Posted By: feets
Rental trailer tried to kill me! - 01/18/20 05:24 PM
Well, the tug tried to kill me first but when that failed the trailer took over.
I had to rent an bedover trailer to deliver the tug and wheel dolly to the client in San Antonio. We're looking at a load right at 10,000 lbs and the trailer has a capacity of 10,340 lbs for a max GVW of 14,000 lbs. It was a maximum (but allowable) load for this trailer. The unit I picked up looked brand new. The candy canes under the spare tire told me it had been used or a Christmas parade but there were no other signs of use. It passed my visual inspection and made the pull home without issue.
To get the tug and dolly on the trailer with proper balance I had to put the dolly up first then back the tug on so the massive ballast weights would be just forward of center. Knowing that the 8' ramps were longer than the tug wheelbase it was a sure thing that the trailer was going to drop in the back and snatch the back of my truck into the air. To avoid this, I slid some 6 ton jack stands under the rear of the trailer. Winching the tow dolly up there was a bit frustrating but it worked.
Backing the tug up was kinda scary due to the angle involved. It was like sitting in the front car of a roller coaster looking down the big hill and waiting for the thing to take off. I got most of the way up the ramps when the front draw bar started to lightly drag the asphalt. Thinking there wasn't much more to go I wasn't too concerned. When the drag got heavier I stopped the tug. Discretion being the better part of valor, I stopped and drove back down the ramps. Or tried to.
The tug moved forward a few inches in stopped. Knowing it was dragging, I gave it light throttle. That was rewarded with horrible screeching sounds and the tug dropping lower without moving forward. That's when I shut it down, hit the parking brake, and jumped.
That 2-3/4" diameter front draw bar had dug into the street about 3/4" deep. Finding too much resistance to go forward, the tug had pushed the truck and trailer with the brakes set. The tug was now securely on the ramps with the jack stands dug in and leaning precariously, If the stands fell, the rear of the trailer would drop and the back of my truck would head for the sky.
I broke out an ancient 25 ton air over hydraulic jack and used it to step each side of the trailer down onto jack stands set a bit lower. I also put boards behind the front tires of the tug to get them some elevation for the next attempt. The steep angle led to a bit of wheel slip on the ramps but the tug climbed up there the second time using just a teeny bit of throttle.
With everything loaded and secure, I took it for a spin around the neighborhood to see how the truck liked it. There's a really steep hill close to home so I went down it, hitting the brakes half way. The surge brakes on the trailer (they had no electrics for rent
) felt a bit soft but okay.
I hit the road at 5 AM the following morning. There was a heavy fog with drizzle and the streets were slick. Driving with a bit of caution I made it just south of Fort Worth when I had to stop at a red light. The rig wasn't stopping. Pressing harder on the brakes locked the front tires on the truck and I slid into the intersection just behind the two cars that scooted out of the way. Thinking that the front tires sliding on a slick street didn't provide enough inertia to fully apply the trailer brakes, I chalked that up to a slick road and went on with a bit more caution.
An hour later I was driving into Glen Rose in the same weather conditions. A Ram passed me on the left. As he got a length ahead of me three deer blasted across the street. We both hammered the brakes. The Ram clipped a doe in the head with the corner of his bumper. It flipped the deer into the side of his truck and then into my lane. Again, my front tires locked up and I slid past the Ram as the deer went under the trailer.
We both stopped at a gas station that was less than 1/4 mile ahead. Not finding any damage to the vehicles, we turned our attention to the trailer. The surge brake tongue was fully collapsed while parked. The fluid was a bit low in the master but there were no other signs of trouble. I touched the outer diameter of the brake drums and they were stone cold. Zero brakes.
Knowing that I had a couple hundred miles of two lane blacktops in the Texas hill country ahead of me, I held up at the station for an hour waiting for the trailer shop to open. When I called and spoke with the manager I got little more than a "good luck" and "be safe". Not finding any shops that could help in Glen Rose I could either call off the trip or go ahead. Going back meant 100+ miles and traversing the width of the DFW metroplex at morning rush hour. Going on meant 200 miles of fairly scarce population and a trailer shop near the destination.
I went on.
Stopping in the next little town of Hico I found a shop that would help. The old man and I lifted each trailer wheel and found zero drum brake drag. We set each brake, tightened a loose wheel bearing, and topped off the fluid.
That helped a wee bit but the trailer brakes still weren't doing that much.
As I went on through the long steep hills I didn't trust the brakes enough to let the truck run down hills so many of the climbs slowed me to 40 mph.
Once I got into the San Antonio area traffic, construction, and continual drizzle just made a mess out of things. I kept speeds down to 25 mph with LONG following distances. Calling my contact again (I kept him updated) I requested a roll back tow truck to off load the tug because there was no way I was going to attempt those steep ramps in the rain.
I got to the client's store at 3:15. That 5 hour drive had taken me more than 10 hours. By the time we offloaded the equipment and did the presentation it was past business hours. I had to spend the night (which I wasn't prepared for) and hit the trailer shop in the morning.
Arriving as they were unlocking the doors, the Big Tex Trailers employees were willing to help. We inspected the trailer and found the tongue was fully collapsed and applying maximum brake effort. Lifting the trailer with a forklift, we found the wheels spun freely. I told them what we had done to the trailer and they told me I had used the wrong fluid. When I told them the manager at the other location didn't tell me which fluid to use they gave him a call. The renting manager told me to leave the empty trailer at that location. He ended up refunding the cost of the rental.
It was an ugly ride that stressed me more than I thought but the outcome was the best I could hope for.
