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In General I
have heard that the harsh ride (trailers need stiff springs and have no
shock absorbers) and lack of circulation in the feet (somewhat dependent
on the animal moving around) can result in laminitis. I don't know what
the safe limits of travel time are, I suppose it varies, depending on the
horse, the road, the trailer, and so on. I don't know anyone who has had
this problem, so I can't talk "case histories".
We have always bedded heavily with shavings, not only
to prevent the floor from becoming slippery, which could cause a fall,
but also to cushion a little, and stop to offer water not less than every
four hours. Many people carry their own water, as you never really know
the quality of what is available on the way. (Many plastics, and all black
rubber containers impart a flavor to the water, which the animals usually
don't like.) The way I heard it is that Poco Lena's owner's airplane was
reported missing, and she was forgotten in a trailer for a long time in
the resulting excitement and confusion. The possibly exaggerated story
told me was that her hooves actually fell off. It is a fact that she spent
her few remaining years lying down almost all the time, and was ultimately
euthanized because of her suffering.
| We expect to reach our destinations without horrible
medical emergencies, but just in case, a fairly comprehensive medical kit
is a good precaution. In event of the worst you will probably have to rely
on your own capabilities. Most things are obvious - lots of vetwrap and
bandaging supplies, betadine surgical scrub, jug of distilled water, clean
bucket, roll of sterile cotton, etcetera. |
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But - depending on the location and nature of injuries, it may not be possible
to stop serious bleeding with pressure, or hold everything together with
bandages. I am not convinced that the "Sportsman's Guide" always offers
the best deals, but I obtained a simple surgical kit (unused army surplus)
from them for less than $40. (Do not give them your phone number - they
will sell it to telemarketers.) This kit does not contain enough suture.
I use Valley Vet, but imagine that there are many similar sources for things
like that. Valley
Vet has surgical supplies at tolerable prices - we have done business
with them many times without any problems. (The case, incidentally,
comes from Harbor Freight for less than $20, when on sale.) In event
of treating serious injury at the roadside, most tranquilizers simply will
not work, and you may need two cotton ropes in not less than
a one inch diameter, and at least fifteen feet long each. You will need
to know how to lay the animal down and immobilize it without causing additional
injury. That really calls for illustrations, and I begin to see that I
will have to elaborate on this and make a separate page for it. That will
have to wait, and there are books and articles that deal with that subject,
although I do not recall any specifically.
About trailers themselves, I have some fairly definite
opinions, which may (or may not) be useful to you.
Chains Trailers do sometimes uncouple from
tow vehicles, so the law requires "safety" chains. These are usually so
weak, and further, attached in such a manner at both ends, that you might
as well use a rotten shoelace. Use two 3/8ths inch chains, criss-crossed
under the hitch (assuming this is bumper pull) to form a cradle of sorts,
to catch the hitch if it falls. Cut them as short as will allow free motion
between trailer and tow vehicle when at their most extreme angle to one
another (backing up). If too long, they will allow the trailer to beat
back and forth more violently, making your vehicle more difficult to control.
Also, excess length may allow them to drag at times on the pavement. Chain
should be a rated grade, I forget what, and be aware that if welded directly
to the tongue, it's temper has been destroyed adjacent to weld. Its strength
is greatly reduced at that point. Needless to say, choice in hardware at
the "truck end" is critical. I would evaluate very critically how much
punishment what they connect to can endure. Most bumpers and/or receivers
are somewhat minimal - in structure, in mounting to the frame, and the
chain hookups. The standard behind mass production can usually be summarized
as "engineering minimum". I've never heard of anyone having trouble with
bumpers coming off, but I would give every part a very long hard look.
(Mounting bolts too, how many, how big, what grade?) A little extra strength
won't hurt.
| Breakaway kit
A little chain or cable ("B") connects to one of the safety chains
with just enough less slack that if the safety chain is stretched straight
it will yank the little one, activating a switch that sends power from
a small battery carried in the trailer to the trailer brakes. Harbor Freight
might be the cheapest source for a meter to get an accurate reading of
the electrical charge remaining in that battery. That must
be checked regularly. |
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It's all fairly obvious, good clean connections at battery and switch,
proper adjustment of the activating cable / chain. An improvement that
I have considered, although not tried yet, is another variable resistor
inline from that battery, adjusted so that the brakes will come on good
and hard, but not lock up.
| Ball For a two-horse,
the ball is preferably cold-forged, on a one-inch shank, 7500lb rating
(minimum). J.C. Whitney used to have that sort (among others) in their
catalogs, and may offer them online, too. You can sometimes find a 2" ball
on an 1&1/4" shank, so much the better, but I would keep away from
anything that does not have it's rating (in pounds, not category) stamped
on the top of the ball as on the right. |
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| The solid stainless steel are sexy, but can't
compare in strength with the cold-forged high carbon kind, as on the right.
