 |
|
|
|
BobsYourUncle
Calgary Alberta Canada
Senior Member
Joined: 12/12/2003
View Profile
 Offline
|
I'm sure that many of us here can attest to this:
If you have ever had to do a sudden panic stop, avoid an animal, vehicle incident or whatever, you will appreciate having trailer brakes.
In normal driving conditions, keeping a safe distance etc you can likely make out ok. But what about if a child chasing a ball suddenly shows up in front of you and there's nowhere to swerve? I've had that happen.
Years ago when I lived in BC, I thought anything over 1500 pounds required brakes. I might be wrong, but I think it's a good rule.
About 15 years ago in Langley BC, on the bypass I saw a small car towing a TT. Traffic suddenly bunched up and he plowed into the car in front of him, unable to stop. Highly unlikely the tow car had a brake controller.
2007 GMC 3500 dually ext. cab 4X4 LBZ
Dmax/Allison
2007 Pacific Coachworks Tango 306RLSS - 32'
RV Rebuild Website
Site is live, finally launched Aug 22, 2021 @ 6:53 PM
.
|
Lwiddis
Southern California :(
Senior Member
Joined: 08/12/2016
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
This whole brake issue won’t matter at all…until you need to stop fast. Then it will matter. Get brakes on your trailer IMO.
Winnebago 2101DS TT & 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 LTZ Z71, WindyNation 300 watt solar-Lossigy 200 AH Lithium battery. Prefer boondocking, USFS, COE, BLM, NPS, TVA, state camps. Bicyclist. 14 yr. Army -11B40 then 11A - (MOS 1542 & 1560) IOBC & IOAC grad
|
valhalla360
No paticular place.
Senior Member
Joined: 08/19/2009
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
|
So if your SUV is 5400lb, that means the trailer is adding 50% to the weight that it has to stop...plus what other gear/people do you have in the car.
I've had the trailer brakes not work one time and I went slow the 10 miles to get home...it took forever to come to a stop from speed. Not something I would want to repeat.
Also, there is the issue of keeping things in line. If the SUV rear axle starts to slide in a panic stop, the trailer is going to try and push it around into a jacknife. Trailer brakes will try to keep everything in line.
As suggested, see if you can add brakes to the trailer. There's a reason manufacturers provide much higher tow ratings when the trailer has brakes.
Tammy & Mike
Ford F250 V10
2021 Gray Wolf
Gemini Catamaran 34'
Full Time spliting time between boat and RV
|
JIMNLIN
Oklahoma
Senior Member
Joined: 09/14/2003
View Profile
|
op wrote:I’m not sure what to do now. Thoughts on the subject and your awareness of these vehicle limitations?
I would install brakes on the trailer as suggested or sell that axle and replace with a next up size axle with brakes. You didn't say what size axle your trailer has but a 3500 lb axle has 3500 lbs of braking performance. Much cheaper than replacing the tow vehicle.
Same with lets say my wifes '16 1500 chevy with a 3950 fawr and 4000 rawr = 7950 lbs of braking performance at a minimum. Her truck weighs 5380 lbs with her and I = 2500-2600 lbs of reserve braking for a unbraked trailer.
A new gen 2500 chevy can have a 6600 rawr and a 5600 fawr = 12200 lbs of braking...at a minimum.
Braking with those old '70s and '80s tow vehicles could be problematic and down right scary. BTDT when I was on the road.
Not so with the newer tow vehicles and much much better braking systems.
Brakes are a function of the vehicles axle rating... at a minimum.
"good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment" ............ Will Rogers
'03 2500 QC Dodge/Cummins HO 3.73 6 speed manual Jacobs Westach
'97 Park Avanue 28' 5er 11200 two slides
|
RetiredRealtorRick
St. Augustine Beach, FL
Senior Member
Joined: 04/17/2020
View Profile
|
Roger10378 wrote:Actually it makes good sense. If you add a 2000 lb trailer to a 8000 lb tow vehicle that is 25% more for the vehicle to stop. Are you willing to follow 25% farther from traffic to ensure you can stop in time?
