Prepping a Gen trailer for the road home.

[fasttruck]

Reference post 2: some form of working brake is required if the trailer is RATED for over 3000#. That is why your trailer has surge brakes so you will be in compliance. Various uninformed minds on this site think if it weighs less than 3000# empty brakes are not required. Wrong. There is a thread on this site somewhere from a pilgrim who attempted to tow 3ea caissons at the same time out of Letterkenny , PA Depot with a pick-up truck and was immediately surrounded, captured, impounded, and ticketed by Pa DOTs for a long list of violations including no operational brakes. Others will seek refuge in that states' regulations preempt the feds. Many states have adopted the federal motor vehicle regulations and safety standards by reference to keep those highway trust fund dollars coming in so they still gottcha.

 

[Coug]

"WORKING BRAKES" being the important part of this. If you lock them out for the drive home, you will still very likely get there without any type of difficulty.

The problem is, if anything DOES happen, even if it is not your fault, and the police see that you have the trailer brakes disabled, then you can still be written up not only for the brake violation, but can actually be given partial fault for an accident in some cases. Depends on how the cop is feeling.

 

[Chainbreaker]

Didn't see it mentioned...but you probably have better than a 50/50 chance that the "Jack Handle" for Landing leg jack will be missing. I'm sure they have one to use there on base to get you loaded but they probably won't give you one if it didn't show one in the auction listing.

So, if you were to need to unhitch for whatever reason during your transit home you need to have something you can adapt. Vice grips, crescent wrench or something to grab onto the pinned shaft coming out of jack that has enough leverage to work rotating screw jack.

 

[98G]

This trailer is rated for 3160lbs.

TX law specifically states brakes not required on trailers that weigh less than 4500lbs. Not weight rating, but rather actual weight. TX is apparently NOT one of the states that adopted the federal requirements as their state's requirements as well.

Federal DOT laws not applicable until you cross state lines while engaged in commerce.

99.9999% chance the brakes are fine on your trailer. If not, then disable them for the drive home and you're still completely legal while in TX.

Screenshots of TX law and trailer data plate.

 

[Bluevic443]

Thanks all for the reply's!!!
Coffee brewing. -Check
Vise grips. -Check
Learned a long time ago it is easier to do the pre-trip checks in a driveway than to work on these things on the side of the road!!!

P.S. GOT TO LOVE THE GREAT STATE OF TEXAS!!!!!

 

[FloridaAKM]

Actually, it should be steel, not aluminum, as it appears to be the M116 series trailer which used a steel deck, not the M1101/1102 series with aluminum.
But a 2x4, zip ties, and some bungie cords still aren't a bad idea.

I bought 2 M116A3 trailers several weeks ago from GP & I can attest that they are indeed made mostly of aluminum. Putting magnetic lighting is not going to work on the rear deck, but you can tape them to the rear steel tiedowns. The magnets alone won't hold the lights to the steel rings, don't ask me how I know. The brakes on one of the units was dragging, but not enough to heat up the drums on the short tow home. After pulling the tire, you could see where the paint got hot on part of the hub & had rusted the hub @ some point in the trailers life. The Dot 5 brake fluid had turned clear, but was half full on each trailer & was functional..

Good luck on your tow home.

 

[Bluevic443]

Made it back without even an issue. 4 hours, 220 miles. pulled center caps the check for lube and nuts

 

[Scoobyshep]

Congrats on a successful mission

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Bluevic443]

A little light reading!!! Will show some of the other items tomorrow.

 

[Bluevic443]

I bought 2 M116A3 trailers several weeks ago from GP & I can attest that they are indeed made mostly of aluminum. Putting magnetic lighting is not going to work on the rear deck, but you can tape them to the rear steel tiedowns. The magnets alone won't hold the lights to the steel rings, don't ask me how I know. The brakes on one of the units was dragging, but not enough to heat up the drums on the short tow home. After pulling the tire, you could see where the paint got hot on part of the hub & had rusted the hub @ some point in the trailers life. The Dot 5 brake fluid had turned clear, but was half full on each trailer & was functional..

Good luck on your tow home.

By the paper work, it is a circa 1997 M116A? Very much has STEEL fenders and deck. Temp mag lights stuck real good!!! Used two zip ties to make a two loop lanyard and used one of the lifting rings to secure.

