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Small tandem axle for small TOAD

pcorssmit said:
What about a landscaping trailer?
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Funny you mention that. I have an old 5x10 trailer that we use for various tasks. It has a 3500lb axle ( no brakes but does have flanges)
I may have to look at it further.... Though I fear being a cheap angle iron trailer its a fool errand making it work for this.

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welndmn said:
when it gets bad and tight, I can dump the car and still not have to deal with a trailer.
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This was one of the pros I've heard for flat tow, especially if you have someone with you, its quick to unhook and have someone drive the TOAD into a tight campground, don't need the extra room for a trailer, ect.
 
posford said:
This was one of the pros I've heard for flat tow, especially if you have someone with you, its quick to unhook and have someone drive the TOAD into a tight campground, don't need the extra room for a trailer, ect.
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It’s not super quick. There is more to unhook than just the tow bar. Also have safety chains, brake buddy in front of the driver seat, brake buddy breakaway cable and tail lights. I’ve found it almost as quick to dump the jeep off the trailer and then dump the trailer.

We always shoot for pull thru campsites so just dumping the jeep is simple.
 
Flat towing is out for me, the odds of braking something are just to high. The Samurai! will be able to tow its own trailer, so unhooking from the motorhome is still an option.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Could have pulled the front shafts in way less than 8 hours though.

Or rented a tow dolly, or a uhaul trailer.

Have to use the noggin sometimes :flipoff2:
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There is more to the story. We had towed the Jeep planning to use it for an entire week and my buggy came over on a separate trailer with another rig. They were only there for the weekend. We were there for an entire week. So, they took my jeep back home and the buggy stayed with us. The buggy could not be towed so I needed my trailer no matter what. So one day of my vacation was going to get the trailer so that I could have my buggy for the remainder of the week. It was the best plan with the situation we had.

Rentals don't exist in that area, so yeah, the noggin was used. :idea:
 
white-rhino said:
There is more to the story. We had towed the Jeep planning to use it for an entire week and my buggy came over on a separate trailer with another rig. They were only there for the weekend. We were there for an entire week. So, they took my jeep back home and the buggy stayed with us. The buggy could not be towed so I needed my trailer no matter what. So one day of my vacation was going to get the trailer so that I could have my buggy for the remainder of the week. It was the best plan with the situation we had.

Rentals don't exist in that area, so yeah, the noggin was used. :idea:
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It does make more sense. Although I still don't see why pulling the shafts wasn't an option?

Could have then had friends flat tow it back, or someone else drive it back.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
It does make more sense. Although I still don't see why pulling the shafts wasn't an option?

Could have then had friends flat tow it back, or someone else drive it back.
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Didn't need to. My daughter and her husband were pulling my 38' gooseneck with their jeep and my buggy, but only for the weekend. We were going to stay mild with our jeep on the towbar for the whole week. But since we broke it, we just sent it home with them and we kept the buggy for the week. But that made it necessary to go get my 14' trailer.

So back to the point of the thread, shit happens when off roading and my preference is to trailer vs tow.

Loaded up to head home.

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white-rhino said:
Didn't need to. My daughter and her husband were pulling my 38' gooseneck with their jeep and my buggy, but only for the weekend. We were going to stay mild with our jeep on the towbar for the whole week. But since we broke it, we just sent it home with them and we kept the buggy for the week. But that made it necessary to go get my 14' trailer.
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So a super specific situation

white-rhino said:
So back to the point of the thread, shit happens when off roading and my preference is to trailer vs tow.

Loaded up to head home.
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I get it, but outside of the weird situation you had happen. Even a broken r&p wouldn't make flat towing a big deal with a bit of work.

I think it just depends on the use for me.

Something that's more of a crawler? Trailer for sure.

Something basically stock to bomb around on dirt roads and trails like in the op? I'd really think about flat towing.
 
Totally agree. If I was stuck without a trailer option, I could have pulled both sides and pulled the inner axle shafts and stuck to 2wd stuff for the week. Probably 3 hours worth of work. The other thing that gets overlooked is tire wear on expensive tires. I have considered selling my tow bar several times but I still keep it.... because just maybe I will try it again. :shaking:

Oh and just to show I actually towed the JK. :flipoff2:

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Thanks for all the comments.

Looking deeper into supplemental flat tow braking systems, Ive realized that they are not like traditional trailer brakes. New to all of this, so bear with me….

Every unit Ive found looks to be either entirely surge, or a combination of electric and inertia/surge. None of the units, portable or permanent mount look to act like trailer brakes when stopped. They only operate when slowing in motion. And few only the brake buddy stealth has an in-cab brake controller to adjust things from the driver seat. All others are a set it and forget it, with everything operating within a level of sensitivity, and max braking based upon calibration.


