Electric Brakes On Komet Trailer

[Bob Youngblood]

I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks

[[email protected]]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 6:21:22 AM UTC-6, Bob Youngblood wrote:
> I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks

But why change a simple and entirely appropriate device against something complex and in need of fine-tuning (laden vs. empty trailer)? Fix or adjust your surge brakes (Spindelberger website has details) and you'll be fine. Nobody in Europe has electric brakes on glider trailers.

[Richard Pfiffner[_2_]]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 4:21:22 AM UTC-8, Bob Youngblood wrote:
> I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks

Bob

I converted my cobra to Dexter Axle Torflex with electric brakes. I measured the axle bolt holes spacing, tire bolt scheme and distance from wheel to wheel. Purchased online from a trailer company they welded the brackets to fit. The easiest way is to take to a trailer dealer that carries Dexter Axles and have them replace the axle.
It was about 15 years ago as I remember $450 included shipping from Florida to CA. Call if you have questions.

Richard
www.craggyaero.com

[Clay[_5_]]

What is your tow vehicle? You will need to wire in a trailer brake controller, easier to do on some vehicles than others.

[BobW]

On 2/16/2019 9:50 AM, Clay wrote:
> What is your tow vehicle? You will need to wire in a trailer brake
> controller, easier to do on some vehicles than others.

Howziss for covering all the bases?

"What Herb K., Richard P., and Clay said!" *and* consider - if your rig is
"nice-n-light" and your "geographical situation/traffic warrants"... simply
going the (easy-peasy) Torflex route while leaving the rig brakeless. (Gasp!)

Been there/done that on a 15-meter glass ship/trailer combo that - for decades
- I towed w. a 2,600 lb, unboosted/drum-braked, vehicle, throughout the high
plains and intermountain west...with nary a (negatively) exciting moment
behind the wheel of that particular combo. That was after some years of towing
the same rig w. an early version of "a Torflex-like" welded-spring, brakeless,
axle whose spring-attach-welds broke on both sides of the axle.

I've also installed an electric brake controller on wifey's Tacoma (easy
enough)...but heard "some Fords" are bears in that particular department.

YMMV!

Bob W.

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[Karl Kunz[_2_]]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 6:32:07 AM UTC-8, wrote:
> On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 6:21:22 AM UTC-6, Bob Youngblood wrote:
> > I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks
>
> But why change a simple and entirely appropriate device against something complex and in need of fine-tuning (laden vs. empty trailer)? Fix or adjust your surge brakes (Spindelberger website has details) and you'll be fine. Nobody in Europe has electric brakes on glider trailers.

The problem with keeping the Komet system is the availability of parts in the U.S. My brake system has been inop since I've owned the trailer and as BobW have found no issues even with heavy braking. I have thought of converting to the more modern axle-less system and electric brakes.

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

BobW wrote on 2/16/2019 9:24 AM:
> On 2/16/2019 9:50 AM, Clay wrote:
>> What is your tow vehicle? You will need to wire in a trailer brake
>> controller, easier to do on some vehicles than others.
>
> Howziss for covering all the bases?
>
> "What Herb K., Richard P., and Clay said!" *and* consider - if your rig is
> "nice-n-light" and your "geographical situation/traffic warrants"... simply going
> the (easy-peasy) Torflex route while leaving the rig brakeless. (Gasp!)
>
> Been there/done that on a 15-meter glass ship/trailer combo that - for decades - I
> towed w. a 2,600 lb, unboosted/drum-braked, vehicle, throughout the high plains
> and intermountain west...with nary a (negatively) exciting moment behind the wheel
> of that particular combo. That was after some years of towing the same rig w. an
> early version of "a Torflex-like" welded-spring, brakeless, axle whose
> spring-attach-welds broke on both sides of the axle.
>
> I've also installed an electric brake controller on wifey's Tacoma (easy
> enough)...but heard "some Fords" are bears in that particular department.

What do you use for a parking brake, if the trailer is brakeless?