I really wish they rented trailers with electric brakes. That would have made this one time only deal so much better.
I had to rent an bedover trailer to deliver the tug and wheel dolly to the client in San Antonio. We're looking at a load right at 10,000 lbs and the trailer has a capacity of 10,340 lbs for a max GVW of 14,000 lbs. It was a maximum (but allowable) load for this trailer. The unit I picked up looked brand new. The candy canes under the spare tire told me it had been used or a Christmas parade but there were no other signs of use. It passed my visual inspection and made the pull home without issue.
To get the tug and dolly on the trailer with proper balance I had to put the dolly up first then back the tug on so the massive ballast weights would be just forward of center. Knowing that the 8' ramps were longer than the tug wheelbase it was a sure thing that the trailer was going to drop in the back and snatch the back of my truck into the air. To avoid this, I slid some 6 ton jack stands under the rear of the trailer. Winching the tow dolly up there was a bit frustrating but it worked.
Backing the tug up was kinda scary due to the angle involved. It was like sitting in the front car of a roller coaster looking down the big hill and waiting for the thing to take off. I got most of the way up the ramps when the front draw bar started to lightly drag the asphalt. Thinking there wasn't much more to go I wasn't too concerned. When the drag got heavier I stopped the tug. Discretion being the better part of valor, I stopped and drove back down the ramps. Or tried to.
The tug moved forward a few inches in stopped. Knowing it was dragging, I gave it light throttle. That was rewarded with horrible screeching sounds and the tug dropping lower without moving forward. That's when I shut it down, hit the parking brake, and jumped.
That 2-3/4" diameter front draw bar had dug into the street about 3/4" deep. Finding too much resistance to go forward, the tug had pushed the truck and trailer with the brakes set. The tug was now securely on the ramps with the jack stands dug in and leaning precariously, If the stands fell, the rear of the trailer would drop and the back of my truck would head for the sky.
I broke out an ancient 25 ton air over hydraulic jack and used it to step each side of the trailer down onto jack stands set a bit lower. I also put boards behind the front tires of the tug to get them some elevation for the next attempt. The steep angle led to a bit of wheel slip on the ramps but the tug climbed up there the second time using just a teeny bit of throttle.
With everything loaded and secure, I took it for a spin around the neighborhood to see how the truck liked it. There's a really steep hill close to home so I went down it, hitting the brakes half way. The surge brakes on the trailer (they had no electrics for rent
) felt a bit soft but okay. I hit the road at 5 AM the following morning. There was a heavy fog with drizzle and the streets were slick. Driving with a bit of caution I made it just south of Fort Worth when I had to stop at a red light. The rig wasn't stopping. Pressing harder on the brakes locked the front tires on the truck and I slid into the intersection just behind the two cars that scooted out of the way. Thinking that the front tires sliding on a slick street didn't provide enough inertia to fully apply the trailer brakes, I chalked that up to a slick road and went on with a bit more caution.
An hour later I was driving into Glen Rose in the same weather conditions. A Ram passed me on the left. As he got a length ahead of me three deer blasted across the street. We both hammered the brakes. The Ram clipped a doe in the head with the corner of his bumper. It flipped the deer into the side of his truck and then into my lane. Again, my front tires locked up and I slid past the Ram as the deer went under the trailer.
We both stopped at a gas station that was less than 1/4 mile ahead. Not finding any damage to the vehicles, we turned our attention to the trailer. The surge brake tongue was fully collapsed while parked. The fluid was a bit low in the master but there were no other signs of trouble. I touched the outer diameter of the brake drums and they were stone cold. Zero brakes.
Knowing that I had a couple hundred miles of two lane blacktops in the Texas hill country ahead of me, I held up at the station for an hour waiting for the trailer shop to open. When I called and spoke with the manager I got little more than a "good luck" and "be safe". Not finding any shops that could help in Glen Rose I could either call off the trip or go ahead. Going back meant 100+ miles and traversing the width of the DFW metroplex at morning rush hour. Going on meant 200 miles of fairly scarce population and a trailer shop near the destination.
I went on.
Stopping in the next little town of Hico I found a shop that would help. The old man and I lifted each trailer wheel and found zero drum brake drag. We set each brake, tightened a loose wheel bearing, and topped off the fluid.
That helped a wee bit but the trailer brakes still weren't doing that much.
As I went on through the long steep hills I didn't trust the brakes enough to let the truck run down hills so many of the climbs slowed me to 40 mph.
Once I got into the San Antonio area traffic, construction, and continual drizzle just made a mess out of things. I kept speeds down to 25 mph with LONG following distances. Calling my contact again (I kept him updated) I requested a roll back tow truck to off load the tug because there was no way I was going to attempt those steep ramps in the rain.
I got to the client's store at 3:15. That 5 hour drive had taken me more than 10 hours. By the time we offloaded the equipment and did the presentation it was past business hours. I had to spend the night (which I wasn't prepared for) and hit the trailer shop in the morning.
Arriving as they were unlocking the doors, the Big Tex Trailers employees were willing to help. We inspected the trailer and found the tongue was fully collapsed and applying maximum brake effort. Lifting the trailer with a forklift, we found the wheels spun freely. I told them what we had done to the trailer and they told me I had used the wrong fluid. When I told them the manager at the other location didn't tell me which fluid to use they gave him a call. The renting manager told me to leave the empty trailer at that location. He ended up refunding the cost of the rental.
It was an ugly ride that stressed me more than I thought but the outcome was the best I could hope for.
I really wish they rented trailers with electric brakes. That would have made this one time only deal so much better.