Always grease the ball before you hook up, and clean inside the hitch (old
rag) to remove abrasives that will collect in there. It doesn't take that
much wear to make a combo that will pop apart under just the right (or
is that "wrong") conditions. |
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Wheel alignment Picture the outer edge of
each tire as a vertical plane; down on hands and knees, sight along the
sides of the tires to see whether the plain represented by fronts is a
fairly close match for the rears. If you line your eye up just right, any
significant difference will be quite obvious. It could be a bent rim, but
that can be determined by jacking it up and spinning the wheel. It is surprised
how many people have really bent axles that they never even noticed. (Once
you've kind of trained your eye, these things just jump out at you.) This
is only significant at highway speeds, and even then, may never be a real
problem. Any decent welding shop can easily adjust this. Likewise, a sufficiently
skilled "handy" type person needs only raise that side, heat the axle evenly,
inboard of the near spring, not too much, no color, and no significant
heating of spring or shackles. Apply a soaking wet rag to the area that
you want to have shrink disproportionately to the rest. This will warp
the axle: Done right, corrects the problem perfectly, done wrong, makes
it worse.
Wheel-bearing adjustment Many trailers have really
loose bearings. Sometimes there are differences in the design and adjustment
of trailer bearings compared to cars, although Chilton's would likely
be a good place to get some general ideas. I don't consider this a completely
reliable method, better to jack it up, but between service intervals I
check for excessive looseness with this quick and dirty. Putting a knee
against the top of each tire and push repeatedly, hard enough to make
the entire trailer rock back and forth rhythmically. If that bearing is
seriously loose, the wheel may make a sort of thunking noise, and you
will very definitely feel the looseness. A little (very little) is normal
and needed - out on the road they will warm up, making the fit tighter.
So, a word of WARNING! An over-tightened bearing will overheat, very possibly
lock up, can ruin the spindle, and rarely, set the grease on fire. Don't
go there.
Still, some spindle/bearing designs seem to offer only two choices, too
tight or very loose. In one case it bugged me so much I got a shim with
a small interior diameter and spent forever grinding/filing out the inside
so as to provide a little "tab" to latch into the groove on
the spindle - and years later discovered that some trailer supply places
have nuts with twice as many slots cut in the top, providing twice as
many increments of adjustment than the original nut. Live and learn.
Anyway, if it has to be too tight or too loose, choose loose, it might
reduce bearing life somewhat, but I would be concerned that too tight
could cause drastic problems. Between those "aftermarket" nuts
and the fact that the washers intended for this use are sometimes thicker
or thinner, it is possible to get into a "reasonable" zone.
Incidentally, replacement bearings and seals for discontinued, or even
unknown wheels are available at places that specialize in bearings, just
check the yellow pages. Bring old parts along, as they will probably replace
by size, rather than by make and model.
| Brakes My personal
preference strongly favors the hydraulic-activated control units. These
send electricity to the brakes in proportion to the pressure in the tow
vehicle's brake system, so there is the potential for perfectly synchronous
braking action if everything is properly tuned. "1" is a stack of seven
or eight leaf springs which retract the hydraulic solenoid (piston) contained
in the casting marked "5". They also counteract the pressure of the brake
fluid variably, according to the position of the white supporting block,
which is moved by turning the knob "2". As you can see, moving it closer
to the solenoid will make the stack of springs stiffer in relation to the
force exerted by the solenoid. |
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| The image on the right shows detail of the contacts
("3") inside the unit. Again a stack of leaf springs, in this case they
conduct electricity. Each "finger" touches a separate contact when depressed.
Each contact is connected to a separate resistance coil "4" - there are
a total of seven seven "fingers" and seven related coils in this particular
unit. As each additional coil receives power, that much more is sent to
the brakes. |
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| These contacts are made sequentially, relative
to how hard the tow vehicle's brakes are applied, and therefore how
far solenoid is able to press them down. (Naturally the longest fingers
touch their contacts first, the shortest last.) One of the truly ingenious
elements of this device is that each finger presses down at an angle, so
as they are pressed farther down beyond initial contact, they slide along
those surfaces. This makes the contacts self cleaning! |
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With the trailer empty, on dirt, at maybe three miles per hour, have
someone watch what happens as you apply the trailer brakes progressively,
to the point that they begin to lock up. Does one wheel in particular always
lock up considerably before the others do? If so, this is a likely sign
of future trouble. (This assumes that the tires are all the same.) Jack
up that side, and you will probably find that that wheel will not spin
as easily as the other. Insufficient lubrication, or bearing too tight
are likely, possibly badly adjusted brake, but whatever the cause, resolve
it. Conversely, if all the others lock up, and one never
does, this also needs to be looked at. Again, with the trailer empty, and
again, at low speed, but this time on pavement, apply the
vehicle brakes reasonably hard.
