Trailer Brake Controller

[wavery]

Yep!!!!!! Them's electric brakes........

 

The 1st thing that I would want to do is get rid of those scotch-lock wire connectors. That's the most common cause of loss of brakes on these systems. I would solder those wires and put good quality heat shrink on them.

 

That sure looks like a light "C" channel frame on that trailer....... 7,000# GVWR???????????

2, 3500# axles doesn't necessarily a 7,000# GVWR make.

 

 

The paperwork I have says 7,000 GVWR capable of carrying 5,500 lbs since the trailer weighs +/- 1500 lbs.

 

It may be rated at 7K# by the manufacturer...... I'm just saying, I am a little surprised to see that light of a "C" channel tongue frame on a trailer rated at 7K#. I would have thought that they would have used a closed box frame. They probably saved $30 in the construction.

 

The problem with a "C" channel frame is that it is not a good idea to use a WDH (weight distribution hitch) on those things because the force on the trailer tongue can bend the tongue.. That means that you should use a 3/4 ton or 1-ton truck with little to no load in the bed of the truck and a Class V hitch, when towing that trailer fully loaded.

 

Fully loaded, you will have over 700# of tongue weight (to avoid swaying). 700# of tongue weight will remove a lot of weight from the front axle of your truck. A 3/4 ton, long bed, truck may be able to deal with that but your 1/2 ton short bed will lose a lot of braking/steering control unless you are able to use a WDH.

 

My trailer has 485# of tongue weight and that's about all I can handle without using a WDH and I have a long bed truck. Here is a pic of the frame on my trailer. It's a 6" box frame and it's only rated at 4200#. That's mainly because of the single axle but without this box frame, I could not use a WDH.