20,000 Teton 5er - Truck Needed (legally)
If I buy a 20,000 pound Teton 5er, what is the minimum truck requirement to remain within combined vehicle weight? 350, 450, 550, ... thanks!
Forum Discussion
- I just figured you were laying down on the job. Har!
NinerBikes wrote:
Cummins12V98 wrote:
RLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!
I would highly recumbent you get it done ASAP. You will say "I wish I would have done it sooner" !!!!!
I have a MaxBrake it applies the pressure equal to the RV based on brake line pressure. Very seamless braking.
I know the RV brakes would stop the combined setup and also the other way around. Just know it won't happen fast!
Yes it broke since I use it so much!
Noticed but at the time was too lazy to fix. Figured most would figure it out.
Highly recumbent? :o Your teleprompter break?Cummins12V98 wrote:
RLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!
I would highly recumbent you get it done ASAP. You will say "I wish I would have done it sooner" !!!!!
I have a MaxBrake it applies the pressure equal to the RV based on brake line pressure. Very seamless braking.
I know the RV brakes would stop the combined setup and also the other way around. Just know it won't happen fast!
Highly recumbent? :o Your teleprompter break?- Thanks, great info!
RLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!
Your in a spot that I would not want to be in. A couple of things I look at, one is max trailer is 2x the graw of the TV. So if you have at least a 10K RA on the 450, a 20K trailer is good.
Sounds like you are ok on the general handling. Braking on the otherhand.....not so much.
One, check and make sure EVERYTHING in your current trailer brake system is in great shape. An 05, depending upon the miles you drive, currently brake how often etc, may have or be close to wearing out the shoes, and too thin of drums. If you do not adjust at least once a year, or more, again depending upon the miles driven, your shoes may be out of adjustment. I shoot for 7-8 clicks back from full lock up when spinning the tire in reverse. IIRC it is 10-12 for electric brakes, 3-5 for surge.
Do you have one of the newer what I will call top 3 brake controllers? not a lower end time only controller. If not, get a new controller, unless you have a built in one. That is probably THE BEST option.
At the end of the day. It is probably cheaper to replace your trailers brakes, and better than a new tow rig. A 550 or 650 will not stop any quicker per say if the trailers brakes are the weak link. You will spend many more $$$ than the truck upgrade is worth. The brake replacement would be first choice.
Other option, is upgrade the trailer per say, to one that already HAS the electric over hydraulic disk brakes, one hopefully with anti locks vs not. This would be a way better option than upgrading the truck, $ for $ spent. Rebraking the current trailer, probably the #1 for cheap option, possibly #2 from the best braking option, depending upon the type of brakes you can get in a redo option. #3 is not an option I would consider, that would be just the truck upgrade. I've been pushed thru too many intersections when the trailer brakes have not worked as they should, so a bigger truck/braking is not always the best option vs getting the trailer brakes working correctly!
Just my 02 on what I would do, just remember how much you paid for this 02!
Marty
no fear These guys have no fear of heavy trailersRLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!RLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!
I would highly recumbent you get it done ASAP. You will say "I wish I would have done it sooner" !!!!!
I have a MaxBrake it applies the pressure equal to the RV based on brake line pressure. Very seamless braking.
I know the RV brakes would stop the combined setup and also the other way around. Just know it won't happen fast!- Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!
fj12ryder wrote:
Just out of curiosity, have you ever had your RV stopped and your brakes checked like you describe? I've never heard of, or talked to anyone who has ever been checked that way. Just wondering as I wasn't even aware of it.
I have NOT been stopped with an RV. I "HAVE" been stopped in my pickup, and class 6 mdt pulling my equipment trailer, and I WAS checked as described! They will also make sure you have at least 11.5V for the battery on the trailer. If it is less than 11.5V, your are impounded on the side of the road until you get the battery up to 11.5, or disconnect and go get a new one.
This has also been told to me in a number of class's I have taken from CVEO's, as to how and why they check and enforce weight laws etc for smaller rigs under 26K lbs. IE what and IF they would do if they also pulled over RV's. folks like myself pulling smaller trailers doing landscape maintenance, contractors working out of pickups to class 6 rigs.
I HAVE had to stop my old TT with just the truck a few times......forgot to plug the trailer plug in after an overnight stay or a couple of nights at a single place where I stayed connected per say, except for the trailer plug.
At the end of the day as noted, truck brakes stops the truck, trailer brakes needs to stop the trailer! Yeah it is nicer to have a truck with MORE than enough brakes, frame etc. BUT, not everyone wants to drive around in a truck with 20K lbs of free payload to stop a trailer when the trailer brakes fail. I did not realize my ground was shot on the equipment trailer one time, drove around many miles with it behind the navistar, hooked up to my old dually......thing did not stop worth a dang!
I can generally speaking stop quicker with the truck and trailer than just the truck alone. Not by much, but still quicker.
MartyCummins12V98 wrote:
hone eagle wrote:
Turtle n Peeps wrote:
hone eagle wrote:
statements like "trailer brakes stop the trailer " make the hair on the back of my neck stand up .
:h :H :H
don't happen ever
take a truck any truck ,panic stop from any speed you want ,now do it with a trailer hooked on - same distance ? highly doubt it.
Trailer brakes are worse then useless if you believe and trust them to stop the trailer .
They are smaller then the brakes on a '60s econo box and are expected to stop trailers weighing 3 times more?
come on
now get them toasty like coming down a hill or stop and go freeway driving . and are they all perfectly adjusted?
When a mod blithely states 'trailer brakes stop the trailer' I get a chill.
You need to take a ride with me and do a panic stop, you will be shocked as I was at how fast the truck and RV stopped.
I would only be shocked if the combined rig stopped in exactly the same distance as the truck alone .
We are kind of talking two different things here with Marty ,I agree with him the trailer alone will stop the combined rig or should (like a train...eventually ),my fear is that it will give a false impression to a beginner that it doesn't matter whats hooked together the stopping distance will remain the same .
I contend that its not likely.
Cummins have you seen a recent demo of a brake controller called 'direct link'?
the improvement over stock ?..........80 feet now thats shocking.
they changed to hyd disks and anti lock.
locking and skidding your trailer tires is NOT the goal like some here have proudly posted.