[AS]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 2:01:51 PM UTC-5, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> BobW wrote on 2/16/2019 9:24 AM:
> > On 2/16/2019 9:50 AM, Clay wrote:
> >> What is your tow vehicle? You will need to wire in a trailer brake
> >> controller, easier to do on some vehicles than others.
> >
> > Howziss for covering all the bases?
> >
> > "What Herb K., Richard P., and Clay said!" *and* consider - if your rig is
> > "nice-n-light" and your "geographical situation/traffic warrants"... simply going
> > the (easy-peasy) Torflex route while leaving the rig brakeless. (Gasp!)
> >
> > Been there/done that on a 15-meter glass ship/trailer combo that - for decades - I
> > towed w. a 2,600 lb, unboosted/drum-braked, vehicle, throughout the high plains
> > and intermountain west...with nary a (negatively) exciting moment behind the wheel
> > of that particular combo. That was after some years of towing the same rig w. an
> > early version of "a Torflex-like" welded-spring, brakeless, axle whose
> > spring-attach-welds broke on both sides of the axle.
> >
> > I've also installed an electric brake controller on wifey's Tacoma (easy
> > enough)...but heard "some Fords" are bears in that particular department.
>
> What do you use for a parking brake, if the trailer is brakeless?

Chocks....

Uli
'AS'

[BobW]

On 2/16/2019 12:05 PM, AS wrote:
> On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 2:01:51 PM UTC-5, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>> BobW wrote on 2/16/2019 9:24 AM:
>>> On 2/16/2019 9:50 AM, Clay wrote:
>>>> What is your tow vehicle? You will need to wire in a trailer brake
>>>> controller, easier to do on some vehicles than others.
>>>
>>> Howziss for covering all the bases?
>>>
>>> "What Herb K., Richard P., and Clay said!" *and* consider - if your rig
>>> is "nice-n-light" and your "geographical situation/traffic warrants"...
>>> simply going the (easy-peasy) Torflex route while leaving the rig
>>> brakeless. (Gasp!)
>>>
>>> Been there/done that on a 15-meter glass ship/trailer combo that - for
>>> decades - I towed w. a 2,600 lb, unboosted/drum-braked, vehicle,
>>> throughout the high plains and intermountain west...with nary a
>>> (negatively) exciting moment behind the wheel of that particular combo.
>>> That was after some years of towing the same rig w. an early version of
>>> "a Torflex-like" welded-spring, brakeless, axle whose
>>> spring-attach-welds broke on both sides of the axle.
>>>
>>> I've also installed an electric brake controller on wifey's Tacoma
>>> (easy enough)...but heard "some Fords" are bears in that particular
>>> department.
>>
>> What do you use for a parking brake, if the trailer is brakeless?
>
> Chocks....
>
> Uli 'AS'

"What Uli said." Also - after my tow vehicle eventually became relegated to
strictly a towing vehicle (purchased a 2nd/econobox commuting vehicle) - I
often simply left it on the tow hitch. Of course, living on flat land and
parking almost exclusively on the same (e.g. airports), even chocks were
(arguably, and "for most practical purposes") unnecessary.

Even at the Boulder (CO) A/P, ~3 miles from the Front Range, as in where
thanks to downsloping winds, it often "blows like stink", and trailer parking
is nose-into-the-winds, those times I left the trailer at the field, if the
parking spot had (say) an axle pounded into the ground, I'd chain the tongue,
but not every slot did, and when in those slots I simply chocked it.

In "real" tornado country, I generally kept it on the vehicle and "kept an eye
on the weather," when no tongue tiedown was handy. In any event the trailer
(still) has no aft-end tie rings.

YMMV.

Bob W.

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[JS[_5_]]

What's so wrong that it must go away?
Chocks are fun when you need to maneuver the trailer on a not-so-level surface. Done that.
Recently saw weather move chocked trailers around in the tiedowns. Several were damaged. One punched a hole in the hangar that stopped it.
Electric brakes with the parking brake option may be fine when the whole package is in tune and present, but useless if towed behind a car without the right controller.
Believe Dexter now has hydraulic brake axles with a parking brake option. Perhaps not as easy to set up as the mechanical ones, but far less vehicle-dependent than electric.
Do AlKo axles for Spindelberger Cobra trailers fit Anschau Komet trailers? Believe Wings and Wheels has some of those in stock.
Otherwise, perhaps it just needs new brake shoes, drums resurfacing or replacing, and set up properly. While you're at it replace the bearings.
Jim

