Trailer Toad

Toad News....and more"

Home
Trailer Toad 2010.5 3500 HD
NEW PAGE! New Items & Used Toads
Contact Us
Company Policies
"Toad News..and more"
Product Catalog
Ask Us, we will answer your question
How it works - What it can do - Questions / Answers
Assembly Tips - Adjustments
Using the Trailer Toad
Shipping Information
Racer Rewards Program &"Atta Boys"
Our Customers
Customer Referral Program
Upcoming Event Schedule
Stabilizer Bars and Axle Upgrade Kit
Authorized Dealers
Air-Tabs; control the air.
Wheels and Tires "NEW"!!

"Toad News...and more"

Free Stabilizer Bar Kit with new Trailer Toads in July, 2010

Stay in touch with the latest developments at Trailer Toad LLC.

Updated as often as needed to keep you up to date.

  • New product announcements.
  • Technical Information and tips.
  • How to improve the performance of your Trailer Toad.
  • Special sales and promotions, you will only see in "Toad News..and more"

This is the Dodson support with "rub strip"
Ronnie_end_supt.jpg
Adjustment is made by turning bolt up or down.

July 21,2010: Tech Tip of the Month---- 

Ronnie Dodson, from Virginia, has probably done as much testing and working on his own Toad as anyone on the planet. His latest idea is an excellent upgrade any of you can do if want to do a little fabricating.

His idea is to put a "support" between the body of the Toad and the axle. This will take stress off the center spindle when you go over a curb or through a "strange dip" in the road. If you have a lot of tongue weight this is a good idea in my opinion as well.

On the older 2009 and prior Toads it is a pretty easy project. He put a 5/8" hole in the top of the 2x4 tubing that is welded to the top of the axle. Locate it in the center of the tube directly under the side frame of the Toad. He then bought an inexpensive 1/2" thick, hard plastic cutting board at Wal-Mart because he wanted a "slick piece of tough plastic". He used a thick wall steel cup (I think a steel freeze plug will work) and welded it to a 3" long 5/8" bolt. He used a hole saw to cut a circle out of the plastic cutting board and fit it to slide into the freeze plug cup. Put a nut on the bolt, slide it into the 5/8" hole on the tube and you can adjust this "support" so it just barely rides against the bottom of the side frame rail on the main body of the Toad bu using the two nuts to lock the bolt at any height you need.

Now, if you hit a curb or go through a strange twisting dip in the road you have some additional support for the center bearings and spindle. It might take you a weekend or two to get it done but I like the idea of supporting the spindle and bearings if you run over something that could force one side of the axle up rather ubruptly.

Thanks Ronnie, appreciate your input.

This isn't his first idea we have used. He was one of the first to use a "pin" to drop into place to lock the axle. We have since converted our entire reverse system to a Dual-Pin locking system.

July 19th-

We have the Trailer Toad "Tote-Handles" in stock and ready to ship. They are powder coated and will fit to the rear of the Toad as long as you have at least 2 holes at the bottom or 2 holes at the top of the rear bar where hitch head attaches. These make moving the Toad around a lot easier on the back. I use mine to install the Toad by myself and it was pretty much a two-person job before I had the Tote-Handle.

The cost is $65.00 plus shipping. If you use PayPal through our Product Catalog there is a $15.00 flat rate shipping charge.

 

 

 6/28/2010: Ask for hot weather.....you get what you ask for!!

Wow! We have been to three events setting up Trailer Toad displays and just about melted! 97 degrees, humid and windy, that pretty much sums up the last three weekends. Thanks to everyone who stopped by and looked over the latest 2010.5 Trailer Toads.

We have a couple of announcements for our customers:

1. If you have a Trailer Toad with 12" tires the high heat can really eat up those smaller tires (along with some very rough highways). THe best replacement tire we have found is the Carlisle ST145R12. It is a D-rated tire but it is holding up better than the E-rated Securas that were OEM on the Toads with 12" tires.

2. You have a couple options to get rid of the 12" tire issues.

  • You can switch to 13" or 14" tires and wheels. This will require you to be able to lower the hitch head and drawbar about 3" to keep everything level though, check it out before you go buy the tires and wheels. We have fenders to fit the larger tires and a bracket is easy to make to hold te lightweight fenders.
  • You can remove the narrow axle and replace it with our "Axle Upgrade Kit" that includes an axle designed to use ST205/75R15 tires. The kit comes with fenders, brackets and will bolt on to your exisiting frame. Tires are NOT included but can be purchased locally at reasonable prices.

3. We have had some input from a racer who came up with a GREAT IDEA. He is going to attach "plastic or urethane" strips on his tube above the axle that will just barely rub on the frame of the Toad that pivots. This will give additional support to the center steering spindle when going in and out of parking lots that have a pretty good "dip" into the street. We are looking into materials for this and will announce it here if we can get a "installation kit" put together.

4. HOT WEATHER - HOT TIRES - Take it E-Z...... The easiest way to arrive at your destination in this hot weather it to take it EZ on the equipment that is getting you there. High speeds mean HIGH TEMPS in your tires and wheel bearings. SLow down a little bit and you have a better chance of not having to stop on the way to fix a torn up tire or overheated bearing.