 

[Falstaff]

I would definitely get a couple spare tires. I had one of the OE 37" tires and runflat inserts grenade on the Grapevine a few weeks ago. It took out the wiring for the lights and almost caught on fire. The tire remains were wrapped all around the axle and it was a major PITA to get it off (on the side of 405 freeway)

I was going too fast for the tire coming down hill, overheated it, trailer is an m1101 chassis, heavy MMG 25 genset with 85 gal fuel tank and aux tank I bolted on. Prolly running right at max GVW

Pre-2010 chevy and any dodge 8 lugs fits fine. Get rid of the military tires ASAP, they're only good for 55 mph

 

[Bluevic443]

I would definitely get a couple spare tires. I had one of the OE 37" tires and runflat inserts grenade on the Grapevine a few weeks ago. It took out the wiring for the lights and almost caught on fire. The tire remains were wrapped all around the axle and it was a major PITA to get it off (on the side of 405 freeway)

I was going too fast for the tire coming down hill, overheated it, trailer is an m1101 chassis, heavy MMG 25 genset with 85 gal fuel tank and aux tank I bolted on. Prolly running right at max GVW

Pre-2010 chevy and any dodge 8 lugs fits fine. Get rid of the military tires ASAP, they're only good for 55 mph

Falstaff, sorry that you had one let loose on you!!!
Made it home with no issues, Stopped every so often to check the tires and bearings. The tires were no warmer than the trucks and the bearings were barely warm to the touch with bare hands. Kept the speed between 60-65 mph, They arn't Z rated.
Yes, on the hunt for some steel spare rims that I can paint to match the rest of the rig.
P.S. You have to love a trailer with shock absorbers, goes over rail road tracks better than my F-350!!!

 

[Light in the Dark]

Older Ford rims (8x6.5) will readily mount up (Older F350s with Dana 60s feature this). They sure do ride well don't they, probably even better with two sets!

 

[Coug]

I would definitely get a couple spare tires. I had one of the OE 37" tires and runflat inserts grenade on the Grapevine a few weeks ago. It took out the wiring for the lights and almost caught on fire. The tire remains were wrapped all around the axle and it was a major PITA to get it off (on the side of 405 freeway)

I was going too fast for the tire coming down hill, overheated it, trailer is an m1101 chassis, heavy MMG 25 genset with 85 gal fuel tank and aux tank I bolted on. Prolly running right at max GVW

Pre-2010 chevy and any dodge 8 lugs fits fine. Get rid of the military tires ASAP, they're only good for 55 mph

Not sure where you were told they are only good for 55mph?
If you look on the tire sidewall, the Wrangler MT shows the tire size, and right beneath size it shows the load and speed rating, which reads 123M and 123N with a circle around the 123N
The 123 stands for 3417 lbs
The "M" and "N" stand for 81mph and 87mph respectively.
I'm a little unclear as to why they put 2 different speed ratings, but at minimum these tires are rated for 81mph, and some websites I see them listed as 87mph top speed for the non military version.

 

[Zed254]

This document shows 87mph as the highway speed rating for Goodyear Wrangler MT tires. It's a little hard to read but start on page 3/6 and continue horizontally to page 4/6 on the top row of the chart. Max pressure 50psi.

 

[98G]

This document shows 87mph as the highway speed rating for Goodyear Wrangler MT tires. It's a little hard to read but start on page 3/6 and continue horizontally to page 4/6 on the top row of the chart. Max pressure 50psi.

The tire is rated for 50psi but the wheel assembly is not. The O-ring between the wheel halves won't be happy.

I run them at 40psi, which is higher than recommended.

I've never had a MT fail. I've ran many of them loaded at hwy speed for thousands of miles. What happens is even uninflated they look like they're ok. Then they bounce down the road uninflated and heat the sidewalls and fail.

 

[Coug]

The tire is rated for 50psi but the wheel assembly is not. The O-ring between the wheel halves won't be happy.

I run them at 40psi, which is higher than recommended.

I've never had a MT fail. I've ran many of them loaded at hwy speed for thousands of miles. What happens is even uninflated they look like they're ok. Then they bounce down the road uninflated and heat the sidewalls and fail.

