Grit dog wrote:
profdant139 wrote:
Back of the Pack, I am about to display my ignorance -- what does it mean that trailer drums have no reserve?
Do you mean that it is not safe to go over 60 even though the tires themselves are rated at a higher speed? Why not?
Note that I am not disagreeing with you -- I am just looking for information. Judging by your post, it looks like you know more about tires and wheels than I do.
He's insinuating that apparently, a 60mph to 0 stop is all a set of trailer drum brakes can handle, thus rendering them ineffective for a stop from a higher speed.
True statement? No, I'd say Somewhere between debatable and conditional. Just like some of his other assertions...
Recommend you test a full-on emergency stop from your towing speed. Drums overheat. When they do, they lose effectiveness. Much fun involved with a heavy load and still moving too fast. Of course, maybe they’ll lock up first and the trailer will get sideways on liquid ball bearings (formerly tire tread) just before they blow.
Antilock disc brakes should be a priority.
Dislike the other assertions ? Test them. None are difficult.
I’ve been pulling travel trailers 50-years and learned from father and grandfather before me in traveling the USA, Canada & Mexico on weeks-long trips. Being a truck driver the past quarter-century only reinforces (deepens) understanding as “towing” (combined vehicle) is full-time.
Big trucks are more likely to have steer axle disc these days. (At least it won’t pull itself into the next lane or ditch). But you’ll run out of “brakes” LONG before you come to a stop without emergency downshifting. Drums WILL run out of reserve ability.
With a travel trailer and poor hitch rigging, the tow vehicle front axle and trailer front axle wind up having to do the job, but at 50% capacity. WDH spreads the TW force against all three axles (brakes). It’s also why you want the trailer dead-level after proper hitching. (Carpenters level longitudinally at doorway) as vehicles go nose-down under heavy braking (another reason why a pickup NOT loaded near to stated rear-axle capacity is a poor tow vehicle).
To a point, the more TW transferred to the trailer axles is straight-up beneficial. (Test heat after hard stop; use CAT Scale Axle Slide reading to “get” — understand — the loading per trailer axle).
It SHOULD be obvious that a TV with nearly 50/50 weight distribution BEFORE hitching will have the most effective braking afterwards. From 35-mph, if the hitched combination DOES NOT stop faster than the solo vehicle, something is wrong. Fix it.
It’s easy to get into trouble. It’s HARD to get out of it.
