Air brakes on F350

Noiseydiesel

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So the other day I went through town and saw a Ram 3500 pulling a trailer. He came up to a stop light, hit the brakes and the trailer hissed.
Whu?
So I did some research this morning, being slightly bored waiting for warmer temps outside and out of money and I found


Making a valve that plumbs into your M/C. add a tank, compressor, glad hands and some plumbing and you can get air brakes for a trailer. About $400 for the valve and you can add the rest. Hmm. . . .
This is banging around in the back of my head as I contemplate some day possibly towing a 21K# D4 Cat down the road someday behind the F350 CC Dually.
 

Farmer Rock

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All the big construction outfits around here have 550/5500 trucks setup with air trailer brakes so they can tow the same pintle hitch trailers they tow with air brake dump trucks. They run them all over on smaller jobs pulling a mini ex or ctl. Slick setup, not to mention pintle hitch trailers with air brakes are dirt cheap.


Rock
 

Noiseydiesel

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The inexpensive trailers is what is getting my attention.
Now when I hook up this over sized trailer behind my F350, does this mean I need the CDL A ?
CDL = Crash Dummy License. . . .
 

Nero

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Hey don't go makin' fun of my red banner'ed license! And you'll have to check the gvwr of the trailer, anything over 10,000lbs trailer and 26,000lbs truck you need a cdl
 

Noiseydiesel

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I used to have a CDL B. I retired and gave it up, somewhat begrudgingly.
The truck weighs in at 9500# and the trailer empty is 4K# empty roughly and about 25K# loaded including the trailer weight.
Add a down grade and 20,000 pounds of mashed bananas . . .
If you know that song.
 

u2slow

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Some trailer setups are actually vacuum boosted from the towing-truck; not air. Used to be more common at higher weights, but nowadays most everything has gone electric interface with the truck.

Watch your jurisdiction. In mine you need a full semi-truck license to haul any trailer with air brakes.
 

Noiseydiesel

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Air brake trailers are selling cheap enough to pick one up to carry that 1977 D4d Cat of mine with.
No great reason to do it, yet, it's just an addition to the toy stack currently.
I suspect the air brake trailer will have better/larger/less expensive brakes than I can install with new disc brake set up on another trailer.
Might also be entertaining to have a pair of Glad Hands on the back of the truck also.
 

Old Goat

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I know you need a CDL with Air Brakes, they are no big deal, I drove trucks with Air Brakes for years.
Retired in 06, but kept the CDL License, easier to keep than try to get it back.


Goat
 

FrozenMerc

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If you are towing the trailer for strictly personal use, you do not need a CDL. Think of your local 75 yr old retired dentist who cruises down to Arizona each winter in his 65,000 lb Class A motorhome, pulling a 28' enclosed car hauler behind - No CDL there.

The challenge your going to have is proving to the State Trooper who pulls you over each time you blow past a weigh scale with that dozer hanging off your bumper is that you are not partaking in a commercial activity. That could be a large burden of proof to overcome.
 

u2slow

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Again.... know *your* jurisdiction.

We need an air endorsement for RVs if equipped, even though it's not a higher DL.
 

TNBrett

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Again.... know *your* jurisdiction.
This is the key. I deal with DOT compliance at work as well. It is very complicated trying to navigate between state and federal regulations. Several years ago we had a TN highway Patrol officer in our office going over some things. He told us that in TN a 16 year old with a class D license can drive an 18 wheeler loaded with grain as long as it was part of the operation of a farm, and he didn’t cross a state line.
 

lotzagoodstuff

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This is the key. I deal with DOT compliance at work as well. It is very complicated trying to navigate between state and federal regulations. Several years ago we had a TN highway Patrol officer in our office going over some things. He told us that in TN a 16 year old with a class D license can drive an 18 wheeler loaded with grain as long as it was part of the operation of a farm, and he didn’t cross a state line.
As the semi-driver shortage continues, you will see teenagers driving across state lines. You talk about a controversial topic :oops:

 

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