M105a2 recovery and brake question

[doskiez]

I recently went up to Texarkana to pick up a M105A2 trailer. The recovery went well and I plan to use the trailer to haul firewood and possibly a tractor from time to time. I do plan on pulling it with a 1 ton dually so I am not really worried about the weight. That being said I would like to have trailer brakes and I was wondering if any of you have used a compressor and storage tank on your truck to actuate the air/hydraulic brakes on your trailers. My trailer has only the one service line so I think a high end compressor (100-150psi operating range) + 5 gallon storage tanks would supply enough air. (I am planning on outfitting the truck with an air system anyway to run horns and fill tires, etc) I was thinking I could run a regulator from the main air supply and run a solonoid valve that would send pressure to a glad hand on the back of my truck. That way I could adjust the braking pressure going to the truck similar to a civi brake controller. Also wire it in such a way that I will be able to turn it on and off and have it be controlled by braking with my truck pedal. Has this been done before and to what degree of success.
Thanks

 

[gimpyrobb]

If it were me, I'd just find a dually rear axle to swap under the trailer, then put a surge brake setup on it. That would gain you a better loading height and brakes. For what you plan on doing, thats my .02c!

 

[doskiez]

I am assuming you are speaking of a dually axle from a pickup, and I have thought of that, but I am worried the pumpkin would be too large and would bottom out into the trailer. Has the dually axle swap been done before, and would any modifications need to be made to the axle itself to get it to work successfully?
Thanks

 

[runk]

I looked into this, but haven't actually done it. Found several other threads where it was considered, but haven't found anyone who has actually done it. I did use a similar setup with a manual valve to be technically legal on a couple of recoveries with my Expedition, but never used it in anger. I connect the compressor to an extra battery, and then the battery to the truck's electrical system. The compressors can have pretty huge startup currents, this way the battery smooths out the draw on the truck's charging system, and keeps the current draw (and required wiring size) down. I used a 5 gal air tank, with a DC pressure sensing switch to automatically control the compressor. Look for a surplus place for a DC switch, they are a lot more expensive then the AC ones new.

There are several manufactures of complete trailer air brake setup for RV's (compressor, braking sensors, solenoids, etc.), but they are really expensive, and pretty big. There are also air compressor packages set up for trucks, mainly for the hard core off road crowd, which were also really expensive.

I was looking at using one of the brake controllers that is set up to control a hydraulic trailer brake system. Those use electric hydraulic pumps to provide the force, and PWM solenoid valves to control the application. I was going to use a truck or trailer mounted compressor with an air PWM solenoid.

Let us know how it works when you build it !

 

[dittle]

A friend of mine custom built a new axle setup (ordered axle online) that came equipped with electric brakes.

 

[rosco]

Heavy duty straight trailer axles with dual wheels & electric brakes are commercially availiable. Check Dexter axles.

 

[doskiez]

I was hoping to keep the trailer as origional as possible, (In case I get a Deuce ) So I was hoping I could utilize what the trailer already had as standard issue. I also have a leak in one wheel which I believe is the brake cylinder. Is it easier to rebuild these or to just replace with a new part.

 

[silverstate55]

You could weld/bolt on a surge brake coupler, remove the air lines, and run the brakes as straight hydraulic. Surge brake couplers can even be obtained with lunette eyes. That way you could tow it with any 3/4-ton or larger vehicle.

 

[emmado22]

Find a M105A3........

 

[doskiez]

I was going to get an a3 but it was too wide for the car trailer

 

[blybrook]

You can also put on a electric over hydraulic brake actuator and utilize a brake controller in the tow vehicle instead of swapping out the axle.

If you hide the actuator, it'll still look stock and you may just put valves in the lines so you can still utilize the original air brakes at a later time.

 

[silverstate55]

Electric over hydraulic actuators are expensive, but effective.

I welded on some brackets to my M105A2 so I could bolt on a DICO Aero surge hitch with 2-inch coupler; the hitch unbolts and will set in a cradle I still need to install on top of the tongue, so if I want to reinstall the lunette eye to pull behind my Deuce, I can with little difficulty. I ran a hydraulic brake line from the surge coupler all the way back to the "T" fitting on the axle, flushed out everything old in the brake lines, and put in new DOT5 BFS as well as bleeding & adjusting the brakes.

The M105A2 master cylinder is remarkably similar to the master cylinder inside the DICO surge coupler; in fact, the threaded caps were the same, so I used the old M105A2 master cylinder cap with my pressure bleeder when I bled the brakes. Piece of cake! They work well, and when I do a firm stop with the M105A2 unloaded, I can lock up the trailer brakes.

Now my M105A2 sits level with my truck, and can haul my quad around wherever I want with no effort. My quad was too big to fit into any of the M101-series trailers, so I wanted the M105-series instead. I simply stripped out all the air components and removed the lunette eye according to instructions I found while using the Search Function.

This is just one idea; there are more ways to successfully convert these trailers to civvy use. I hope this helps.

 

[runk]

Do you have a part number for the surge coupler ?

Is it this one ?
Titan Aero 7500lb. Drum Brake Actuator w/manual lockout #4500600

 

[silverstate55]

Do you have a part number for the surge coupler ?

Is it this one ?
Titan Aero 7500lb. Drum Brake Actuator w/manual lockout #4500600

That's it! It works well and is plenty strong for converting an M105 trailer at a reasonable cost.

 

[doskiez]

I am thinking I may actually have an a1 varient of the m105 because I have a single air line and the large single wheel landing gear. On the subject of landing gear are the single wheels interchangable with the dual wheels with the integrated jack? If they are I would love to do the swap because trying to unhitch or hitch while loaded would be a pain. If they can swap and anyone has a spare I would be interested.

 

[jasonjc]

I am thinking I may actually have an a1 varient of the m105 because I have a single air line and the large single wheel landing gear. On the subject of landing gear are the single wheels interchangable with the dual wheels with the integrated jack? If they are I would love to do the swap because trying to unhitch or hitch while loaded would be a pain. If they can swap and anyone has a spare I would be interested.

Yes they will swap easy.

 

[ecotrek]

Just wondering....if the M105A2 is set up with a lunette ring/hyd brake actuator, would the brakes lock up while backing the trailer?<br>If so, is there a remedy?

 

[silverstate55]

Just wondering....if the M105A2 is set up with a lunette ring/hyd brake actuator, would the brakes lock up while backing the trailer?<br>If so, is there a remedy?

Get a surge brake coupler with a Lockout (to allow backing without applying brakes).

 

[ecotrek]

silverstate55....thank you for the reply....after doing my due diligence, I think I will go with the Titan pn T4339720 with electric lockout...the manual lock will most likely prove to be a pain in the rear.

 

[silverstate55]

If you keep your stock lunette ring and use an electric-hydraulic actuator, you can back up all you want, the brakes won't apply until you depress your truck's brake pedal. No lockouts needed with a non-surge lunette & electric-hydraulic actuator.