[[email protected]]

AL-KO brakes simple? Hahahaha! Things that can go wrong include allowing the lining to wear too much without adjusting (brake shoes can jam in full on position), rubber seal going into cable housing can leak (cable rusts and gets stiff inside housing, preventing brakes from releasing), damper strut inside tongue can lose force and/or get stiff over time (preventing brakes from releasing), bushings between inner and outer tongue can swell over time (preventing brakes from releasing), water can leak into tongue and corrode inner tube (see "bushings"), and poorly adjusted parking brake breakaway cable can actuate brakes inadvertantly. And if the front tongue mount breaks and the trailer settles on the tongue, the brake rod is actuated and the brakes are full on. I'm sure there are more, but these are just the things I've seen. I check the bearing cap temp every time I stop just in case. Also frequently after a hard stop, which is how I caught the latest brakes-jammed-on problem this summer coming back from TSA. But I left on the trip with a full set of bearings and seals...just in case.

The surge brake on the Komet/Cobra is anything but simple. And definitely not troublefree. And it requires a fair amount of attention and maintenance. And the failure mode often includes burned bearings or worse.

Europeans drive a lot of Mercedes automobiles, too, but many Americans won't put up with the maintenance costs for the privilege of driving such an exquisitely engineered machine. We just want to get in the car and go. It's a car, not a love affair. :) I suspect most European pilots don't trailer the miles we do. And more probably store their trailers out of the weather than here. It's a different environment. Today's running gear is better than it was in the days of Eberle and early Komet trailers but it's still not designed and built for our needs.

That said, I've continued to repair and maintain my 27-year-old Cobra. It's a hassle. It requires almost as many inspections as a car, for far few miles each year. And I worry about what could go wrong every time I head out for a contest. But I figure I'd be trading one set of problems for another if I made a change.

Chip Bearden
JB

[[email protected]]

And remember that most sailplane trailers in Europe are placarded for 80 kph (50 mph) maximum. Unlike the US where 75 mph freeway speeds are the norm.

[Jonathan Foster]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 5:21:22 AM UTC-7, Bob Youngblood wrote:
> I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks

My Komet Trailer was converted to electric brakes before I purchased it. At first, my car didn't have a brake controller and I was really worried that I was missing out on towing nirvana. I installed it and quickly realized that it helped a little but certainly not a life-changing upgrade.

My old vehicle has been replaced this winter and I am thinking that I want a brake controller again to gain that 1% of towing happiness (ok, and safety). But I don't want to bother trying to get it installed in my nice new car. I will probably be giving this product a try: https://www.curtmfg.com/news/curt-launches-first-ever-mobile-bluetooth-brake-control

I hope my experience helps with your decision.

[[email protected]]

I should add that I came back from TSA to the East Coast this summer with the brakes disconnected on my Cobra because they jammed full on during a hard stop. I didn't notice much difference pulling it without the brakes with my full-size Chevy van. I've done the same thing in the past for the same reason. It's better than trashing a set of brake shoes, burning out the bearings, and cracking a drum/hub (trust me....).

I think it says something about the engineering approach when it's less trouble to disable a feature even though it's useful. All the assurances that AL-KO brakes work great if they're maintained and adjusted properly aren't much comfort if something goes wrong so frequently that you're tempted to do without.

Indeed, I've thought about just leaving the brakes disconnected permanently.. But I like the parking brake feature. And the braking force does help slow things down in panic stops (even if I do have to climb out and verify the brakes have released afterward).

I'm sure there's a lot more I could learn about maintaining the AL-KO system. But I'm a mechanical engineer with a lot of time doing brake jobs on my vehicles of all sizes and makes. And I worked at Wagner for many years, one of the leading brake parts suppliers in the U.S., where I was very familiar with our products and interacted frequently with our engineers. And I have the manual for my trailer, which I have consulted frequently, and have also searched blogs and discussion groups here and in Europe for insights.

