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M813A1 trailer brakes question

Steamynachos

Member
178
3
18
Location
Calgary Alberta
I want to get a beaver tail trailer to pull behind my M813A1. The trailer has air brakes will they work properly with the truck does the truck have a large enough air tank or enough pressure to work the brakes and are the air over hydro brake compatible with an air only trailer?
 

CGarbee

Well-known member
2,448
511
113
Location
Raleigh, NC
In a nutshell, it will all work just fine... You've got both service and emergency glad hands on the back of the truck to hook up to the trailer. Trailer does not care that the truck is air over hydrualic, just that you have the air to actuate its brakes, and you do.

Only issue that you might have is if the trailer is a civilian one in which case you will have to tweak the lights: either change out the plug on the trailer to a military one or put a military one in alongside the civilian one, or add a civilian socket on the truck in parallel to the military one. And then swap out the bulbs so that you can run the lights (24v for use behind the military truck, or LED's that can handle both 12 and 24) and swap them if you put the trailer behind a civi truck (or you can just install a second complete wiring harness if you want to run a dual setup (so you can use the trailer with military or civilian trucks without thinking...).

The lighting bit likely sounds more confusing than it is, but you have options depending on the type of trailer and if you are the exclusive user of it, and what else you may pull it with. The brake question is really a non issue from a use standpoint.
 
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Scout

Member
94
4
8
Location
Scottsville, NY
I'm looking into towing an air-braked tag trailer behind my M813. It looks like the brakes will work fine, but what's the deal with parking as there is no valve on the dash to dump air? How do I supply air to the trailer? I'm currently missing one gladhand (right side if I recall) and I don't think there is a valve on that side. Obviously I need to put a new gladhand on, but if there is no valve and no air does that mean something else is disconnected or plugged?
 
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jasonjc

Well-known member
5,325
283
83
Location
Gravette Ar.
Yes some thing is missing. It should have a glade hand on both sides. And you are right about no valve on the dash,you would have too drain the air on the trailer by unhooking the air lines,if you want to set the spring bakes. All you have to do to supply air too the trailer is to hook up the air lines and open the valves right by the glade hands.
 

Autocar

Member
260
15
18
Location
California
I'm just getting thru fixing up my M818 tractor pulling an M871 semi trailer. SONJC is correct about hooking up the air lines. You have to hook up the emergency line gladhands then open the air valve handle. To park or set the trailer brakes, you have to shut off the air valve handle and break the gladhand connection to dump the air in the emergency line. This also means that if the emergency air line breaks while you're driving down the road, you lose all the air in the truck. Seems like a really dumb system, but I guess they figured that if you were getting shot at you could still drive away with hydraulic brakes only and you could drag the trailer along. I added a trailer supply valve with automatic low pressure shut-off just like a normal civilian tractor/trailer. Involved replumbing some of the brake lines though.
 

Monty

Member
352
1
18
Location
Raymond Wisconsin
I'm just getting thru fixing up my M818 tractor pulling an M871 semi trailer. SONJC is correct about hooking up the air lines. You have to hook up the emergency line gladhands then open the air valve handle. To park or set the trailer brakes, you have to shut off the air valve handle and break the gladhand connection to dump the air in the emergency line. This also means that if the emergency air line breaks while you're driving down the road, you lose all the air in the truck. Seems like a really dumb system, but I guess they figured that if you were getting shot at you could still drive away with hydraulic brakes only and you could drag the trailer along. I added a trailer supply valve with automatic low pressure shut-off just like a normal civilian tractor/trailer. Involved replumbing some of the brake lines though.
Any better description on how you plumbed it? I'd like to add this to my 818 to dump the air in the trailer like a civilian tractor.
 

Autocar

Member
260
15
18
Location
California
I don't know how to do pictures but maybe I can describe it. The valve I used was a Bendix 40 PSI automatic dash control valve. It comes bare so make sure you order the mounting nut, red octagon trailer knob, and the roll pin. I tied the supply port of the valve into the manifold that is mounted inside the cab at the center of the firewall. The output of the valve goes to a bulkhead fitting that I installed on the firewall just inboard of the horns. The line goes down the firewall in the engine compartment and then bends under the floor of the cab between the frame and the engine bellhousing. An 18" long air brake hose attaches there and the other end is clamped to the frame and attaches to a new piece of tubing that runs along the frame to the crossmember right at the back of the transfer case. The M818 is different than the M813 because it is a tractor and has the pogo stick for the trailer at the back of the cab in addition to the rear gladhands. I think the M813 would be easier to plumb. On the M818, a supply line comes from the air tanks on the drivers side and goes along the crossmember until it tees into the pogo stick. The supply line continues over to the passenger frame rail where it tees into the line that goes to the rear gladhand and goes forward to supply the front axle shift valve on the transmission. I removed the tee at the pogo stick and put a right angle fitting in its place so that the pogo stick gets its air supply from the passenger side of the truck. Where that line ties into the tee on the passenger side, I removed the trans supply line and made a new line that goes from the gladhand lines tee to the new air brake line that I added from the supply valve. I then made a short jumper line connected to the old supply line from the tanks over to an elbow connected to the old line that goes to the trans supply. I think on the M813 all you would have to do is disconnect the gladhand line tee on the passenger frame rail and put a right angle fitting from the crossover supply line to the trans air valve and then replace the tee with a union to connect the rear glad hand line to your new trailer valve line.
It sounds complicated, but really all you are doing is changing where the rear glad hand gets its supply air. Instead of picking it up from the air tanks, it is getting air from your new valve in the cab.
Make sure that the hose you are using is a DOT approved air brake line. Also, the 3/8 copper tube fittings are not normal hardware store fittings. Trucks use DOT approved fittings made by Bendix and they do not interchange with commercial fittings. All of this stuff is available from Fleetpride or any other heavy duty truck supply house.

If you are thinking about doing this, you might wait a week or two until I hook up the trailer and drag it around to test it. Without the trailer, everything works perfectly but you never know until you test everything together. I will be getting the trailer out of its storage yard in a week or so and will let you know.
 

Autocar

Member
260
15
18
Location
California
I hooked up the trailer last nite and drove it around quite a bit. The trailer supply valve system works great! Just a punch of the button and the brakes set or release.
 

emr

New member
3,211
24
0
Location
landing , new jersey
You can and it has been done in the unit here in the past, the trolly handle for trailer brake control set up in the M 818 works just great in an 813 and will offer u awesome control in just baking the trailer when needed, and we all know that day can come, :) good luck, ...
 

fasttruck

Well-known member
1,265
623
113
Location
Mesa, AZ
900 series tractors have apush to release trailer brake control valve so if you have access to one you can study how they hooked it up. As far are losing air pressure and having a run away if the brakes on the trailer work correctly when air pressure in the emergency line reaches 40-60 pounds they should apply on their own and eventually stop the unit.
 

fasttruck

Well-known member
1,265
623
113
Location
Mesa, AZ
M 821s have maxi brakes. When coupling a M 818 to one think about knocking down the had applicator valve prior to leaving the cab (and after you set the hand brake), hook the two lines up to the trailer and open the service valve (on driver's side) first and then the emergency second. This prevents the sinking feeling associated with the trailer brakes releasing while you are on the deck behind the cab and the unit starts to roll. Another variation on truck surfing. . .
 
You can and it has been done in the unit here in the past, the trolly handle for trailer brake control set up in the M 818 works just great in an 813 and will offer u awesome control in just baking the trailer when needed, and we all know that day can come, :) good luck, ...
true this can be added. but dont forget to use the check valve or it will not work rite. on my last build i used what i think they called a single/double check valve.
 
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