Outer Limits 4x4 Board

I want to tow the 40 to the NSW night run on the 31st, so I will need a trailer

Anyway, I have been getting conflicting stories about what sort of brakes I will need. Some say electric some say overrider. Even the RTA doesn't seem to have a standardised answer

I imagine the 40 would weigh about 1600-1700 kgs. How much would a car trailer weigh ?

This will be towed behind a petrol GQ.

What sort of trailers are people out there using ??

Cheers

Dan

lekky brakes would be the best idea i would assume. Regardless of which state you're in you'll still be okay while the overrider brakes would be closely looked at i guess..... Not sure here.. but Im interested in this concept as well as I'll be towing my vk to the upcoming summernats.

Tom

Electric are the best as they also give you the opinion to be able to lock the trailer brakes up with a slide on the controller, good if you get the sways up bad as locking just the trailer brakes up will pull it straight.

But hyrdrolic brakes are good cause then you can tow it behind any car, you don`t have to have the controller in it.

If and when I buy a trailer I`ll get elec brakes cause then it helps with stopping other people from borrowing it as they can`t tow it behind their rig unless they have elec brake controller in it to.

Daz used to have one that had hydrolic disks on it and it was very good.

Dan
My first trailer had cable brakes,they where very average..
My new trailer i built now runs electric brakes and it is probably the best trailer i have ever towed..
I would recommend electric brakes for your rig..

Hope this helps

Jamie

iv got electric breakes in my gq, and have found towing trielers that the best to use are electric as the are adjustable from incab, where as hydrolic arent.

Sounds like electric brakes might be the go however, I can't seem to find anyone who hires car trailers with them

Everyone hires the trailers with over riders.

Does anyone know if it is true that if the combined weight of trailer and rig totals more than 2 ton you MUST have electric brakes ?? And would my 40 and a trailer be over 2 ton ?

Last one for now, does $220 fitted sound ok for the electric brakes on the GQ ?

Thanks

Dan

All hire trailers will have Overide brakes as not everyon has the brake controller in there car from a towing oint of view you can't go past electric if setup properly the trailer will slow the tow rig down making braking a lot more stable.
There isn't much to wiring the controller in I would do it myself the units sell for less thsn $100.
SAM

Dan
You will find that your 40 and the trailer will most likely be over 2 tonne.
As for RTA rules,A standard car trailer (like the ones you hire)cna only take a maxium totol load of 2 tonnes (trailer and load).
You should really have a heavier trailer with both axles fitted with electric brakes and also fitted with a break away brake sytem,This inturn ends up costing a shiate load of cash and also means your trailer rego go's through the roof,it also means you have to take your trailer to an heavy vehicle inspection station every year for rego..
Hope i did'nt scare you to much...

As for $220 for your electric tralier brakes fitted to your GQ,Thats not bad if it is supply and fit..
If you can get a brake control unit yourself,you can fit it yourself,they are not that hard.(if you get stuck call me,i fitted mine to my 80)

Jamie

The unit for the Towing Vehicle sounds cheap enough, but does anyone know how much it costs to set-up a trailer with Electric bracks!

Say i could get a older trailer with overrides how much will it cost and what are the parts i need to set up electric brakes!

At the moment i hire a trailer from a local servo and is really cheap however it is always a concern to me what the person did to it before i hired it!

Dan, just had electric brakes fitted to my old mans GU for $240, had previous quotes all above that, like ARB $375, go for it

POS wrote:The unit for the Towing Vehicle sounds cheap enough, but does anyone know how much it costs to set-up a trailer with Electric bracks!

Say i could get a older trailer with overrides how much will it cost and what are the parts i need to set up electric brakes!

At the moment i hire a trailer from a local servo and is really cheap however it is always a concern to me what the person did to it before i hired it!

Adrian
If you build a new trailer from scratch like i did,you would be up around the $2500 mark,but if you could find a trailer in good condition and just swapped the brakes over you should get out of it for any where between $500 to $800 depend on if you buy new axles also...

Jamie

POS wrote:The unit for the Towing Vehicle sounds cheap enough, but does anyone know how much it costs to set-up a trailer with Electric bracks!

Say i could get a older trailer with overrides how much will it cost and what are the parts i need to set up electric brakes!