The AL-KO brake system works great when it's new. But I've found it to be fussy and somewhat difficult to maintain as it ages. I'd love to learn what I'm doing wrong but every time I raise a question here that isn't covered in the manual, I get a handful of different answers. And then I discover that a lot of you have had the same problems I have. We shouldn't need a separate forum just to discuss problems with AL-KO brake systems. :)

Chip Bearden

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

wrote on 2/18/2019 1:08 PM:
> I should add that I came back from TSA to the East Coast this summer with the brakes disconnected on my Cobra because they jammed full on during a hard stop. I didn't notice much difference pulling it without the brakes with my full-size Chevy van. I've done the same thing in the past for the same reason. It's better than trashing a set of brake shoes, burning out the bearings, and cracking a drum/hub (trust me....).
....
> Chip Bearden

I tow my 2500lb Cobra with a 13,500 lb motorhome, so trailer braking isn't much
value. I do like the parking brake when manhandling it around on a sloped ramp,
driveway, etc. Is there anyway to easily disable the braking function for towing,
then restore it quickly when it's time to remove the trailer from the hitch?

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/Guide-to-transponders-in-sailplanes-2014A.pdf

[[email protected]]

I don't think disabling trailer brakes is a good idea. There is stability under heavy braking to consider not just retardation. I have twice, separated by about 25 years, had the situation of having to emergency brake on a motorway, the trailer start to swing out (not just sway) and then snap straight as the trailer brake bit fully. My impression was that if the trailer had been unbraked one or both times it would have jackknifed and possibly caused a multiple vehicle incident. Thankfully I will never know for sure but I would never tow a glider trailer any distance without good brakes.

[[email protected]]

Off the top of my head, if I wanted to disable the surge brake but keep the parking brake, I'd drill a hole thru the tongue assembly for a bolt that would prevent the inner tube from sliding in the outer tube. Then have some rubber inserts to seal the holes if you wanted to remove the bolt to use the surge brake again. You could drill it off center so as not to damage the damper/spring or else drill behind the rear mount for said spring. Or just add a stop of some kind inside the tube to prevent the inner section from compressing under braking loads Early trailers had a lever under the tongue that you could flip up to prevent the tongue from compressing whenever you had to reverse the trailer so that approach might work. I haven't looked at my trailer so there may be a better way. The common thread is that the pparking brake handle actuates the brakes thru the brake rod but independent of the sliding tongue.

Chip Bearden

[[email protected]]

Off the top of my head, if I wanted to disable the surge brake but keep the parking brake, I'd drill a hole thru the tongue assembly for a bolt that would prevent the inner tube from sliding in the outer tube. Then have some rubber inserts to seal the holes if you wanted to remove the bolt to use the surge brake again. You could drill it off center so as not to damage the damper/spring or else drill behind the rear mount for said spring. Or just add a stop of some kind inside the tube to prevent the inner section from compressing under braking loads Early trailers had a lever under the tongue that you could flip up to prevent the tongue from compressing whenever you had to reverse the trailer so that approach might work. I haven't looked at my trailer so there may be a better way. The common thread is that the pparking brake handle actuates the brakes thru the brake rod but independent of the sliding tongue.

Chip Bearden

[[email protected]]

Drilling through the inner sliding tube is a pretty bad idea IMHO because it weakens the tube and adds an unwanted stress riser. A better solution is to make a two-piece collar that can clamp over the tube between the tongue housing and the hitch, thus preventing it from compressing.

[[email protected]]

On my trailer, the inner tongue already has horizontal slots in it to allow the tongue to slide. The outer tongue has a hole in it already where the damper strut is anchored. And the bending stress from the inner tongue is transferred into the outer tongue through the sliding bushings so any weakening/stress concentration would be in the outer tongue, and those seem to break where the bending stress is at a max where it enters the trailer. That said, the two-piece collar would work. If you're willing to disable it semi-permanently, a one-piece collar (a piece of tubing) slid over the inner tongue after the coupler is removed (two bolts) and then reattaching the coupler again would work.

