Choosing a Tipping Trailer

[JD450A]

That already has a Pick up hitch type locking bar.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Is the spreader lid double acting ?

Single acting I THINK.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

When I was a lad, I pulled one of those Pettit 3 tonners for miles behind a Dexta, on the pick up hitch. No weights on the tractor, no hydraulic brakes, never once had a jack knifing episode, and the 3 ton bit was very conservative. Soil you could get more like 4 and a half. A modern tractor with modern brakes would piss a Pettit, barring operator error, if you want a no-frills, blacksmith repairable trailer, that is.

just for interest, Pettit trailers were made at Holbeach just up the road from me, most went out by train until the M&GN line closed. Pettit’s brother Jack allegedly had the biggest fleet of BTD 20’s in the UK, with the possible exception of the RE. Did a lot of the initial land clearance for Rutland Water with them in the 1960’s. I like bank holidays to be educational.

Not sure how old the Pettit is. It’s got a serial number on it , and the hitch was originally a clevis but has has a ring added . 60s I am guessing

 

[Smiffy]

Single acting I THINK.

Then I would put the brake and lid into a 2 way manual valve with a q/r coupling attached to it.

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Then I would put the brake and lid into a 2 way manual valve with a q/r coupling attached to it.

One like this?

 

[Smiffy]

One like this?

Yeah

 

[Lancs Lad]

Imagine if some the farming forum fraternity poked their nose into this thread... Brakes? Trailer brakes ???

 

[Smiffy]

Imagine if some the farming forum fraternity poked their nose into this thread... Brakes? Trailer brakes ???

Maybe in days gone by but they are pretty important nowadays especially if you have a new Holland. They are not designed to stop any more than their own weight. They completely cook the breaks in a matter of seconds without fully functioning trailer breaks.
The big chassis is slightly better but the little chassis is appalling.
They have one break disc each side on the little chassis and 2 or 3 on the big chassis.
By comparison I think John Deere have 6 each side and the zetor Chrystal has 9 each side.

 

[Bri963]

Hydraulic brakes? With a Pettit you just need a good bit of rope from the brake lever through the back window, and a long arm to let it off again.

 

[JD450A]

Hydraulic brakes? With a Pettit you just need a good bit of rope from the brake lever through the back window, and a long arm to let it off again.

Won't work, his tafe doesn't have a back window

 

[Stroppymonkey]

Hydraulic brakes? With a Pettit you just need a good bit of rope from the brake lever through the back window, and a long arm to let it off again.

No brakes on either of the little dump trailers I was contemplating. The discussion stepped sideways to making the brakes work on the much newer dung spreader .

 

[Canal Navvy]

Imagine if some the farming forum fraternity poked their nose into this thread... Brakes? Trailer brakes ???

I still shake my head when I see big modern tractors and trailers thunder past and the air lines are not coupled

 

[Stroppymonkey]

I still shake my head when I see big modern tractors and trailers thunder past and the air lines are not coupled

Probably not strapped either

 

[JD450A]

I still shake my head when I see big modern tractors and trailers thunder past and the air lines are not coupled

Some run dual lines on the trailer, so the tractor may not be equipped to pub the air.

 

[V8Druid]

Some run dual lines on the trailer, so the tractor may not be equipped to pub the air.

shouldn't be towing it then ... like taking a 44 up the road with the brakes wound off

 

[Smiffy]

shouldn't be towing it then ... like taking a 44 up the road with the brakes wound off

Air breaks on a tractors have a hydraulic ram built into the middle of the chamber.
You can either run air breaks as you would on an hgv. Or air up the system using a tractor with air to release the chamber. And then connect to a tractor without air connections that uses the hydraulic cylinder to apply the brakes.
Apart from being fail safe air breaks offer no additional braking performance than hydraulic brakes. It is entirely down to the size of the brakes.
Still not unheard of for agro trailers to be fitted with 2in shoes and drums with air chambers. This is obviously a pointless exercise as 9in shoes and drums with hydraulic actuators will have considerably better performance.
Lots of manufacturers still offer airbrakes as an option separate from axle spec options.

 

[V8Druid]

Air breaks on a tractors have a hydraulic ram built into the middle of the chamber.
You can either run air breaks as you would on an hgv. Or air up the system using a tractor with air to release the chamber. And then connect to a tractor without air connections that uses the hydraulic cylinder to apply the brakes.
Apart from being fail safe air breaks offer no additional braking performance than hydraulic brakes. It is entirely down to the size of the brakes.
Still not unheard of for agro trailers to be fitted with 2in shoes and drums with air chambers. This is obviously a pointless exercise as 9in shoes and drums with hydraulic actuators will have considerably better performance.
Lots of manufacturers still offer airbrakes as an option separate from axle spec options.

which is fine provided they're connected and that the system has no air system losses, or the brakes automatically apply (unless wound off in the first place)
Agreed that whatever the system, it is only as good as the braking surface area fitted

 

[JD450A]

shouldn't be towing it then ... like taking a 44 up the road with the brakes wound off

Incorrect... They also have oil brakes.... Dual system

 

[Smiffy]

which is fine provided they're connected and that the system has no air system losses, or the brakes automatically apply (unless wound off in the first place)
Agreed that whatever the system, it is only as good as the braking surface area fitted

You wouldn't see if the hydraulic hose is applied as it would just be in the jumble of hydraulic hoses, this is what JD is getting at. They airlines would be tied up high.
Winding off the airbrakes would leave you with nothing and as I said in a previous post you will cook most modern tractors the first time you touch the brakes if you don't have trailer brakes. Not even a case of them being insufficient. A couple of seconds of breaking heats the friction material and it disintegrates. It then blocks the hydraulic pickup and the tractor comes to a grinding halt.
You then have to strip the back end to get it going again.

 

[V8Druid]

You wouldn't see if the hydraulic hose is applied as it would just be in the jumble of hydraulic hoses, this is what JD is getting at. They airlines would be tied up high.
Winding off the airbrakes would leave you with nothing and as I said in a previous post you will cook most modern tractors the first time you touch the brakes if you don't have trailer brakes. Not even a case of them being insufficient. A couple of seconds of breaking heats the friction material and it disintegrates. It then blocks the hydraulic pickup and the tractor comes to a grinding halt.
You then have to strip the back end to get it going again.

all this assumes zero air system leakage though, as the air system is fail-safe (spring applied) and without air, the brakes will lock on