At the moment i hire a trailer from a local servo and is really cheap however it is always a concern to me what the person did to it before i hired it!

rang up about electric trailer breaks today for the camper, and was quoted $150 a side for the backing plate only, then you need to get the drums ontop of that, so all up tandem trailer, your looking at about $600 just for backing plates.

BACKING PLATES INCLUDE:- backing plate, shoes, magnetic coils,

Shawn

With Electric brakes you can also fit the controller to the trailer and run it from your brake light wire. Yes you have to get out and adjust it on the trailer but it means you can tow it with any car.

I have a mate who's trailer is setup like this and it tow's 2 tonne loads plus just fine. Even stops with them on ..

Fourwheelin wrote:
You should really have a heavier trailer with both axles fitted with electric brakes and also fitted with a break away brake sytem,This inturn ends up costing a shiate load of cash and also means your trailer rego go's through the roof,it also means you have to take your trailer to an heavy vehicle inspection station every year for rego..
Hope i did'nt scare you to much...

My mother has a 4 horse gooseneck float that weights over 4t with the 4 horses and gear on it, it has 3 axles, has 4 breaking wheels, has electric breaking system and brake away system, it only needs a normal roadworthy and has been like that since 1985. I don`t know what the rego cost is.

Having towed large 30kw gensets into the bush before, electric brakes are the only way to go, its a nightmare with the std breaks esp if your going down big hills etc th trailer likes to break itself and then starts boucing round etc, can be very scarey, had it happen to me on the big hill along the putty rd one day. had to do the decent at 10km hr

With electronic brakes, u can do safer hillstarts by locking up the trailer brakes, rather than relying on your handbrake and clutch. Same way semis etc use their pneumatic trailer brakes.

We have electronic brakes on our VX, and having been in different cars towing with electronic and hydraulic, electronic felt a bit more reliable.

I used the electric brakes that were enganged by the brake wireing (apprently the system that was used on the trailer I was pulling had some sort of gyroscope in it so the controller would put the brakes on harder if the vehicle was braking hard)
I was towning a house full of "stuff" in an 8 by 6 fully boxed in trailer from Cairns to Melbourne .. the combined mass of the GU and Trailer was around 5900Kg ... still pulled up quite Ok .. fortunately didnt have to try any emergancy stops.

That particlar system cost the owner of the trailer and stuff being towed about $350 to $400 fitted from memory ... I refused to pull it that far with the dodgey old hydraulic setup

So what about exhaust brakes as well as eletric brakes would that be good or a waste of money

paint it purple and call it a caravan

I had a car trailer with over ride discs ( they were good ) it weighed 800kg to heavy with checker plate floor etc sold for nearly $3000. my next trailer will have no floor etc electric breaks , drop axels and im hopeing between 300 and 400kg kerb weight .

Guts wrote:

Fourwheelin wrote:
You should really have a heavier trailer with both axles fitted with electric brakes and also fitted with a break away brake sytem,This inturn ends up costing a shiate load of cash and also means your trailer rego go's through the roof,it also means you have to take your trailer to an heavy vehicle inspection station every year for rego..
Hope i did'nt scare you to much...

My mother has a 4 horse gooseneck float that weights over 4t with the 4 horses and gear on it, it has 3 axles, has 4 breaking wheels, has electric breaking system and brake away system, it only needs a normal roadworthy and has been like that since 1985. I don`t know what the rego cost is.

Guts
I'm not sure either,i'm just going off the RTA book and also the trailer building company that are accross the road from me....

Jamie

Unless it has changed in the last few years she only has to get a normal roadworthy for it

The only reason i found out about it was i was going to have brakes on both axles and a break away system,just for the weight factor,and also it is illegal to tow anything over 2tonne total mass without it..
Until i found out the cost involved...

Jamie

As i am in the engineering trade and the manufacture trailers, the rules state that a trailer with duel axels of 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inch in dia, both mechanicaly braked (preferably disk) takes the carrying cap to 2500kg. But who apart from the boys with F250's etc, who has a vehicle that could tow a trailer with a aggregate mas of say 3000kg-3500kg! Pretty certain, but if need be i can post details tomorrow after work.