All these ideas beg the question of whether it's a good idea to disable the brake system for over-the-road use. There are many trailers out there now without brakes: basically most that don't have an AL-KO system. We drove brakeless trailers for years before the early Libelles starting showing up with Eberle trailers. I've driven my Cobra without brakes a few times. I prefer not to, though, and probably won't disable my brakes even though I pull with a full-size van. But after crawling under the trailer in East Texas in the heat last summer to disconnect the actuator cables (and then reconnect and readjust them when I got home), I might devise a way to disable them quickly to deal with future problems. The problem this summer, however, was that the tongue jammed in the fully compressed position so I had to disconnect the brake actuating cables to free the brakes.

Chip Bearden

[JS[_5_]]

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 5:58:47 AM UTC-8, wrote:
> Drilling through the inner sliding tube is a pretty bad idea IMHO because it weakens the tube and adds an unwanted stress riser. A better solution is to make a two-piece collar that can clamp over the tube between the tongue housing and the hitch, thus preventing it from compressing.

Yes.
Besides the odd idea of disabling the trailer brakes, drilling holes in the tongue to promote tongue failures we've previously witnessed seems misguided.
It seems to me that failure mostly occurs with a heavily-sprung tow vehicle, long cantilever behind the rear axle, or an overweight trailer tongue. Combinations of those are a gamble.
The max weight rating is on the tongue, most are 100kg.

OP:
One thing I imagine electric brakes would be useful for would be engaging them independently of tow car brakes if there is instability.

Personally find AlKo trailer brakes pretty easy to maintain.
Perhaps change the tongue compression damper more often? If you live where things get rusty, routinely treat the Bowden cables with LPS-3. Grease fittings are there to be used.
Download the trailer manual (Spindelberger have it available, perhaps Anschau)
Jim

[[email protected]]

> Besides the odd idea of disabling the trailer brakes, drilling holes in the tongue to promote tongue failures we've previously witnessed seems misguided.
> It seems to me that failure mostly occurs with a heavily-sprung tow vehicle, long cantilever behind the rear axle, or an overweight trailer tongue. Combinations of those are a gamble.

I agree most of the failures I've heard about involve motorhomes. I check for cracks frequently anyway where the tongue enters the trailer (the big stress point), and remove the dolly wheel each time so it doesn't ground.

The hole in the inner tongue shouldn't have any effect unless bending stress is being transferred from inner to outer tube via the slot in the inner tube and the thru bolt/damper mounting. Another hole in the outer tongue could, but there's already a hole there for the rear damping strut mount as well as fittings welded to it (which are stress risers).

As for whether you would WANT to disable the braking system, I don't know. I've done it twice to get to/from contests where there were other brake problems. I don't intend to otherwise but it would be nice to be able to in a hurry if I had to.

> One thing I imagine electric brakes would be useful for would be engaging them independently of tow car brakes if there is instability.

Yes, I've never used electric brakes but that capability sounds very nice (and have heard it is from others).

> Personally find AlKo trailer brakes pretty easy to maintain.
> Perhaps change the tongue compression damper more often?
Keep in mind that this trailer is 27 years ago. My previous Komet was 13 years old when I sold it and had few problems. Such is progress. :)

I changed the damper strut this summer. Not much different in force or damping than the one I removed.

If you live where things get rusty, routinely treat the Bowden cables with LPS-3. Grease fittings are there to be used.

I grease the fittings in the tongue every year, but those are for the bushings in the outer tongue tube. The cables are more difficult to treat but I plan to do it this spring. Must remove the parking brake cables from the central actuator rod and the backing plates, then spin the cables while pouring/squirting lube into the them.

> Download the trailer manual (Spindelberger have it available, perhaps Anschau)

I'm from the old school. I have the paper manual that came with the trailer! :)

I would love, love, LOVE to hear what I could do to make this system reliable. But each time I've asked for input about a problem, I've gotten different answers. I agree when it's working properly, it's great. Keeping it working properly has been my challenge.

Chip Bearden

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

wrote on 2/18/2019 9:58 PM:
> I don't think disabling trailer brakes is a good idea. There is stability under heavy braking to consider not just retardation. I have twice, separated by about 25 years, had the situation of having to emergency brake on a motorway, the trailer start to swing out (not just sway) and then snap straight as the trailer brake bit fully. My impression was that if the trailer had been unbraked one or both times it would have jackknifed and possibly caused a multiple vehicle incident. Thankfully I will never know for sure but I would never tow a glider trailer any distance without good brakes.

