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Re: [Shop-talk] Electronic trailer brakes

To: "'North Bay British Car Club'" <nobbc@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: [Shop-talk] Electronic trailer brakes
From: "Randall" <tr3driver@ca.rr.com>
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:00:50 -0700
> Don't suggest pumping the brakes, ABS is far better at it then any
> human can be.  

I won't.  Pumping is _always_ a bad idea, except for people that don't know
how to modulate (or brakes that are defective).  To get the best braking,
you want just enough brake that the tire develops a small amount of slip,
rather than the on/off/on that you get with either ABS or pumping the pedal.
But humans can be better than ABS at modulating (when conditions are the
same at all 4 wheels), for maximum braking effectiveness.

However, my old controller also had a lever sticking out which acted as an
override.  You could push it either way, to get either more or less braking
from the trailer brakes.  

Personally, I try to avoid towing heavy trailers on ice, not to mention
slamming on the brakes while doing it.  If the situation did arise where I
had to slam on the brakes, on ice, towing a trailer heavy enough to need
brakes, I'd be looking for something soft to hit rather than hoping the ABS
might save me.  Ye canna change the laws of physicks, Jim.

Interestingly enough, the NHTSA report basically says they can't tell if ABS
on semi trailers does any actual good or not.
"The amount of data is insufficient to draw conclusions about the effect of
ABS on the trailer"
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811339.pdf

-- Randall 
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