towing

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 8:38 pm

what weight trailer can a dexta pull on the road?
what is the lift capacity of the hydraulic link arms?

many thanks

GERRY · Post by **GERRY** » Sat Oct 02, 2010 10:50 pm

Hi ithink what trailer you can pull depends on tractor & trailer, i have an old type wooden trailer , its a single axel, and when fully loaded ithink it should be 3 to 4 ton, my dexta pulls it with no bother on the road , but i suppose the tractor will let you know if she is under powered or not for what ever load she is pulling, the same with lift if the front wheels come off the ground its probley to heavy,

Dunggatherer · Post by **Dunggatherer** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 7:45 am

Somewhere in the paperwork i think i read you can pull up to 6 tons,but please be careful,at some point you want to slow down too,and i don't know if the brakes are really up to this.

The lift capacity i think was specified as 1250 pounds.
In the 3-point hitch that is.

Bensdexta · Post by **Bensdexta** » Sun Oct 03, 2010 10:34 am

Dunggatherer wrote:Somewhere in the paperwork i think i read you can pull up to 6 tons,but please be careful,at some point you want to slow down too,and i don't know if the brakes are really up to this.

Is with a braked or unbraked trailer? The law may have changed since our handbooks were written?

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 4:44 pm

breaking was my main concern for a trailer. we have some nice steep hills here in derbyshire (often ending with a T junction on to a main road) most im likely to pull would be 3.5ton braked.

thanks for the help

Bensdexta · Post by **Bensdexta** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 9:51 pm

john.n wrote:..most im likely to pull would be 3.5ton braked

How do the brakes on your trailer operate? Overun brakes, or something more sophisticated?

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Mon Oct 04, 2010 10:34 pm

overrun brakes on a ball hitch trailer. what other systems can be used on a dexta? can hydraulic brakes be fitted?

JC · Post by JC » Tue Oct 05, 2010 6:11 am

Are over run brakes the same as the ones we call surge brakes over here. Does it have a master cylinder on the hitch?

I would be fairly easy to pull a trailer with electric brakes. All that you would need is a stop-light switch and an electric brake controller on your Dexta.

Bensdexta · Post by **Bensdexta** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 12:05 pm

JC wrote:Are over run brakes the same as the ones we call surge brakes over here. Does it have a master cylinder on the hitch?

Yes sounds like the same idea. The usual arrangement over here on trailers up to a few tonnes is a sliding mechanism in the trailer hitch that presses on a lever when the trailer tries to overrun the towing vehicle, that operates cables to apply the brakes. No hydraulics other than a damper in the hitch. Reasonably effective provided everything is free and sliding.

Your electric brakes sound like an electric version of above. Presumably there is a sensor in the hitch that measures movement or compression to feed the brake controller?

Or does it operate on an 'ON' / 'OFF' principle, eg from a brake light switch?

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:21 pm

electric brakes sound like they could be really effective have never seen a trailer fitted with them. only problem i can see is that the handbrake makes the pedals drop (if the switch is fitted here) when applied that might cause the battery to go flat when the engine is not running? i was going to fit a brake light switch wired for the trailer socket or if i could fit dual filament bulbs i would use wire them into the side lights as well, just dont want to addd extra light to spoil the look of the tractor.

many thanks

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Tue Oct 05, 2010 7:57 pm

i do some work for a contractor, one of his customers uses a leyland silage carting and he puts his tipping pipe on to the hydraulic brake system, it pulls him up!! bit dodgy following him till he gets the feel for it though

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 4:37 pm

not thought of that! sounds like an emergency brake.

dexta4 i see you are in derbyshire. have you heard about the forming of the belper vintage group?

dexta4 · Post by **dexta4** » Wed Oct 06, 2010 10:14 pm

not heard of that, i know few chaps in belper i'll ask them

JC · Post by JC » Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:16 am

A wire from the brake light switch supplies power to the brake controller when you push the brake pedal. A pendulum inside the controller senses the inertia of the slowing tow vehicle and applies more or less voltage to the brakes. If the vehicle isn't moving, there would be no inertia to send voltage to the brakes, so it shouldn't drain the battery if it's parked with the brake pedals locked. You could wire it through the key switch to be sure. It doesn't sound like electric brakes are as common over there as they are here, so maybe its not as good an idea as I thought.

Tubal Cain · Post by **Tubal Cain** » Thu Oct 07, 2010 8:06 am

Details of electric brakes can be found here

http://www.maybricks.co.uk/trailer-brakes.html

I have also read that under new legislation to be introduced shortly overun brakes will only be legal on centre axle trailers such as caravans or car trailers.

To tow 3.5 ton safely under the conditions described the ideal system would be to have a coupled brake system as fitted to some Landrovers which legally allows them to tow up up to 4 tons, which would be similar to that fitted to modern tractors.

Gerald

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Wed Nov 03, 2010 6:16 pm

i have been looking into buying all the bits for towing, unfortunatly i need a drawbar, so i was going to buy some steel to make one up. other problem i have come accross is the pins with a ball hitch on the end. the highest rated one i could find was 2500Kg and i will be pulling upto 3500Kg.

any help welcomed.

Many thanks.

Bensdexta · Post by **Bensdexta** » Wed Nov 03, 2010 7:57 pm

john.n wrote:i have been looking into buying all the bits for towing, unfortunatly i need a drawbar, so i was going to buy some steel to make one up. other problem i have come accross is the pins with a ball hitch on the end. the highest rated one i could find was 2500Kg and i will be pulling upto 3500Kg.

Do you have to use a ball hitch? Why not a pintle ring - more usual on agricultural trailers?

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:08 pm

we already have the trailers, one has a ring hitch and the rest ball hitch. often moving horse trailers around the yard aswell. but my main concern is a draw bar at the moment.

YorkshireDextaMan · Post by **YorkshireDextaMan** » Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:10 pm

john.n wrote:i have been looking into buying all the bits for towing, unfortunatly i need a drawbar, so i was going to buy some steel to make one up. other problem i have come accross is the pins with a ball hitch on the end. the highest rated one i could find was 2500Kg and i will be pulling upto 3500Kg.

any help welcomed.

Many thanks.

What's also worth remembering is the max towing weight or (max weight been towed) should also include the trailer. I would not feel safe towing 3and a half tonne's behind my Dexta without a braked trailer, she may pull it OK but i doubt the tractor brakes would be safe. much better with a braked trailer and a 50mm ball

john.n · Post by **john.n** » Wed Nov 03, 2010 8:17 pm

all trailers i have access to at the moment are braked. i would not fancy pulling 3.5 tonnes unbraked behind a dexta either. accident waiting to happen. what do people think to making up a drawbar from a steel bar 25x50x1000mm? i dont really want to pay £100+ for a steel bar

many thanks