Trailer Airbrakes

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Anybody out there with experience of a tri-axle trailer(6,000 pounds load) running airbrakes?. (legal requirement in Europe). Apparently Cummins do a compressor and the remote air reservoir can be discretely mounted somewhere under the bed - does anyone have any experience of this type of installation? Thanks in advance

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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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Whoa, hoss, that's an awful big rig you're drivin'! How does it fit on the roads over there? I was always under the impression the roads were kinda narrow over there. Just curious. As far as the brakes go, I would imagine, like you say, it would just copy a big trucks brakes, with a compressor on the engine and reservoir under the bed. Probably utilize a pop off valve for when the reservoir builds up pressure. Hey, it'll make the neat "pshhhhh" sound when you let off the brakes, now just remove that silencer ring... . #ad


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95 2500 SLT Laramie 3. 54, automatic,Herculiner bed liner, JVC cd out of factory infinity system, southwest grill gaurd (a favorite amongst the deer population), K&N, AFC adjusted, dual straight exhaust out of "gutless" cat, Geno's dual EGT/boost gauge, TST #6 plate slid all the way forward, AFC housing slid all the way forward, silencer ring removed
"Layin' the 'SMOKEDOWN' on their ROOdy Poo CANDY GASSERS!"

 

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I don't have an answer for your question, John, but I do want to welcome you to the TDR forums. Do you see many Dodge/Cummins trucks over there on the other side of the pond?
Andy

 

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Hi there Andy #ad
- any big Dodge/Cummins truck is fairly rare in the UK, but there's quite a few in the 3/4 ton class (Chevrolet, Ford & Dodge all represented). Cummins is well represented in Europe as they supply engines to various heavy truck manufacturers - In Europe, taken as a whole I'd say out of every 100 cars/trucks on the road in regular use, the figure is less than 3%.

Things like shipping costs from USA to Europe, plus 10% import duty and 17. 5% sales tax certainly don't help the situation! When I was in the USA last month, diesel cost me $1. 65/gallon #ad
,but in Europe it's nearer $3. 50/gallon #ad
.....

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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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Well, not all of the roads are small and there's always the 4x4. #ad
and having a slightly higher profile on the road isn't giving me any sleepless nights yet either #ad
. You mention removing the silencer ring #ad
- as I'm relatively new to the TDR, a brief explanation of why would be appreciated...

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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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John, do you have to have righthand drive on your RAM? If so, a pic of that would be neat.
Since I am in Canada I can ship trucks there for a better price then USA and they are already metric. I have shipped several older cars like 67' Camaros over there.
Shipping was 900. 00 Canadian dollars no container or 2500. 00 in a container.

That VAT added a lot of money to the price when I was shipping. Somehow the folks got a waiver on the steering thing... I didn't ask how or why they got around that.

SCOTT

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My Site

 

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Originally posted by scott1:
John, do you have to have righthand drive on your RAM? If so, a pic of that would be neat.
Since I am in Canada I can ship trucks there for a better price then USA and they are already metric. I have shipped several older cars like 67' Camaros over there.
Shipping was 900. 00 Canadian dollars no container or 2500. 00 in a container.

That VAT added a lot of money to the price when I was shipping. Somehow the folks got a waiver on the steering thing... I didn't ask how or why they got around that.

SCOTT

No Scott, we are not required to change over from LHD to RHD, I am buying a Lance 1130series slide-in truck camper at the back end of this year and will be making the trip from California to New York, with camper and (hopefully) my tri-axle trailer bringing up the rear... #ad
. I'll probably get around to a few pix from my digital camera and post them on the web sometime.
Thanks for the comments on shipping, but I've already managed to get a similar good deal on a RoRo basis from New York to Southampton. As regards the punitive sales tax and import duties, because I've been working away from the UK in mainland Europe for the past few years, I get a rare waiver on those damn taxes #ad
- there's nothing like sticking it to the taxman #ad

The reason for the tri-axle trailer with airbrakes is basically down to European legislation and GVWR axle limits. Back in the UK, my weekend 4x4 (aka Tonka toy) is a 1982 half-ton Chevy 4x4 truck running a Corvette 454 big block gas on 40 inch tires, which tips the scales at 3 metric tons and is (just inside) road legal status #ad

Preliminary costings in Europe have confirmed that It's gonna be a damn sight cheaper to get the trailer stateside, hence the original post in this forum. Hopefully someone out there has done this before - I can't believe I'm first in line #ad
and someone will be able to suggest some trailer manufacturers, in the uSA who like a challenge and won't rip me off!

