No Brake Controller

[JB4310]

IF your wiring is correct, and the battery is not shorted out, the e-brakes will work FINE with no battery / breakaway kit on the trailer.

soundguy

But it may be required, around here every single trailer I've seen with E brakes has them on both axles and has the break away battery. so it must be required here.

Just looked in the battery box of my equipment trailer, I was surprised how tiny it was, about 3"x3" by 4" tall.

JB.

 

[Soundguy]

I wasn't discusing legalities.. just physics of operation... IE.. they will 'function' without the battery.

I'm guessing -MOST- states that require brake axles.. if they are e-brakes. they also require break away kits on the new models. etc.

And yep.. they are small.. al they have to do is energize an electromagnet for a few seconds.. once the shoes catch they tighten up real fast.

soundguy

 

[Midsouth]

SoundGuy is correct you do not need the battery when the trl is hooked up just if it comes undone. Also it is a good idea to replace the battery every couple of years to be on the safe side imho.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Also if its a Travel Trailer or Dump Trailer you can just use the onboard deep cycle battery for brake away operations also.

Chris

 

[Midsouth]

Good point Chris. I didn't even think about that but now that you say that it remined me that our 5th wheel camper is set up like that. One less thing to worry with one battery instead of two.

 

[buckle97]

Midsouth, I see that you are also in Mississippi. My trailer does not have a battery and I bought it new from a dealer. Do you know if Mississippi requires a battery by law? I see lots of trailers running around in the 16' - 18' range with no brakes, so I assume if MS doesn't require brakes on trailers then they probably don't require a battery on the ones that do have brakes.

 

[BigE_]

The trailer battery is only for the brake-away action to work.. IE.. if your trailer becomes disconnected
soundguy

Hmmm, I guess I have a different setup, then. Maybe it's because I have dual brakes? At any rate, the guy who built the trailer told me the wiring from the plug charged the battery and didn't have enough current to run the brakes by itself.

 

[Diamondpilot]

A vehicle has enought current to run the brakes, so he is giving bad info. All the battery does is power the brakes on 100% when the pin is pulled from the brake-away-switch if and when the trialer becomes disconnected. The law states that the battery must be large enough to power the brakes for a full 15 minutes but does not state at what power level. So the way I see it it just must hold brake pressure, not 100% or even 80%, just some pressure for 15 minutes.

Chris

 

[Diamondpilot]

Midsouth, I see that you are also in Mississippi. My trailer does not have a battery and I bought it new from a dealer. Do you know if Mississippi requires a battery by law? I see lots of trailers running around in the 16' - 18' range with no brakes, so I assume if MS doesn't require brakes on trailers then they probably don't require a battery on the ones that do have brakes.

Here is a site I use all the time in my boat business. It will tell you all the regs for pulling trailers by state. Just click on your state.

Missississippi requires brakes on any trailer over 2,000#


BoatUS.com: Trailering Club

Chris

 

[Midsouth]

Tks Chris for posting the link. I have a 16 foot without brakes but have been thinking about putting some on one axle at least. With my 3525 Mahindra on it it seems to want to push the truck a little more than i like. I'm pulling it with a F350 dually so i have plenty of trk but would just feel safer if the trl was helping do the stopping. As far as the battery i'm under the impression that if you have breaks on the trl you must have a breakaway setup.