I got myself on the local traffic news today. I had a bit of a trailer malfunction that left half a dual carriageway blocked and caused quite a bit of congestion. I was towing my tipper trailer behind my Defender when I heard a loud bang/pop followed immediately by very heavy deceleration that felt like I had done an emergency stop. I didn't have time to pull completely onto the hard shoulder before the Land Rover stopped and refused to move forwards or backwards. Fearing the worst, I lifted the bonnet expecting to see some sort of mechanical catastrophe but everything looked fine, same with the axles and gearbox underneath. I then went to look at the trailer to see if that was the cause and spotted the problem straight away. The air hose for the coupled brakes had parted company with the metal connector. The lack of air pressure caused the trailers brakes to immediately become fully applied. Unfortunately I don't tend to carry spare hoses so I had to wait for an hour for a replacement to be brought to me. I will now be carrying spares. Sorry to anyone in the Poole/Bournemouth area that I delayed this morning.
Quote: Originally posted by martin734 on 09/8/2019
I got myself on the local traffic news today. I had a bit of a trailer malfunction that left half a dual carriageway blocked and caused quite a bit of congestion. I was towing my tipper trailer behind my Defender when I heard a loud bang/pop followed immediately by very heavy deceleration that felt like I had done an emergency stop. I didn't have time to pull completely onto the hard shoulder before the Land Rover stopped and refused to move forwards or backwards. Fearing the worst, I lifted the bonnet expecting to see some sort of mechanical catastrophe but everything looked fine, same with the axles and gearbox underneath. I then went to look at the trailer to see if that was the cause and spotted the problem straight away. The air hose for the coupled brakes had parted company with the metal connector. The lack of air pressure caused the trailers brakes to immediately become fully applied. Unfortunately I don't tend to carry spare hoses so I had to wait for an hour for a replacement to be brought to me. I will now be carrying spares. Sorry to anyone in the Poole/Bournemouth area that I delayed this morning.
Was it on the Wessex Way into County Gates/LV this morning? Traffic was a complete mare all over Poole/Bournemouth this morning
Quote: Originally posted by DarrenElbrow on 09/8/2019
Quote: Originally posted by martin734 on 09/8/2019
I got myself on the local traffic news today. I had a bit of a trailer malfunction that left half a dual carriageway blocked and caused quite a bit of congestion. I was towing my tipper trailer behind my Defender when I heard a loud bang/pop followed immediately by very heavy deceleration that felt like I had done an emergency stop. I didn't have time to pull completely onto the hard shoulder before the Land Rover stopped and refused to move forwards or backwards. Fearing the worst, I lifted the bonnet expecting to see some sort of mechanical catastrophe but everything looked fine, same with the axles and gearbox underneath. I then went to look at the trailer to see if that was the cause and spotted the problem straight away. The air hose for the coupled brakes had parted company with the metal connector. The lack of air pressure caused the trailers brakes to immediately become fully applied. Unfortunately I don't tend to carry spare hoses so I had to wait for an hour for a replacement to be brought to me. I will now be carrying spares. Sorry to anyone in the Poole/Bournemouth area that I delayed this morning.
Was it on the Wessex Way into County Gates/LV this morning? Traffic was a complete mare all over Poole/Bournemouth this morning
Might have caused chaos, but at least the brakes failed "on". Could have caused carnage if the brakes had failed off. Train brakes fail "on" too, and I've had that happen with one, being a former train driver.
I had never heard of an air braked small trailer. I don't know its mechanics, but I am suprised that there is no manual override to release the brakes. How do you manhandle it if it is not connected to the tow vehicle and supplied with air?
Even so, I would have thought a Defender could have dragged the trailer off the road even with its wheels locked. Did you try low ratio?
Quote: Originally posted by Dr Zhivago on 11/8/2019
I had never heard of an air braked small trailer. I don't know its mechanics, but I am suprised that there is no manual override to release the brakes. How do you manhandle it if it is not connected to the tow vehicle and supplied with air?
Even so, I would have thought a Defender could have dragged the trailer off the road even with its wheels locked. Did you try low ratio?
It's not exactly a small trailer, It's an agri-tipper trailer of 4000kg mgw. Yes, you can release the brakes, you use a crank/ratchet type handle, but only if you carry said handle. I tend not to use it very much as the unloaded trailer is a complete PITA to move around without using the land rover or tractor. I may have been able to drag it with the wheels locked, in low gear, but I was concerned about damaging the clutch trying to drag approx 3800kg of dead weight, not to mention the potential damage to the trailer hitch and brakes.
The brakes are air actuated hydraulic. They are held on by powerful springs and the air actuated hydraulic pressure releases the brake. When I press the brake pedal the air pressure in the actuator decreases and the brakes are applied. The harder I press the pedal the more the pressure is reduced.