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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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John,I had a custom 24 foot 5th wheel trailer made for me with what ever brake options I wanted,including air. I think that most custom trailer builders in the USA will also do this,you just need to find one along your intended route. Washington state is out of your way,but if you would like more info just E-mail me. Wecome to the TDR!!!

 

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Originally posted by JohnMcIntyre:
You mention removing the silencer ring #ad
- as I'm relatively new to the TDR, a brief explanation of why would be appreciated...

You know how big trucks have that very audible turbo whine? Well, that's the only thing keeping yours from having it too. At last count, rates about a 9 on the #ad
scale.

 

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hi John ,good to hear from a fellow limey ram owner ,bet you have fun parking that one in your locals, car park. I bet you get some looks driving that baby ! Iremember driving around in my old Bedford P/up & feeling like king of the road . I cant imagine driving my beast over there ,well actually I can & I think i,d rather enjoy it!Never realized air brakes were required on trailers over 6000# is this a recent law. Interested to here about the after market compressor & what propels it& where it would be mounted. Anyway Welcome to the TDR, its a great forum with a wealth of imformation from all its members,pretty addictive though as no doubt youve found out! Email me some time . Ian

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I have seen an A/C pump plumbed to pump air. You can use the electric clutch to turn it on and off through a pressure switch. Just make sure to put a filter on the suction side. As I have no air I a setting this up on my Mororhome. The mount is already on the engine.

 

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Cummins makes B motors with air compressors for use in medium duty trucks that have air brakes/suspension. I don't know if you could install those parts on the cummins in the dodge (if the blocks are the same, if there's room in the engine compartment, etc. ), but it'd be worth looking into. If you can fit cummins' compressor onto the motor, you should be able to fab the rest.

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'01 2500 QC LB 2WD 6sp HO SLT+ leather 3. 54 ltd slp BLACK trailer tow and the all important cab lights. ordered 2/25 arrived 4/13 (for hauling motorcycles)

95 Freightliner FLD132 70" Condo 470 Detroit 13spd 3. 36 (to pay for motorcycles)
89 H-D FXRS, 99 Triumph 955i, 86 Suzuki GSXR750 ltd, 00 Aprillia SL1000

98 Yamaha YZF-R1(race), 95 Kawasaki ZX7(race)

 

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You can mount a Holset QE compressor where the power steering and vacuum pumps go. It's 13 CFM, so it should cut it. They make a thru drive one that you can mount the power steering pump piggy back on, then cross your fingers that the vacuum pump will squeeze in front of the motor mount. The intake plumbs to the 3/4 port above the fuel filter and the oil and water plumb to those plugs on the RH side of the head. Been thinking about this myself in the last couple of months.

Getting a hydraulic brake truck to control air brakes, now that would be a feat. Especially with european air brake laws. Would you have to qualify for those? Or can you use a US system if the trailer was made there?

 

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What all is the vacum pump used for? How much does the air compressor cost? Thanks.

 

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It's 500 some bucks. That's for the cheaper non e-type one that you wouldn't use with an air dryer that the trailer air brakes would need. The vacuum pump supplies the HVAC, 4X4 CAD system, and e-brake. Lotta money for something that may not fit and sucks 10HP.

 

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Originally posted by bbowe:
Getting a hydraulic brake truck to control air brakes, now that would be a feat. Especially with european air brake laws. Would you have to qualify for those? Or can you use a US system if the trailer was made there?

Thanks for your input. Electric trailer brakes don't cut it any more with the European Transportation Burocrats and they've recently standardized the specifications and thresholds for both big and small trucks alike.

