Brake Controller

[prairieschooner]

I am buying a Car Trailer from a friend and it has Electric Brakes. It is a real nice Steel Deck Trailer that pivots up with a hydraulic cylinder to load the car. I am buying the Trailer more for towing my '55 Bird and '52 Ford 8N to shows but it will work great behind the Newell as well. I may actually be able to load our Golf Cart and the CJ7 on it.

I could use advice on a Brake Controller. I have a TEKONSHA Prodigy that I bough a few years ago but never installed but I will most likely put that on my Tahoe and not the Newell. Since it is 38' to the rear of the coach I would appreciate some advice on brake controllers.

thanks in advance.

[chockwald]

Steve, that is the exact brake controller I had installed in my Newell. Works great.....just a long wire run to the rear of the coach. I use the same model in my Expdedition when I use it to pull the trailer. It was just "plug and play"....I had a jack under dash to plug into. This trailer is a flatbed, not enclosed?

[encantotom]

i have that same one on my f350 and it is great.

tom

[prairieschooner]

Yes it is a flat bed with diamond plate covering the entire bed. The ramps are on the aft part of the bed and there is a hydraulic jack in the front that raises the front, once the car is on you just lower the platform back down and pin it. The '55 Bird is low so this type of trailer should be better than the beaver tail type and I wanted the closed bed to keep the underside of the car protected. The fenders come off easily to allow the door to open without hitting them.
I didn't want an enclosed trailer. I wanted a trailer to move my cars to shows etc. Since I have this one I would like to be able to go to shows with the Newell as well. It looks like this one.

PS If I was to get an enclosed trailer I would want one that has the car lift in it like the last pictures. We saw this at the Good Guys Car Show in Alameda 2010. These guys really have nice toys!

[MarkofSJC]

Beware of overall length! In California (specifically on I-10) they love pulling over coaches with trailers and literally taping their overall length. If it's even 1" over 65', they not only get an expensive ticket but the CHP will require the trailer be removed and forcibly towed off the freeway (naturally, the tow is really expensive, as there's nothing for miles and it typically takes a HD tow truck).

One question I've always had is...how do you get out of the car in those inclosed trailers? Doesn't look like you can get a door open to get out!

Mark

[chockwald]

My wife is able to get out of her car rather easily while in the car hauler. On the other hand, I would not be able to exit the car.

[prairieschooner]

Yes, thanks for the "heads up" Mark, I know how the CHP is here in California. We are in a '38 coach so should be OK but I will use the tape just to be sure an to know what we are in for, but still 65'-38'= 27' and I am sure that we will have less than that.
Yes it is hard to get out of the car in some of the trailers but that is why I wanted the one that we got. I didn't share this earlier but it is appropriate now, could this be Clarke? no they have a retro Thunderbird and not a '55 Chevy;

[MarkofSJC]

Steve ~ too funny! At what point do you ditch the humility and call the fire department when you're "stuck".

Steve at CA Couch told me that ticket is $400, PLUS having your trailer towed and getting it out of impound. YIKES!

[prairieschooner]

yeah, this guy was not going to quit and be stuck! Here are a couple pics of another guys toys.
He didn't have power to his coach, I was able to help him and the Wife! so he gave me a ride through the show in this show winner, the Hemi powered willys.
PS these both fit in that trailer behind them, it also has a lift.