5. Speaking of bearings. If you have a Trailer Toad with the rubber plug on the spindle cap you can grease your wheel bearing without removing the tire and wheel. The Safety-Lube spindle can be greased with a grease gun. Take your time and slowly pump the correct high-quality wheel bearing grease into the grease zerk. The excess will slowly come out the front and all you have to do it wipe it off until you see the fresh grease is starting to come out. Pump is slowly or you may push out the wheel bearing seal behind the hub. (That makes for a mess).

6. We have wheel bearings, seals, rubber plugs, locking tangs and washers if you ever need them.

I hope your summer travels are safe and uneventful, except for the "events you have planned!

Call us if there is anything we can do to help out. (319) 404-7001

 4/2/2010: Racing season is underway in most locations.

A reminder that TrailerToad.com is offering "RACER REWARDS" for both drag race and oval track victories:

Simply let us know what race you won, verify it with photo or results from track website and you can earn cash. Read about it on the "Racer Rewards" Page on this website.

You will need decals on the car, be registered with us and be a customer who purchased a Trailer Toad from us.

IMG_0087.JPG
This is a bottom view of the hitch. Hitch has been flipped over to show the braces.

9/30/09:

Hello again, It has been a busy week and there were a few things I overlooked in the last newsletter that I wanted to go over in this Customer Letter. I will keep it short, explain a few things and remind you to look over a few things. We also are announcing the Axle Upgrade Kit to put 15” tires on your Toad. 
·         Breakaway safety cable: Have you checked the emergency breakaway cable lately? Hook up to the trailer, get ready to move it and simulate the trailer coming unhooked by pulling on the cable until it triggers the breakaway switch. Then try to move the trailer, the brakes should be locked. You can also test it with a 12V test light to make sure it is working. This little watched item can save your trailer and the contents! Make sure it is in working order.
·         Hook it up correctly: Make sure the breakaway cable is extended so it hooks to the motor home frame or receiver hitch. If it only goes to the Trailer Toad what happens if the drawbar (hitch bar) breaks or the pin vibrates loose and the Toad comes loose from the coach? UH-OH is right! That is why it is important to attach the breakaway cable to the motor home or whatever your tow vehicle is.
·         The drawbar (hitch bar) and equalizer hitch: Trailer Toad LLC does not manufacture these items and we cannot warranty them.  If your trailer weighs 10,000 lbs or more there is a lot of side load on the drawbar when you backup into a tight spot and have to turn the trailer at a sharp angle. This stress can cause the drawbar to bend or fail altogether. If the “fit” of the drawbar into your receiver tube is loose (in exces of 1/8" of side or vertical movement the drawbar is absorbing so many impacts going down the road that the drawbar can become damaged. There are few ways to prevent this problem. The drawbar is a critical part, use the best one you can find.
·         Stabilizer Bar Kit:
1.     Install the Stabilizer Bar Kit. This will prevent side loading of the drawbar and they spread the stress out over three points on the hitch. If you have an earlier model of the Trailer Toad without the threaded insert on the outer ends of the front of the Trailer Toad you can still install the Stabilizer Bar Kit. Racer Net price for the Stabilizer Bar Kit- $119.95.
2.      When backing up, take your time, when tire hits the trailer frame stop backing up, pull ahead and take some angle out of it. You can still back up, we are asking you to use caution and common sense. We know a few customers have damaged tires and drawbars by simply being impatient and jammng the Trailer Toad tires into the Trailer tongue so hard it damaged tires or the drawbar itself. PLEASE BE PATIENT. This probably will not happen on 7000 to 8000 pound trailers but on trailers over 10,000 pounds it could easily happen if the tires are jammed into the trailer tongue and then the motor home is used to jam the trailer sideways and backwards. Use common sense, you are pushing 10,000 to 18,000 pounds backwards with a 2” square piece of cast iron or solid steel…be smart about it. Some of you, a lot more weight than that, for sure. Trailer Toad is a great tool but it can be broken if used beyond its limits.
3.      The Stabilizer Bar Kit is just one way to spread the load away from the drawbar. A lot of you are innovative and creative and can probably make your own Stabilizer Bar Kit. We offer one that is simple to install and all the parts are there for you. If you want to build your own; maybe because your coach has a rear lower body panel, that is fine. If you have an earlier model Toad there is NOT a threaded hole in the outer end plate. You can thread this but it is pretty thin. The best way is to weld a bracket to the outer end panel and the rod end will sit inside the bracket. I hope the attached pictures of the Stabilizer Bar components helps out to see what I am talking about.
4.      Receiver hitch on your tow vehicle: We have had a few guys call that have recently switched to a stacker trailer from a regular tag. Of course, the difference in gross trailer weight is significant. We suggest you take a close look at your receiver hitch and make sure it is braced well enough to hold up under emergency stops. It is NOT going to be the weight on the hitch you have to deal with, it will be the “pushing force” from the trailer trying to shove on the back of the Toad and the tow vehicle. Make sure the center receiver tube has some support to prevent it from “rolling under” and possibly tearing off the side support panels. I have only heard from one customer who had this happen, but one is enough. If we can help prevent it from happening to your tow vehicle, that is nothing but GOOD!

Trailer Toad * PO Box 448 * Janesville * IA* 50647 Phone: (319) 404-7001 trailertoad1@yahoo.com

Powered by Register.com