Brakes required?

[schmism]

Adding brakes should be in the $300 range per axle.

man that sounds familiar....:thumbsup:

and for the record, my single axle popup has brakes... and weighs in at about 3500lbs

 

[MikeD74T]

Having been shoved down the road by my own trailer on two occasions I'm a proponent of good trailer brakes. I did own a 4 place snowmobile trailer with surge brakes & liked it but a friend had a similar trailer push him off the road while going down an icy hill. The weight of the trailer pushed forward enough to activate the brakes which locked up on the black ice, slid over the shoulder & pushed his rear end over. He lost control when his front tires hit dry pavement at an angle, jacknifed, & slid into the opposite ditch. I'd like to think electric trailer brakes might have released and
maintained enough traction to track, maybe not??? MikeD74T

 

[LBrown59]

I'm wondering at what point (weight, I suppose) do brakes go from just "generally a good idea" to "you'll die if you don't have them".

It's not just about you.
It involves everyone else out on the road with you.

 

[Soundguy]

probably has something to do with year of manufacturer to.

her ein florida in 2000 1 axle of brakes was required.. then went to 2 if tandem axles. all the single brake axle trailers were still legal afaik.

soundguy

 

[JEH412]

Our pop up camper weighs about 2300 lbs. and did not come from the factory with brakes, since Pennsylvania doesn't require them on a trailer under 3000 lbs. The first time I towed it I realized that there was no way I wanted to rely only on the truck's brakes.

If the axle(s) on your trailer are already equipped with flanges -- and I think that most new axles are -- adding brakes is an easy bolt-on modification. The wiring is simple and many newer trucks have a plug in place under the dash for the brake controller. I bought everything I needed, except the controller, from R and P Carriages Trailer Sales, Service, Parts and Rentals for little under $200.00 and had everything installed on the trailer in a morning. My truck didn't have the simple plug-and-play connection so I had to trace out a couple of wires. If you're not comfortable with that, there are plenty of place that will install the controller.

With the weight of your cannon and other gear, I'd certainly be more comfortable with brakes on the trailer, especially on a wet road or the first time you have to make a panic stop.

John

 

[niemeyjt]

You guys in the US have it easy!!!

Here in Europe the limit for no brakes is the lower of 750Kg (1650lbs) or half weight of towing vehicle.

Brakes tend to be overrun - when vehicles brake, trailer pushes against a spring on headstock that applies brakes by cable. Some mechanics in the hubs prevent the brakes being applied when reversing. The maximum allowed on an overrun brake trailer is 3500Kg (7700lbs) - above that it needs powered brakes.

Not only that, but new drivers are allowed a maximum weight of car and trailer of 4250Kg (oldies like me are allowed 8250Kg) on a standard driving license.

J

 

[Soundguy]

Yikes.. and I thought hyd surge brakes were bad.. but cable 'surge' brakes! now that's an interesting thought!

thanks for sharing!

soundguy

 

[Oldmax]

I bought a 16 ' tandem 5 years ago and brakes On 4 wheels were $200 addition then. Cheap price to pay . I bought Trailer in KY they don't require brakes on trailers. But in WV it is 3000 lbs. Any trailer that has permanent plates "C" weight starts at 3000 lbs. I doubt there is 5% of the 16' Tandems in WV that have brakes. One of these days MR LAW will wake up and have a hay-day with them.

 

[whistlepig]

Not only are brakes important for safety they make the trailer a whole lot easier to use. Pulling a trailer that has some weight to it with no brakes will flat wear the driver out. For sure in heavy traffic. And we have to allow for the "cell phone" factor these days. Drivers on a cell phone completely zoned out to what's going on outside the cars they are driving.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I bought a 16 ' tandem 5 years ago and brakes On 4 wheels were $200 addition then. Cheap price to pay . I bought Trailer in KY they don't require brakes on trailers. But in WV it is 3000 lbs. Any trailer that has permanent plates "C" weight starts at 3000 lbs. I doubt there is 5% of the 16' Tandems in WV that have brakes. One of these days MR LAW will wake up and have a hay-day with them.

They did that 2 summers ago in Indiana. I bet I put on 20 sets for the lawn care guys. They targeted them and it keep me busy.

Chris