trailer. |
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I drove a class b truck for a few years. I just got my class a. The only thing I worry about is "forgetting the trailer"
Funny story, I pulled my dads 16' trailer a few months ago from my shop to the house, forgot it was behind me and almost took out the garbage pickup bin. Had to back up in the road and then swing it over: I felt like a idiot. Quoted:
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I have a 04 f150 v8 triton. I just bought a 20' enclosed trailer in georgia, going to meet them to pick it up in south carolina. Around 275 mile drive. Any suggestions on getting it back in one piece? I just installed a electric brake controller. I have been reading and it is suggested to turn overdrive off. It does have a tow package but I do not have a weight distributing hitch Edit to add: Trailer weighs 3200 pounds Not even enough weight to think about. Just hook up and drive it. What about sway? Will it ride all over the road or should ride straight? An enclosed will catch the wind quite a bit, just keep your hands on the wheel. But an empty trailer should not sway at all. If it is, something is wrong. 3000 lbs really isn't much weight, my boat is about that and I can tow it fine with my Astro van. Leave some extra stopping distance, don't ride people ass, take wide turns, check your blind spots. I drove a class b truck for a few years. I just got my class a. The only thing I worry about is "forgetting the trailer"
Funny story, I pulled my dads 16' trailer a few months ago from my shop to the house, forgot it was behind me and almost took out the garbage pickup bin. Had to back up in the road and then swing it over: I felt like a idiot. Years ago some friends and I were convoying to a camping spot. We were stopping for gas and the guy pulling the camper forgot he had it after hours of highway driving. Starts getting too close to the bottom of the ramp going too fast and as I grab the radio to tell him to slow the fuck down, he locks up the brakes on the trailer and the whole thing started bouncing up and down 
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Years ago some friends and I were convoying to a camping spot. We were stopping for gas and the guy pulling the camper forgot he had it after hours of highway driving. Starts getting too close to the bottom of the ramp going too fast and as I grab the radio to tell him to slow the fuck down, he locks up the brakes on the trailer and the whole thing started bouncing up and down I had brought my mini excavator to my shop to dig a water line I think. I couldent drive for shit that day. Like never got it turned around because the yard is small. So I head back to the house with it which is literally about a football field away. I completely forget the damn thing is behind me, look and I am about a foot from taking out the garbage bin. I hit the brakes and about stall the trucj were its a manual. Luckily nothing coming in both directions so I have to back up about 50-75ft to swing the damn thing in the drive way. I guess I was half asleep. On another note, I only got about 4 hrs of sleep last night so it will make for a interesting day. |
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I just literally pulled in to my house. Left about 12:30pm, ran into a traffic jam (rush hour?) in north carolina that set me back 30-45 minutes. Truck did fine with it, could not really tell it was behind me. Need to figure out the electric brakes better. 285 miles there 285 back total gas was around $75-80
I need tow mirrors, I cant see shit were mine are short. Were can I get some that extend out? |
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I just literally pulled in to my house. Left about 12:30pm, ran into a traffic jam (rush hour?) in north carolina that set me back 30-45 minutes. Truck did fine with it, could not really tell it was behind me. Need to figure out the electric brakes better. 285 miles there 285 back total gas was around $75-80 I need tow mirrors, I cant see shit were mine are short. Were can I get some that extend out? They're probably available from the dealer, or you could try something like this. |
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I just literally pulled in to my house. Left about 12:30pm, ran into a traffic jam (rush hour?) in north carolina that set me back 30-45 minutes. Truck did fine with it, could not really tell it was behind me. Need to figure out the electric brakes better. 285 miles there 285 back total gas was around $75-80 I need tow mirrors, I cant see shit were mine are short. Were can I get some that extend out? They're probably available from the dealer, or you could try something like this. I just bought these. Hope to have them next week |
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Quoted: That's a cakewalk OP. Turn of OD and roll out. You won't need weight distribution for that little of weight. Just make sure your truck hitch height makes the trailer level for smooth towing. Also go past the turn before you turn the wheel or you'll be buying trailer tires |