Mathematically looks great, but I'm not sure it works exactly that way in real life.
My vote is for adding surge brakes. Simple & effective. I towed car trailers for decades using them and never had a problem.
. . . never confuse education with intelligence, nor motion with progress
|
|
|
mkirsch
Rochester, NY
Senior Member
Joined: 04/09/2004
View Profile
|
So now we're up to needing a 2500 (3/4 ton) truck to tow a 2700lb trailer?
I see you your 3/4 ton and raise you one diesel dually. Better make that 2700lb trailer a tri-axle, brakes on all axles, while you're at it.
Brakes are a good idea but the point is going to a SMALLER tow vehicle, which the OP can easily do with a 2700lb trailer, if they install some brakes.
Putting 10-ply tires on half ton trucks since aught-four.
|
Grit dog
Black Diamond, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 05/06/2013
View Profile
 Online
|
Surge brakes aren’t a good option for those that don’t have a propensity for maintenance. And far more costly and more involved to install.
Electric brakes are much easier cheaper and allow the ability to control the trailer brakes at will.
Personally I wouldn’t add brakes to a 2700 lb trailer behind a full-size anything with good brakes. My answer would be opposite for a smaller tow rig.
There’s a reason the law in many/ most states is 3klbs max with no brakes.
You can overthink it all you want but in the end it’s whatever you’re comfortable with.
2016 Ram 2500, MotorOps.ca EFIlive tuned, 5” turbo back, 6" lift on 37s
2017 Heartland Torque T29 - Sold.
Couple of Arctic Fox TCs - Sold
|
IdaD
Idaho
Senior Member
Joined: 08/06/2014
View Profile
|
RetiredRealtorRick wrote:Roger10378 wrote:Actually it makes good sense. If you add a 2000 lb trailer to a 8000 lb tow vehicle that is 25% more for the vehicle to stop. Are you willing to follow 25% farther from traffic to ensure you can stop in time?
Mathematically looks great, but I'm not sure it works exactly that way in real life.
My vote is for adding surge brakes. Simple & effective. I towed car trailers for decades using them and never had a problem.
I'm not sure surge brakes would be any easier than installing electric brakes and running the wires up to a 7 pin. But it's certainly another viable option.
2015 Cummins Ram 4wd CC/SB
|
tealboy
orlando, fl
Full Member
Joined: 09/09/2004
View Profile
|
I appreciate all the great feedback. I still find this revelation very surprising and unexpected as I’ve pulled 2k to 3000 pound trailers for 30 years and never realized how extremely low unbraked ratings. As much as you all know about towing, I still suspect many of you did not realize the limits were only 1 to 2000 depending on the manufacture. I say that because Many of you are already dealing with heavier loads that automatically come brakes so digging deeply into the subject of unbraked is unnecessary.
With these low limits in mind, it would be interesting to start paying attention to all the F150s, towing 2000”-4000 pound trailer around and I bet most of them won’t have trailer brakes. I don’t say that to say it’s right or to justify anything I just think it’s the reality of how uninformed people are given all the hype the manufacturers place around the top rated tow numbers with no Asterix to prompt people to dig deeper. The F150 for example Has a unbraked limit of 1500 lbs.
* This post was
edited 08/24/22 01:23pm by tealboy *
|
MFL
Midwest
Senior Member
Joined: 11/28/2012
View Profile
Good Sam RV Club Member
Offline
|
JMO, but towing a 2,500 lb trailer, that you know has no brakes, with a late model 150, is much safer than towing a 6,000 lb trailer, with same 150, that has impaired braking.
While members here may be more proactive, to keep their braking working at the max, many others are towing, with their brakes full of grease, electrical issues, or brakes that are way past adjustment time.
Jerry
.jpg)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
