Trail kings

I hate pony motors. We used to run them years ago but finally wised up and put wet kits on all our trucks. IMO they are just another item to upkeep and they seem to always be out of gas.

Blowing a hydraulic hose is a very rare occasion so we don't carry spares. We don't carry anything extra that you wouldn't carry on any other truck and trailer setup.

I'm not familiar with a Trail King detach. We do have a Trail King sliding axle tilt trailer and a folding tail trailer that has served us well.

 

Just inspect your hoses regularly and replace when they start looking bad and you shouldn't have any problems. There are a lot of hoses in the hydraulic system and it would be almost impossible to carry a spare for every one, you'd also have to carry extra hyd oil because if you blow a hose you're going to dump a lot of oil. I have blown a hose before on our Talbert RGN, but in all honesty, they were already looking bad and should have been replaced already.

The main problem we have with newbies is forgetting to unhook the air and electrical lines from the neck and leaving the neck stand down. Forgetting to unhook the neck lines can usually be fixed with some fittings but leaving the neck stand down can really tear up a bunch if you make a turn with it down.

 

There isn't much to add here, I'm not familiar with pony motors but it's a gas engine keep it tuned up and it should start when the diesel won't. As far as the upper deck I'm not sure what you plan on hauling but I think you would be surprised what you could stick up there but I'm not sure of the weight carrying capacity of the gooseneck support so I it may need to be unloaded/loaded first/last I don't know. I've never been around a 45 ton Trail King but I've put some serious jags on a 45 ton Talbert and I know Trail King makes a tough trailer so you should be good. As far as backing a tri axle backs different than a spread even with a top heavy load it will still usually feel more stable than a top heavy load on a spread axle flat, you'll see when you start with it.

On a side note, what's this ratchet neck? I know Talbert is making one but didn't know Trail King was and I only did a quick search but couldn't find it on their website.

 

We work in a lot of remote areas, and it seemed that the only time one would have an issue with a pony motor was when one was the farthest away from someplace to buy gas or parts.

The Honda that we had was reliable - to a point. In winter climates road gunk, ice, and the corrosiveness of magnesium chloride (used as de-icer on the roads) takes a toll on the operation of any small motor that is exposed to the elements. Putting a wet-kit on the truck was one of the best things that we did.

 

Oh and don't rush the hyd when lowering the trl or you have hyd oil rushing out the top of your tank..
Carry a spare air filter, for just in case.

 

Trailking went to a five position support that has 8 inches of settings

 

Still use the "doors" though? I've seen that.