MTFCA Forum

Has anyone installed trailer brakes on a T era camp trailer??. I am looking at a trailer that uses Ford 5 on 5-1/2 bolt pattern. Same as Model A and flathead V-8 era wheels. I will be pulling it with my 27 touring. My car has 21 inch wire wheels. So my thoughts are put 21 inch Model A wheels on the trailer, so the wheels look alike. The Model A wheels will bolt on the trailer OK. I would also like to put electric brakes on the trailer as added stopping power. I do not live in a flat land state so safety is my main reason in the Ozark mountains of Arkansas. Just thought I would ask for input from someone who has already installed brakes or tried to install brakes. My main concern is will a Model A wheel fit over electric trailer brake drum. My next step will be to take a Model A wheel to a trailer supply and try it to see if anything fits. Just hoping someone has already did it and knows what works ... Thanks for any input .....

My father built a trailer from a 1925 or 1926 model t pickup truck. He used a conversion adapter to fit std 4.5 in bolt circle wheels. The trailer was used until 1976, then left to rust away. The rear axle was the only thing left. I might still have the wheel adapters. I will look.

Trailer brakes are usually surge actuated or electric actuated. Your model t vehicle would require extremely good brakes to use surge type trailer brakes. Electric brakes would seem to make sense.

I would consider using a standard trailer axle with electric brakes and make adapters to accommodate the wheels of your choice.

Art Mirtes

Art. I figured I would use a standard trailer axle with electric brakes. My car already has sure-stop disc brakes on it. The disc brakes have a hydraulic brake light switch, so hooking up an electric brake actuator will be easy. The trailer has Ford 19 inch 1932 - up wire wheels on it now. They are 5 on 5-1/2 bolt pattern. So far I have not found an axle with 5 on 5-1/2 inch pattern in a 3000 lb axle. All are 10,000 lb axles with that pattern. So it may be adapters or re-drill a 5 on 4-1/2 inch drum to a 5 on 5-1/2 pattern. Thanks for your input.

If the hub flange diameter is large enough to accommodate a 5.5 inch bolt circle, redrilling would be my choice. Otherwise, adapters will be needed, which will change the wheel offset. I assume you won't be putting a heavy load in the trailer or pulling it at high speed.

Art Mirtes

I use a simple heavy duty rheostat for a controller. Great idea to have trailer brakes.

Modern Trailer brake controllers have an inertia detecting chip or pendulum on a rheostat that when triggered vary the amount of gain to the brakes based on how fast you are stopping.

I think rigging up electric trailer brakes will be real easy if I can figure out a way to get 5 on 5-1/2 pattern and not be too big to fit inside the Model A wheel. I have real good brakes now because of the Sure Stop disc, but I still only have a small patch of rubber touching the ground. Trailer brakes will give me twice the rubber touching the ground. My main concern is we travel gravel roads a lot when camping with the T. Not be able to stop in gravel is the main concern. We already turned the car upside down once because of brakes. My wife says that's enough.

Search Redarc brake controller for the best solution. No clumsy control box in view. It can be mounted remotely. All you see is the controll button on/under the dash. Infinitely adjustable to suit load, braking effort, road surfaces. Cheaper for you than us, due to exchange rates.

Hope this helps.
Allan from down under.

I have a vintage wooden box trailer, made with a T frame rail as the drawbar. It will go nicely with my unrestored tourer buckboard, Henrietta.

However, Henrietta is tired, and I am loathe to ask her to pull a trailer, especially with some sort of load. My thoughts are as follows.

A standard T needs some sort of power upgrade if towing a load of any consequence. A big help with this would be a Ruckstell rear axle so you have an intermediate gear get along.

Model T brakes are marginal when driving in today's traffic. Auxiliary brakes help, but you still have a very small footprint between the car and the road. Adding an extra load makes them even more marginal. Installing electric brakes on the trailer is a sound idea, but it comes with reservations. The additional footprint of the trailer brakes is minimal, especially if there is little load. If you have a decent load, and consequently a better footprint and more effective brakes, then the car is made to work harder.

It comes down to personal choice. For me, my trailer with a couple of cornsacks full of polystyrene beads, is about all I would want to haul, and treat the whole deal as a display rather than serving any useful purpose.

Allan from down under.

Allen, We do quite a bit of camping. Right now we just use a canvas umbrella tent. With all our gear and food usually carrying 7 gallon of extra gas the car is heavilly loaded. Our car actually seems to drive and act better when loaded. But We do have a Warford with overdrive, underdrive, and straight thru or stock gearing when in second Warford. My engine is a strong running engine paired with the Warford has never lacked for power or even a good driving speed. We will still use the tent if off road in the Ozark Mountain National Forest all around us. The trailer will probably be used in our State Parks, or easier to access Nation Forest primative campgrounds. The only real issue for me is stopping in gravel. So hopefully trailer brakes should help with skidding. From suggestions from other folks and my research I think I'm going to use a 3000 lb axle with electric brakes to replace the stock axle that Ill put in storage for the next caretaker. .I do not want to modify anything that can not be very easily undone. The new axle will have a standard 5 on 4-1/2 inch bolt pattern. Then use an adapter to change to the 5 on 5-1/2 inch pattern. Then cut the axle and shorten it till it is the same length at the outside of adapters as stock axle. Then make mounts to mount new axle with adapters to the stock springs, (yes I am certified to make any welds needed) Then a simple hookup to the stop light switch to controller and brakes. Sounds simple enough, but we will see. I'll have to wait till I can actually lay under it for good measurements.

Thanks to everyone for the comments. It's always nice to hear others opinions .....
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A few years ago I saw a model t touring car from West Virginia that that was pulling a trailer. The car had RM brakes, a Ruxtell, and 4.00 to 1 axle gearing. Maybe a high compression head but not sure. The owner said that the car/trailer handles the hills in WV quite well.

Art Mirtes

I don't know if the above trailer had brakes, but I think it did.

Art Mirtes

Donnie, you have the upgraded driveline with your Warford. An overdrive and underdrive are ideal.
If you were here, I could direct you to S.A. Trailer and Chassis, and they could make the axle any length you like, and drill the brake drums to suit your wheels. Check out the electric brake controller I posted. Both my moderns have them. All you see is a little 3/4" knob which changes colour during operation. I don't know if they come in 6 volt versions though.

Allan from down under.