My 1-ton truck falls into a gray area, because the significant majority of vehicles in Europe that are potentially capable of doing what my new truck is capable of, are considered to be Light/medium heavy goods vehicles (HGV), requiring a special truck driving operator's licence just like in the USA.

My truck however, can be driven on a regular car driver's licence and does not have to comply with commercial truck legislation - like having a tachometer in the instrument cluster and being speed-limited on the highway, not to mention compliance with the minefield of Type Approval regulations, but that's a whole different topic.

So in summary the only type of vehicle, which they believe could actually tow a 24 foot long, 8 foot wide flatbed, tri-axle trailer is assumed by the authorities to be a small (big!) truck at the very least. These come with a primary airbrakes system as standard, so a trailer with airbrakes is seen as a natural extension. Gross axle weight limits are limited to 1. 5 metric tonnes per axle, so planning for a margin of safety and not wanting to be cited for overloading the axle limits, I have to go with airbrakes and a tri-axle set-up, ideally made in the USA and compatible with my truck's hauling capability and set-up. Hope this answers your question. When it's all done, I'll take some photos, add some words and submit them to the TDR website to be considered for future inclusion.



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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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Originally posted by speedracer:
Cummins makes B motors with air compressors for use in medium duty trucks that have air brakes/suspension. I don't know if you could install those parts on the cummins in the dodge (if the blocks are the same, if there's room in the engine compartment, etc. ), but it'd be worth looking into. If you can fit cummins' compressor onto the motor, you should be able to fab the rest.

Cheers! #ad
I'm on the case with both Cummins Europe/USA and Chrysler Dodge USA. I'll post any update here, when I get the official word.



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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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Originally posted by speedracer:
Cummins makes B motors with air compressors for use in medium duty trucks that have air brakes/suspension. I don't know if you could install those parts on the cummins in the dodge (if the blocks are the same, if there's room in the engine compartment, etc. ), but it'd be worth looking into. If you can fit cummins' compressor onto the motor, you should be able to fab the rest.

Ok this summarises the collective input I received so far from everyone through this forum and Cummins Europe/USA. #ad


(1) Cummins do make a dedicated engine driven air-compressor for airbrakes applications, but it is not generally available for the 1 ton truck with hydraulic brakes.
(2) It can be fitted to the 1-ton Dodge truck, but space in the engine bay is very tight and it would need to be shoe-horned in, with no guarantee of success.
(3) This seems like a "plug and play" rather than an "install and forget it" installation.

I have started to consider realistic alternatives from the options available and have come up with one posssible answer, where space is not such a critical issue #ad
.

Why not take advantage of the Hydraulic take-off (HTO) facility on the rear transmission to drive an on-board discretely mounted compressor?? Does the 2001 model year provide the HTO facility still? What is the capability/limitations of such a unit, if it exists. ?? Comments and suggestions welcomed.


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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v TDI Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto LSD 3. 54, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank.

 

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Cgeck this out for onboard air
http://www.sonic.net/~sdelanty/truck/air.htm

 

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<font color=blue> The TDR forum comes through once more! #ad


Fellow TDR member Dave Fritz in Virginia has not only done exactly what I am trying to achieve to support trailer air (over hydraulic) brakes, but has fully documented this. Check out the full details and supporting photos under this specific URL.

<font color=#990033><strong> On-Board Air</strong>

<font color=blue>
Dave's main URL is also listed - there's a mine of information and IMHO, well worth a bookmark and definitely worth considering for the archives/future best of the board!

<font color=#990033><strong> Fritz's Dodge Ram Tech Page</strong>

<font color=blue>
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JMc

2001 3500 QC, Sport, SLT+, 24v Cummins, 4X4 dually, Auto 3. 54/LSD, Long Bed, Red exterior w/Agate leather, all factory options, Grovers, Line-X bedliner & underseal, Firestone Airbags, RS9000s, Reese class 5, 60 Gal Aerotank


[This message has been edited by JohnMcIntyre (edited 07-31-2000). ]