We take it for granted that our braking distances extend when towing a trailer—especially a heavy one. But does this have to be the case? General Motors aims to challenge that paradigm by making the eBoost electronic braking module that handles the brake-by-wire programming for its current crop of larger trucks available to trailer manufacturers and encouraging them to up their game on trailer brakes and tires. The theory is this: If a heavy trailer has brakes and tires that are the match for those on the truck, why can’t a truck-and-trailer rig stop in the same distance as the truck alone?
The team took a 9,000-pound, two-axle travel trailer and upgraded the drum brakes to discs by installing readily available kits from Kodiak Brake Products. It then installed the eBoost brake controller and all the related wheel-speed and other sensors it requires to provide full anti-lock braking along with software that allows communication between the truck and trailer via the standard seven-pin trailer wiring connector. The tires were also upgraded for improved grip. GM claims that if the setup were baked in at the factory, the modifications would add about $1,000 to the cost of the trailer.
Prior to the brake-system upgrade, the engineers hooked up the trailer, adjusted the trailer-brake gain, and conducted a braking test. That 9,000-pound trailer, relying on its factory electric drum brakes, extended the unladen truck’s panic-stopping distance by 43 feet. After the brake-system upgrade, the stopping-distance difference shrank to just three feet. The system is also expected to greatly improve trailer-sway mitigation.
It’s conceivable that future eBoost-equipped trailers may have no need for trailer-brake gain controllers. This would be a welcome development, as manipulating that trailer-brake controller tends to be more of an art than a science.
Two companies currently distribute aftermarket upgrade kits that include ABS and sway-mitigation: Dexter Products’ Tow Assist, engineered in conjunction with Bosch, adds electric ABS to drum brakes, and Tuson RV Brakes LLC offers ActuLink hydraulic trailer ABS. GM is working with organizations like the North America Trailer Manufacturers and Recreational Vehicle Industry Association to incorporate eBoost-enhanced braking systems in at the factory. Having such a system factory-installed on new trailers promises to greatly improve safety and driver confidence when trailering, and it could even reduce trailer tire wear. Here’s hoping this good idea is well received by the trailer industry and implemented quickly.
The post GM’s Latest: Trailers That Brake as Well as Trucks appeared first on MotorTrend.
Source: WORLD NEWS
