# American Travel Trailers/5th Wheel......brake question



## 101411

Hi.

Wanting to pick your brains re the braking systems on USA travel trailers (caravan!!) and 5th wheels.

I understand the USA use electric brakes as standard and that they are not legal in the UK. Is this correct??

If so how do you go about making them legal for UK roads??

Are 5th wheels covered by the same laws?? I cant get my head round how they can be as HGVs use air brakes on the trailers

Thanks in advance


----------



## trevorf

Hi Dazzer

I had a good look around a fifth wheel at the NEC earlier this year. Noticed it had 2 air hose connection pipes to Nissan pick up. Like you though I can't fathom out how the pick up generates air to brake the trailer.

Trevor


----------



## 88927

This reply is a wild guess based on a little experience (which I am reliably informed is dangerous.....). I would think that the towing vehicle is fitted with an air compressor and receiver tank. This in turn then provides the force to actuate the brakes. How the system works out when and how much force is needed I have absolutely no idea, but I can't wait for some knowledgeable person to come along and tell us :lol: :lol: 

Keith


----------



## 102138

*trailer/5th wheel brakes*

Hi
The brakes on the nissan/5th wheel are not American they are standard UK air trailer system ,(as far as I know)
American trailer brakes are electric, they are worked by a couple of different systems, the most common is a gaget which is wired via the stop light, and measures decellaration, increasing power to the brakes as required. The problem with these is that are not fitted with a "park" system which is a legal requirment on british trailers, this addition must be made to the trailer. Unless anyone knows better!!
Nigel


----------



## 101193

The EC has common laws on things like braking systems. If it's legal in one EC country it's legal in all EC countries.

Here's a Dutch company that sells 5ers: http://www.jmrtrading.nl/starteng.htm

They use electric brakes that are "EEC-approved" and supplied by this company: http://www.boopark.nl/

Check out the "Brakes" tab that explains how the electric brakes work.

If it's legal in Holland then it's legal in the UK. IMHO.


----------



## 101411

Just thought id bump this 1 back to the top again in case anyone else has any ideas. Not really had an answer to the question but you never know, someone out there might have missed it 1st time round


----------



## loddy

At the NEC I was talking to a guy selling 5th wheelers as a complete set up (pick up and trailer) and asked how they overcome the brake problem and he said " because electric brakes were illegal they fitted the pickup with a air compressor which powered the brakes " hope this helps
Loddy


----------



## 110279

I know its a while now but this might help.
I have a Celtic Rambler (5th Wheel Co) and it has standard drum brakes that are applied using compressed air from the towing pickup.
My pickup is a Ford F-150 Lariat 5.4L Auto fitted with a compressor & air tank from TractAir. There is also a device connected to the Ford's braking system - actually takes directly off the brake controller - that supplies the correct brake air pressure for the caravan brakes. The compressor keeps the air tank topped up which in turn keeps the compressed air holding tank on the caravan topped up, when I brake the correct amount of pressure to apply is signalled via one of the "pigtail" hydraulic connectors to the caravan where the correct braking pressure is also applied. The harder you brake the truck the harder the caravan brakes are applied. Also if the compressor fails or the trucks brakes fail the caravan brakes are automatically applied to stop the rig, similarly, if you turn off the engine or apply the hand brake the caravan brakes apply. Disconnecting the air fom the caravan applies the caravan brakes. The Celtic Rambler also has air suspension that uses the same air supply as the brakes, this is useful for levelling the caravan on site (side to side), you can also lift the caravan higher than the normal travelling level for getting over big bumps, such as ferry ramps or for removing the wheels easier.
I was also told by the CR manufacturers that American electric brakes are illigal in Europe, TractAir (www.tractair.co.uk) also confirmed this to be true - any towed caravan or trailer over a certain weight (I think it is 3500 kgs, but look up the details on the TractAir site) must have pneumatic brakes that do all the things mentioned above. 5th Wheel Company also do a smalled version of the CR that does not have pneumatic brakes, but I don't know how this is braked - it maybe the same as a standard caravan tow bracket momentum type.


----------

