Ebrakes: are they worth it?

[Mitch Drackett]

$300 For brakes makes it as moot point.
I took my 13foot trillium to whistler from Regina without brakes. . My f150’s brakes basically started on fire coming down the pemberton descent.
I thought my f150 with heavy duty tow could handle a tiny trailer but I learned the hard way that ebrakes are needed in mountains.

[zack sc]

Originally Posted by Radar1

My first stop when checking for towing requirements is my owners manual. One of the notices in the manual for the 2008 4Runner is this statement;
"If the total trailer weight exceeds 453 kg (1000 lb.), trailer brakes are required."

I think that is good advice to follow.

Thanks. good knowledge

[zack sc]

Originally Posted by CharlesinGA

While rolling down the road at 25 or 30 mph (with no traffic) reach down and apply the trailer brakes manually. If they are working, you will feel a pretty good lurch as they grab and work. If not. there are a number of possibilities, the first being the adjustment of the shoes, and condition of them. After that, wiring and connections.

Charles

thanks. I think my controller may likely be not working. There is a thing I can push that makes the numbers get big on the display and I don't feel any pull

[floyd]

Originally Posted by zack sc

thanks. I think my controller may likely be not working. There is a thing I can push that makes the numbers get big on the display and I don't feel any pull

You need to adjust your brakes and check them for function.
Still, the 7" brakes which were supplied with the Scamp13, even when properly adjusted, are less effective than 10" brakes.
They were useful to slow the trailer... but when "tested" they simply became unnoticeable at speeds above 25MPH when applying the manual override.
Scamp now offers 10" brakes on a Zero axle on the 13, I just switched to one and the difference is substantial!

[John in Santa Cruz]

that was probably me, who had his trailer come unhitched last year... in fact, the ball came out of the stinger, the ball stayed in the trailer hitch.

It was a ~4000 lb Escape 21 foot, being towed by a ~8000 lb F250 longbed diesel 4x4, I was on a rough 2-lane country road, highway 77 southbound through northern nevada, somewhere north of I40, late in the day. cruising along at 60-ish MPH minding my own business, and suddenly the trailer started whipping back and forth hard enough to push my F250 around some. one look in the side mirrors to see what was happening, 1-2 seconds to gather myself, reached down, and engaged the manual brake control lever, instantly the trailer stopped swaying, and as I slowed, I was able to modulate the trailer brakes so as not to burn rubber, and pull off the highway onto a gravel siding. got out, saw what happened, got on phone, located an OReilly about 25 minutes away that was closing in 40 minutes. quickily got the trailer on the jack, recovered the hitch, left my dear wife cleaning up the mess inside the trailer (*EVERY* cabinet and drawer had dumped on the floor, the fridge door sprung open, food everywhere. amazingly, hardly anything actually broke.). thank god for crossed safety chains!

got to OReilly's, bought a crappy stinger (all they had), and got back to the trailer about an hour after leaving, wife was just finishing the pickup, so hitched up, and headed back down the road. ended up camping at a Walmart parking lot in Winslow,AZ that night because we were too frazzled to go much farther.

so yeah, I'll never tow anything above a sub-1000 lb boat without brakes. sure, I towed a Hobie 16 catamaran all over California without brakes, with both a volvo 240 sedan, and an econoline van, but the whole trailer weighed under 800 lbs.