With a 11,500 tow vehicle and 2500lb trailers, brakes are almost irrelevant for
stopping the combination - I did the experiment on an out and return to Alaska.
And now, the tow vehicle is 13,500lbs - it's even steadier.

Stability is not an issue with the huge difference in weight and the long wheel
base (with four tires on the rear) of the motorhome. Also, I tow 60 mph, pass at
70, and "flutter speed" is well over 100 mph. The trailer has so little affect on
the motorhome, I can't feel what it's doing, not even if a tire blows (done that
experiment).

The best argument for brakes in my situation is dampening the swaying if the
trailer came off the ball, but I believe the chains are strong enough to withstand
the whipping that would ensue, and the motorhome is heavy enough to be easily
controlled during the stop.


--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/Guide-to-transponders-in-sailplanes-2014A.pdf

[[email protected]]

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 7:02:43 PM UTC, Eric Greenwell wrote:
> wrote on 2/18/2019 9:58 PM:
> > I don't think disabling trailer brakes is a good idea. There is stability under heavy braking to consider not just retardation. I have twice, separated by about 25 years, had the situation of having to emergency brake on a motorway, the trailer start to swing out (not just sway) and then snap straight as the trailer brake bit fully. My impression was that if the trailer had been unbraked one or both times it would have jackknifed and possibly caused a multiple vehicle incident. Thankfully I will never know for sure but I would never tow a glider trailer any distance without good brakes..
>
> With a 11,500 tow vehicle and 2500lb trailers, brakes are almost irrelevant for
> stopping the combination - I did the experiment on an out and return to Alaska.
> And now, the tow vehicle is 13,500lbs - it's even steadier.
>
> Stability is not an issue with the huge difference in weight and the long wheel
> base (with four tires on the rear) of the motorhome. Also, I tow 60 mph, pass at
> 70, and "flutter speed" is well over 100 mph. The trailer has so little affect on
> the motorhome, I can't feel what it's doing, not even if a tire blows (done that
> experiment).
>
> The best argument for brakes in my situation is dampening the swaying if the
> trailer came off the ball, but I believe the chains are strong enough to withstand
> the whipping that would ensue, and the motorhome is heavy enough to be easily
> controlled during the stop.
>
>
Eric I was quite specifically not referring to ordinary trailer swaying instability. I was referring to the driver having to make an emergency stop while towing and the trailer starting to try to overtake the vehicle. The weight of the towing vehicle would be no help there.

[Eric Greenwell[_4_]]

wrote on 2/19/2019 12:59 PM:
> On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 at 7:02:43 PM UTC, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>> wrote on 2/18/2019 9:58 PM:
>>> I don't think disabling trailer brakes is a good idea. There is stability under heavy braking to consider not just retardation. I have twice, separated by about 25 years, had the situation of having to emergency brake on a motorway, the trailer start to swing out (not just sway) and then snap straight as the trailer brake bit fully. My impression was that if the trailer had been unbraked one or both times it would have jackknifed and possibly caused a multiple vehicle incident. Thankfully I will never know for sure but I would never tow a glider trailer any distance without good brakes..
>>
>> With a 11,500 tow vehicle and 2500lb trailers, brakes are almost irrelevant for
>> stopping the combination - I did the experiment on an out and return to Alaska.
>> And now, the tow vehicle is 13,500lbs - it's even steadier.
>>
>> Stability is not an issue with the huge difference in weight and the long wheel
>> base (with four tires on the rear) of the motorhome. Also, I tow 60 mph, pass at
>> 70, and "flutter speed" is well over 100 mph. The trailer has so little affect on
>> the motorhome, I can't feel what it's doing, not even if a tire blows (done that
>> experiment).
>>
>> The best argument for brakes in my situation is dampening the swaying if the
>> trailer came off the ball, but I believe the chains are strong enough to withstand
>> the whipping that would ensue, and the motorhome is heavy enough to be easily
>> controlled during the stop.
>>
>>
> Eric I was quite specifically not referring to ordinary trailer swaying instability. I was referring to the driver having to make an emergency stop while towing and the trailer starting to try to overtake the vehicle. The weight of the towing vehicle would be no help there.

