Saftey cables on towed vehicle

ChuckMC8 · November 16, 2006, 03:22:53 PM

Does the towed vehicle have to have brakes that apply when the coach brakes apply? Is there a law regarding weight of the toad that requires auxillary brakes if the toad exceeds a certain weight? If so, what is that weight? Does it vary state to state?

jaybe_2 · November 16, 2006, 04:03:50 PM

N.H. is 3000 lbs but I think most states are between 2500 and 3500 lbs. Yes the brakes must apply when the coach brakes are applied. I dont think canada will even let you in the country unless the toad has brakes. Most states dont enforce the trailor brake laws on toads but the big what if is god forbid you get in an accedent. What was not your fault could become your fault because you did not have the correct safty equipment. That is a law suit waiting to happen!!!

gumpy · November 16, 2006, 04:20:36 PM

Well, when we went through Canada a last year, they did't seem to care. They were just unhappy that I didn't have my birth certificates out BEFORE I got to the window, so they "punished" me by pulling me over and doing a 2 minute inspection of the interior of the coach.

And, is there any documented case anywhere where someone got in an accident without having brakes on the toad and then ended up in a lawsuit because of it?

I think it's true that most states require brakes if the toad is over a certain weight. I'm not aware of any of them enforcing it.

gumpy · November 16, 2006, 04:29:12 PM

Quote from: jaybe_2 on November 16, 2006, 02:31:19 PM
Look at how Roadmaser and Blue Ox do it, they have been doing it for a long time and they do it right.

Well, maybe... unless it's the Blue Ox base plate that breaks! I think there was a fundamental design flaw in their base plate, though. They've also modified their installation instructions since that happened. And, they took care of it with just a little persuasion.

DrivingMissLazy · November 16, 2006, 04:32:20 PM

My belief is that few, if any, states requires brakes on a toad. All require brakes on trailers over a certain weight that varies from state to state.
It has been posted by knowledgeable people that Canada does require brakes on toads.
Richard

jaybe_2 · November 16, 2006, 04:55:04 PM

I NH atleast, the toad falls under trailor laws. I think this is the case in most states. I have also heard that california is starting to push the brake thing. I try to stay up on these things, its what I do for a living.

DrivingMissLazy · November 16, 2006, 04:57:19 PM

Quote from: jaybe_2 on November 16, 2006, 04:55:04 PM
I NH atleast, the toad falls under trailor laws. I think this is the case in most states. I have also heard that california is starting to push the brake thing. I try to stay up on these things, its what I do for a living.

I am sure things are changing all over the country. Several years ago, when I lived in California, brakes were not required on toads, but were very strict on trailers.
Richard

kyle4501 · November 17, 2006, 10:50:23 AM

I don't think the parking brake will lock up the wheels as easily as you might think at 70 mph (I have been wrong before

).

Also it has been my experience that when the rear locks up & passes the front, its because the front was doing more stopping & the rear was uncontrolled which allowed the resultant thrust vector to spin the car around. Therefore, if the front brakes are NOT applied, locking up the rear wheels shouldn't cause a spin-out.

No I'm not gonna test this theory with my stuff.

If the toad breaks away, ruined rear tires are the least of my worries.

SC doesn't require chains. But it is illegal for the towed velicle to become unattached. It is considered attached if the chains or cables are connected, even if the hitch is broken.

DrivingMissLazy · November 17, 2006, 11:00:48 AM

Quote from: kyle4501 on November 17, 2006, 10:50:23 AM
I don't think the parking break will lock up the wheels as easily as you might think at 70 mph (I have been wrong before ).

Also it has been my experience that when the rear locks up & passes the front, its because the front was doing more stopping & the rear was uncontrolled which allowed the resultant thrust vector to spin the car around. Therefore, if the front brakes are NOT applied, locking up the rear wheels shouldn't cause a spin-out.

No I'm not gonna test this theory with my stuff.

If the toad breaks away, ruined rear tires are the least of my worries.

SC doesn't require chains. But it is illegal for the towed vehicle to become unattached. It is considered attached if the chains or cables are connected, even if the hitch is broken.

Kyle, I agree with you. Someone must have invented some new physics law that would cause a vehicle with locked up rear wheels to spin around and the locked wheels be in front of the vehicle when it was skidding.
I have locked up the rear wheel on lots of motorcycles and bicycles and they never spun around. Whole different matter if you accidentally locked up the front wheel.
BTW, I did lock up the rear wheels on my Model T a few times and it never spun around. It has no front brakes at all.
Richard

jaybe_2 · November 17, 2006, 02:11:11 PM

I have never tried the locking up the rear tire thing. BUT I have seen it done. This is something they teach in safty driving course I took. If you hold the steering wheel straight and lock up the rear tires the car will come around sideways. I have a hard time getting my head around it also and if I had not seen it I would not believe it either. Try it with a match box car this is how demonstrated it to us first then they did it with a rear car. If you lock up just the front brake on a car it goes in a straight line in the direction it was heading.

RJ · November 17, 2006, 04:33:37 PM

"Ain't nobody ever heard of a bootlegger turn?"

DrivingMissLazy · November 17, 2006, 05:27:34 PM

How do you do it Russ? I am confused now. Do you lock up the rears and then turn the front wheels or what?
Richard

bobofthenorth · November 17, 2006, 05:56:56 PM

The back wheels will pass the front when locked up??

Try it for yourself. Hammer the parking brake and see what happens. If you put it in a turn first then the back wheels will pass the front but if you are straight when you start you'll be straight when you stop

gumpy · November 18, 2006, 03:13:15 PM

It may be true if someone is holding the steering wheel, but with nobody inside, I doubt you can predict what the front will do when the rear locks and your coefficient of friction drops below that of the fronts.

This is how I learned to handle a car on ice. My first car had a vacuum release on the parking brake so it would release when put into gear, so you couldn't forget to release it. I took advantage of that system to play. Brake on, skid a bit, see how far out of control you could get the car without really losing control. Let up on the brake pedal, and the vacuum release let it go and the rear wheels started turning again. Was great fun till one day when the vacuum release didn't!

bobofthenorth · November 18, 2006, 04:34:36 PM

Sorry to be argumentative but - unless the steering is seriously out of alignment - its real easy to predict what it will do with any amount of braking only on the rear wheels. It will go straight.

The rear wheels act like the tail on a kite in this situation. In the real world it will probably follow the crown of the road off to one side or the other. But go into a skid where the back end passes the front? Not very likely IMHO. The front end is not braking - rolling resistance is still lower than the coefficient of friction on a sliding wheel.