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Big Tex 7x16 14K Trailer - Newbie Questions

Junkyard

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
3,621
Location
Claremore, OK
Occupation
Field Mechanic
Adjusting them is just like drum brakes on a car or truck. Possibly more frustrating as they tend to sit without use longer and the adjusters give you fits. Or the suspension is in the way….. a search on YouTube should yield the info you need.

As far as backing up most tongues I’ve seen have some sort of damper so when you backup easy it prevents brake application. I’ve also seen some old school surge brake trailers with a pin to lock it. In all the years I’ve used them hauling skid steers and other machinery I’ve never had an issue with that.
 

PeterG

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
Messages
442
Location
Seattle WA, United States
Occupation
Landscape Construction, General Contractor
Also, no one steals an old yellow tilt trailer with a poorly done black rattle can spray paint job. That made it real easy to go ahead and weld on more D-rings (you can never have too many), and a winch receiver hitch. One nice thing about my old Hertz trailer (the brand is Best Trailers), is it came with no wood deck boards. It's steel with some type of composite boards. I never worry about it getting scratched. That being said, I still use a pintle lock.
 

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WaterDoc

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Joined
Nov 2, 2010
Messages
126
Location
Toronto
Occupation
Complete water system disinfection services
Surge brakes are terrible. Better hope you never want to back up a hill with the trailer loaded.

Once you get some proper electric brakes on that trailer and adjust accordingly to trailer load, you'll eliminate 90% of the banging from the pintle hitch.

I'll gladly trade a bit of noise for the comfort of knowing my trailer is not going anywhere. Every trailer I have has a lunette on the front of it. Even my fishing boat trailer.
 

MG84

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2023
Messages
643
Location
Virginia
I agree with others, keep the pintle hitch setup and get the proper pintle for your truck. The slop you are experiencing is largely from the ball/pintle combo you are using. Get the hitch PeterG suggested and 90% of that will go away. In my opinion (and it may be an unpopular one), if you need a weight distributing or anti-sway hitch setup on an equipment trailer you don’t have a big enough truck in front of it.
 

PeterG

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2015
Messages
442
Location
Seattle WA, United States
Occupation
Landscape Construction, General Contractor
Make sure your truck hitch receiver is something bolted to the frame and rated class 4 or 5, and not something coming out of the bumper.

I have not had any problems backing up my surge brake trailer or boat as long as the trailer plug is connected to the truck and working.
 

RTSmith

Senior Member
Joined
Oct 23, 2008
Messages
420
Location
Middle Tenn.
Occupation
Amateur demolition & dirt pusher
Make sure your truck hitch receiver is something bolted to the frame and rated class 4 or 5, and not something coming out of the bumper.

I have not had any problems backing up my surge brake trailer or boat as long as the trailer plug is connected to the truck and working.
My boat has a solenoid in the brake line that closes when the truck's reverse lights come on. Otherwise, there's no backing up without scrubbing something. But- it is disc, not drum. Just FWIW.
 
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