I misunderstood the situation you were describing. That's never happened to me,
even though I've had unbraked trailers from 4 different mfg over 17 years and 75+
thousands of miles around the North America, so I'm not concerned about it.

Also, I don't understand how the trailer could get very much out of line in my
situation: the more it yaws, the trailer tires will be directing back into line,
and the retarding force will be diminishing. The jackknifing I'm familiar with
involves very slippery pavement (ice or lots water - not the situation for 99% of
my towing), or the tow vehicle being pushed out of control (with 9,000 lbs on the
rear axle, it's not likely the 2500lb trailer can do that).

I still think your experience applies to people with lighter tow vehicles, and
they should cautious about disabling the brakes.

--
Eric Greenwell - Washington State, USA (change ".netto" to ".us" to email me)
- "A Guide to Self-Launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1
- "Transponders in Sailplanes - Dec 2014a" also ADS-B, PCAS, Flarm

http://soaringsafety.org/prevention/Guide-to-transponders-in-sailplanes-2014A.pdf

[Karl Kunz[_2_]]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 4:21:22 AM UTC-8, Bob Youngblood wrote:
> I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks

Does anyone know what a Komet trailer with a typical single seat seat glider weighs? Some states in U.S. require brakes if 1500 lbs or more (most are 3000lbs or more).

[Bob Youngblood]

On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 11:13:21 AM UTC-5, Richard Pfiffner wrote:
> On Saturday, February 16, 2019 at 4:21:22 AM UTC-8, Bob Youngblood wrote:
> > I am trying to get away from the surge brakes and has anyone converted their trailer to electric brakes?? Thanks
>
> Bob
>
> I converted my cobra to Dexter Axle Torflex with electric brakes. I measured the axle bolt holes spacing, tire bolt scheme and distance from wheel to wheel. Purchased online from a trailer company they welded the brackets to fit. The easiest way is to take to a trailer dealer that carries Dexter Axles and have them replace the axle.
> It was about 15 years ago as I remember $450 included shipping from Florida to CA. Call if you have questions.
>
> Richard
> www.craggyaero.com

Yes, thanks for the info. I did look into the Dexter Torflex axle and it does come with the electric or hydraulic braking capabilities. I will be doing some measuring and evaluating the situation in the near future. Another good feature of the axle and wheel assembly is that one no longer needs to look for Opel car wheels as the proper lug configuration. The Komet trailer company used Opel car wheels as their choice. I had to locate a wheel for a spare tire and it was difficult to find one.

[[email protected]]

> Does anyone know what a Komet trailer with a typical single seat seat glider weighs? Some states in U.S. require brakes if 1500 lbs or more (most are 3000lbs or more).

From memory, our 1978 Komet with an LS-3 was about 1700 lbs.

Chip Bearden

[Echo]

Took my 1981 komet to a local trailer shop for adjustments and lube before a trip out west last summer. They said they had never seen such a contraption underneath it, and didn't have any way to replace parts. He thought it looked like some backyard custom made thing. Which is pretty consistent with what I've noticed about glider trailers, no two are the same. I ended up going to a new axle with electric brakes, which I was towing behind a 4runner. It involved quote a bit of creativity on the shop's end, and they did excellent work. Also involved bolting the sliding tongue down, since surge breaks were gone. It made a difference, simply because the 4runner wheelbase was pretty short. Getting passed by a truck or windy conditions tended to wag the vehicle a bit, regardless of trailer tongue loading. With the electric brakes, you leave the gain at 2 or 3, and if it starts swinging just squeeze a little manual brake pressure and it straightens right out. Now I tow behind a tundra, and forget the trailer is even attached. Another point is, during a long trip if something original komet fails, it'll be weeks before you're back on the road. With this one I could buy parts at Auto zone and wheels at Wal Mart if I had to. For me it was all about reliability and safety. But then again I also have a back up camera on my trailer wired to the tail light circuit and LEDs all over it. I think the total for the axle and brake swap ended up being about $1,600. Also it took me dragging it to 3 different shops before one agreed to be creative and work on it.

Jordan