Considering the roads/trails this setup already seas, in all weather conditions including snow/ice, Id very much prefer brakes to act like trailer brakes, with in cab brake controller to keep tabs on things and adjust as needed. All in all, more control.

Thoughts?
 
IDASHO said:
Thats my thought process currently.
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I was trying to think of a Suzuki ish suspension you could adopt to make a really awesome ifs suspension with disc brakes etc. but I have no knowledge of such things.

I've seen some videos of guys using rear suspension of little fwd cars, seems perfect.
Real shocks, disc brakes unit bearings etc.
 
Thoughts? I don't use brakes on my flat tow.

That's all, never had any issues with it trying to push or anything
 
Provience said:
Thoughts? I don't use brakes on my flat tow.

That's all, never had any issues with it trying to push or anything
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Beyond the obvious legal issues that ‘require’ towed vehicle brakes in all but a a few states in the US, I much prefer to have brakes for a truck that already tests the limits of its own brakes. Be it flat towed or trailer. Then there is winter travel, ice, snow, etc. As well as break-away braking.
 
I have a Road Master Even Brake. This is the second one. The old one was 12 years old when the air compressor quit compressing air. Road Master has a customer loyalty trade in program, which at the time was about 25% off a new unit. The newer one is much better in deciding when to brake. Have had the new model for 3-4 years with no complaints. If you flat tow a rig with a off road based suspension and tires, use the "less" settings.

Also consider limiting the front suspension rebound. I have a pair of limit straps on posts with quick release pins to keep the rebound down to about 6". I had to brake hard, like standing on the pedal when a box truck pulled out in front of me. The 14" coilovers unloaded, the tow bar pivoted up and broke off the mounting tabs, which allowed my rig to run into the back of the tow vehicle, about 4' up. Insurance said it was a mechanical failure so no fault and paid for the $12,000 in damage to my tow vehicle, and a new tow bar. Trail rig was unscathed. The limit straps keep it from reoccurring.


If you use a supplemental braking system, you will also want to ad a 12 volt charge wire to the wiring to keep the toad vehicle's battery charged on long hauls.
 
BDK said:
I have a Road Master Even Brake. This is the second one. The old one was 12 years old when the air compressor quit compressing air. Road Master has a customer loyalty trade in program, which at the time was about 25% off a new unit. The newer one is much better in deciding when to brake. Have had the new model for 3-4 years with no complaints. If you flat tow a rig with a off road based suspension and tires, use the "less" settings.

Also consider limiting the front suspension rebound. I have a pair of limit straps on posts with quick release pins to keep the rebound down to about 6". I had to brake hard, like standing on the pedal when a box truck pulled out in front of me. The 14" coilovers unloaded, the tow bar pivoted up and broke off the mounting tabs, which allowed my rig to run into the back of the tow vehicle, about 4' up. Insurance said it was a mechanical failure so no fault and paid for the $12,000 in damage to my tow vehicle, and a new tow bar. Trail rig was unscathed. The limit straps keep it from reoccurring.


If you use a supplemental braking system, you will also want to ad a 12 volt charge wire to the wiring to keep the toad vehicle's battery charged on long hauls.
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What was the angle of the tow bar between the tow vehicle and towed vehicle like when that happened?
 
IDASHO said:
Considering the roads/trails this setup already seas, in all weather conditions including snow/ice, Id very much prefer brakes to act like trailer brakes, with in cab brake controller to keep tabs on things and adjust as needed. All in all, more control.
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Isn't that what the Brake Buddy is supposed to do via the towed vehicle brake pedal?
As I understood it, I thought it braked proportionally to the power sent by the electric brake controller and had a breakaway as a backup that applied full brakes.
I have never run one, but I thought that's I read they did.

Aaron Z
 
aczlan said:
Isn't that what the Brake Buddy is supposed to do via the towed vehicle brake pedal?
As I understood it, I thought it braked proportionally to the power sent by the electric brake controller and had a breakaway as a backup that applied full brakes.
I have never run one, but I thought that's I read they did.

Aaron Z
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My Brake Buddy is basically a surge brake. Tow rig brake position doesn't affect it.
 
white-rhino said:
My Brake Buddy is basically a surge brake. Tow rig brake position doesn't affect it.
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Correct. Though some units need a brake signal AND inertia to start braking.

Unless you have air brakes in the tow vehicle, I dont believe there is a system on the market that provides a proportional braking based upon braking effort of the tow rig. They are on/off. The inertia/surge systems are typically proportional.
 
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