| If the trailer brakes lock up really excessively,
even when you adjust the unit under the dash, you might consider getting
a separate variable resistor. This is placed inline into the feed to the
trailer brakes, and is normally mounted on the inner fender under the hood. |
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You can adjust this according to the load in the trailer, for the
maximum braking force just short of the point where you start having a
problem with lockup. (It is a simple resistance coil, bridging it closer
to the input/output end sends more power to the brakes.) If they tend to
grab after some use, it may be that they are adjusted a little too tight,
(the brakes themselves, as opposed to the bearings, separate issue) or
they may have cheap linings, which get really hot, and transmit too much
heat to everything around them. It used to be that "semi-metallic" friction
materials were the ones of choice, although now severe duty materials are
called "carbon metallic". I don't know what (if any) difference there is
between those two. Anyway, I have had many people try to sell me the lower
grades (for cars) with earnest and sincere assurances that the inferior
product will satisfy. That is totally incorrect, so beware.
| On the right - A fairly typical
electric unit. This assembly bolts to the axle, and the spindle protrudes
through the hole in the middle. "1" is the electromagnet, which becomes
increasingly powerful as the electrical current passing through it is increased.
It (magnetically) grips the inner face of the wheel drum which turns around
the stationary parts at right. The magnet is mounted on a moveable arm,
"2", which pivots on on a large stud, "3". A cam of sorts, "4", is also
mounted on the arm, (2) which levers the two brake shoes, "B" outward against
the inner circumference of the drum. |
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| On the right - The arm has been
pivoted to the right, showing how the cam (4) levers the brake shoes apart.
The arm can move in either direction, with the same effect on the shoes.
Spreading them at the top in that manner presses both shoes against the
drum pretty much equally because although they center on the same dowel
the retracting springs are hooked on, (just above "4") and so cannot
rotate, they can "float" somewhat, which makes them more or less self-center
within the drum when forced against it. |
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Since the magnet is in firm contact with the spinning drum any time power
is fed to it, it can get very hot, and burn the wires. These can be glimpsed
in the photos above, emerging from behind the magnet, going up, and then
around behind the arm. They are fastened to the arm until they get near
it's pivot, so as to pass out the back of the base plate at a point where
they aren't required to move much. If replacing these, normally magnet
and all, special care is needed to first fasten the wires securely to the
arm, (a little more than factory can't hurt, might help) and then to provide
enough slack to ensure free movement between the last fastener and the
point they exit the base plate without leaving enough slack
to
permit interference with other parts.
Latches If it is the sort with recessed latches,
with the paddle-type handle on feed, escape, and tack doors, take a close
look for evidence of how far the latching tabs actually insert into the
holes that they snap into. Sometimes it isn't far enough to prevent doors
from popping open. I have had trouble especially the tack compartment doors,
which seem prone to working open as you travel, but provided there is enough
engagement of the latching tab, keeping them locked will prevent this.
If the locks don't work, or the keys are lost, I turned a recent
lock replacement into a "how-to". Some years ago a girl from Washington
told me about someone who dumped some cattle on the road when the rear
door inexplicably popped open. One of ours has a rear door that is fastened
by hooks that rotate around and engage the door. Awhile ago I noticed that
two of the three hooks were gradually bending, and not latching in nearly
as far as they originally did. I suddenly had a theory about what happened
to the fellow in Washington.
Tires You may notice that the tires
look
well inflated until the horses get in, whereupon, one or some, suddenly
look low on air. Some just lose more than others do. The inflation gauges
at gas stations are notoriously inaccurate, and a good one of your own
ought not cost more than ten dollars. Always check them before you leave
home. Particularly if using a heavy-duty tire (a good idea) you may notice
as time goes by that the tread is wearing a lot more in the middle than
at the edges. This indicates that they need not be inflated to the maximum
pressures indicated on the sidewall, but reduce it judiciously,
and check that they aren't hot after you've been on the highway fully loaded.
(Always inflate according to the load.) Another thing is
that often, tires destined to go on trailers are not balanced, as would
be the case with a car. It may be that they were, but look for the little
lead weights clipped on the rims. Your horses will like it better if there
are some.
I assume that everyone is acquainted with the usual brainwashing tactics,
such as routinely feeding them grain in the trailer, to make them like
it in there before going anywhere. The last thing you need is an animal
going nuts in the trailer.
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