The 12 bolt and 24 evenly spaced bolt rims are rated for 50psi.
The 24 bolt rim with the tandem bolts is rated for 65psi. There is also apparently a 20 bolt rim rated to 65psi as well.

The old 8 bolt rims are rated for much lower at only 30 psi

https://www.logsa.army.mil/psmag/archives/PS2010/696/696-12-13.pdf

 

[Light in the Dark]

Even if they will take 50psi, which I am not entering into that one... its gonna ride much better at 40.

 

[Bluevic443]

Not going to get into the tire debate. Just know that they are very heavy!!!! Pulled one off as a red neck theft deterrent . All the fluids have been drained one both. The back one (2) has the overflow nipple at the radiator broken. Missing the overflow cap. Fuel tank has a layer of sludge in the bottom. The oil filter has 0w/30 written on it, took it off and it looks spotless. Sampled the crank case and the oil came out grey. Opened the oil drain and a couple of ounces of water came out then grey oil, what there was of it. Used a little 15/40 to flush some of the water out. Poured the remainder in, only got it to the bottom of the stick. Need to get some more. Filled the radiator with tap water for now. Pulled the batteries from the truck and used jumper cables to the lugs. Went to the service panel and turned on the light. THEY WORKED!!! Went to the crank switch inside and just bumped it. Starter engaged and it started to turned over and no odd noises, held it longer and it stun over nice and smooth
Went back to the control panel cycled the switch to Aux and heard the pump come on, switched to prime and run and that pump came on, then the “No Fuel” light came on and heard a click, the start relay would click and the starter would not engage. Duh the tank is empty!!!
Gen set 1, the front one is missing the banjo bolt from the filter
Knew it from the GP pics. Need to get the fuse and MOV parts before I spin the #2 any more. Now with two gen sets the parts orders are now doubled. Both are missing a lot of screws are over.
The “Winter Kit”on both takes up a lot of space to work on them. It says it is good to -40*f, not in Texas it won’t !!!!!

And also, you can’t pull the front covers off to get to the fuel tanks cause they are front to front with just enough offset to get to the fuel fill. .
Looks like I will be pulling the #2 gen off the trailer to service. Will modify a heavy cart with 8” casters to mount it to.
Question to the forum.
Keep this one going or start a new thread?

 

[98G]

Not going to get into the tire debate. Just know that they are very heavy!!!! Pulled one off as a red neck theft deterrent . All the fluids have been drained one both. The back one (2) has the overflow nipple at the radiator broken. Missing the overflow cap. Fuel tank has a layer of sludge in the bottom. The oil filter has 0w/30 written on it, took it off and it looks spotless. Sampled the crank case and the oil came out grey. Opened the oil drain and a couple of ounces of water came out then grey oil, what there was of it. Used a little 15/40 to flush some of the water out. Poured the remainder in, only got it to the bottom of the stick. Need to get some more. Filled the radiator with tap water for now. Pulled the batteries from the truck and used jumper cables to the lugs. Went to the service panel and turned on the light. THEY WORKED!!! Went to the crank switch inside and just bumped it. Starter engaged and it started to turned over and no odd noises, held it longer and it stun over nice and smooth
Went back to the control panel cycled the switch to Aux and heard the pump come on, switched to prime and run and that pump came on, then the “No Fuel” light came on and heard a click, the start relay would click and the starter would not engage. Duh the tank is empty!!!
Gen set 1, the front one is missing the banjo bolt from the filterView attachment 792825
Knew it from the GP pics. Need to get the fuse and MOV parts before I spin the #2 any more. Now with two gen sets the parts orders are now doubled. Both are missing a lot of screws are over.
The “Winter Kit”on both takes up a lot of space to work on them. It says it is good to -40*f, not in Texas it won’t !!!!!

And also, you can’t pull the front covers off to get to the fuel tanks cause they are front to front with just enough offset to get to the fuel fill. .
Looks like I will be pulling the #2 gen off the trailer to service. Will modify a heavy cart with 8” casters to mount it to.
Question to the forum.
Keep this one going or start a new thread?

I'd start a new thread as the primary focus of this one is shifting the gensets.

There is no tire debate. I suspect I'm wrong. I was going from memory. Presumably Coug checked the markings on his wheels.