Pulling in the US...

[Uncle Cereal]

I was told today that whatever size of trailer you pull in the US, you have to have electrical brakes. Anyone has information on that?

[floyd]

Originally Posted by Uncle Cereal

I was told today that whatever size of trailer you pull in the US, you have to have electrical brakes. Anyone has information on that?

Not so, most states, brakes are required only above 3000 pounds, there are only seven states which have lower requirements...
Here is a synopsis with a chart...

Trailer Brake Requirement For All US States With Map

[Uncle Cereal]

Thanks Floyd!

[Darwin Maring]

I don't think you will be bothered pulling through the states as long as your camper is in good mechanical shape. I think the brakes law applies to the owners in the state they live. Here in Virginia we must get our campers inspected each year.

[cmartin748]

Requirements or no, they are very handy when you want to come to a stop hehe

[Uplander]

If your travel trailer has any real weight trailer brakes are a good idea.
They also can get you out of some tricky situations on slick roads if you know how to use them. Downhill in mountains they also add a big safety factor.

[Rzrbrn]

I live in TN. Abt 35 years ago I bought a 5' X 8' single axle trailer w/o brakes (still have and use it) and many times hauled way more than I should have. I was very, very lucky during a number of mishaps, and never had an accident where people or property were injured. Later in life I wised up and I now own a single axle utility trailer with elec brakes. Much safer. It should be illegal to not have brakes on any size trailer.
However here is the current law in Tennessee:

BRAKES: (TCA 55-9-204) (FMCSR 393.42;393.43)
1.) Trailers with a gross weight of 3,000 lbs. or more are required to have brakes
on ALL WHEELS.
2.) Trailer with a gross weight of 1,500 to 3,000 lbs. are required to have brakes
on ONE axle.
3.) Trailers with a gross weight of less than 1,500 lbs. need NOT be equipped
with brakes.

[4x4LDY]

I have surge brakes on my sticky trailer, but if I make the move to FB trailer, it'll be electric, so unless the dealers who sold it to me are breaking the law, I don't have electric.....

[Jack L]

Originally Posted by 4x4LDY

I have surge brakes on my sticky trailer, but if I make the move to FB trailer, it'll be electric, so unless the dealers who sold it to me are breaking the law, I don't have electric.....

Surge brakes are perfectly legal on your sticky trailer. The advantages of surge brakes is that they can be submerged in water (boat trailers) and that surge brakes do not require a controller. Rental companies usually have trailers with surge brakes so they do not have customer service issues when hooking up a rental trailer to a customers vehicle. I believe all the UHaul fiberglass camping trailers were built with surge brakes.

The advantage to electric brakes is that you can apply them independently from the tow vehicle.

[bpfick]

In front of Lowes, HD and most rural lifestyle stores you'll find lots of utility/landscaping type trailers for sale. Thousands are sold every month throughout the US. Most are in the 5x8 size range, some bigger. Most will haul around 1500 pounds in addtion to the weight of the trailer itself. Virtually none come with brakes.

Next go to any boat dealer or boat show look at hundreds of boats on trailers. Until the boat is around 21' long, you'll not see brakes on any of those boat trailers.
FWIW

[vintageracer]

Pulling a trailer is easy stopping a trailer not necessarily so. As stated trailer brakes may not be required by law for your trailer at the time of original sale. That may not be the case if you purchase used as you "may" be required by a change in your state law to upgrade your trailer to meet the now current trailer safety laws. Sure that's a stretch how this alone may not absolve you of certain responsibilities.

Given the FACT that replacement electric brake equipped backing plates for most trailers can be purchased new for $35-$75 per axle side, installation is an easy as the bracket for mounting the backing plates are built into the axle and a basic electric brake controller can be purchased for $50 new or $10 on CL to control you new electric brakes why not do the prudent safety thing and install electric trailer brakes on your utility trailer particularly IF you tow your utility trailer for more than short local use?

Another issue you should consider is YOUR liability issues in the event of an accident YOU cause with your trailer attached to your vehicle. Lets say the trailer laws in your state of residence/registration requires trailer brakes for the gross GVW rating of the trailer you are pulling/own and you are involved in an at fault accident or maybe you are not at fault. A good investigator is going to look at the trailer to see IF your trailer is in compliance with all safety and registration requirements as your trailer "could" have been the cause of the accident by being OVERLOADED BY YOU or improperly safety equipped per statute leaving YOU the trailer owner/puller in what could be a BIG potential situation of Liability for the accident.

Rolling down the road nobody knows but you if you have trailer brakes or not on your trailer and that includes the "Constable On Patrol" (COP). One item COPS can see and DO LOOK FOR are "Safety Chains". This particularly true with State Highway Patrol officers. Yes you can and will be pulled over in some jurisdictions for not having safety chains attaching your trailer to the tow vehicle so at a minimum install safety chains. Once pulled over the safety inspection starts and you just might get SHUTDOWN right where you sit!

Another issue to consider is a trailer license plate. Some states like Tennessee does not require a plate for a private individual who personally owns his/her trailer and uses that trailer ONLY for personal none commercial use with a trailer of specific length or shorter. Travel to another state with no trailer license plate and there is a great chance you will be pulled over for no license plate as most states require a license plate on a trailer. Inconvenient? Yes! A crime? No!

For this very reason ALL my trailers have "SEMI" branded Tennessee Trailer License plates as they are pulled all over the country. Buy it once and never again!

Most folks give NO consideration to these issues particularly when they tie on to their small trailer or borrow one from a buddy. Remember, the liability insurance coverage for the damages that trailer can cause to someone else in an accident is covered by the vehicle liability insurance issued on the vehicle PULLING the trailer not the trailer owner's insurance as you cannot buy "On Road" liability insurance for a trailer as by its very nature it is NOT a "Motor Vehicle". Rest assured IF there is an accident causing injury or property damage both the person borrowing the trailer AND the trailer owner will get involved in paying the claim as the injured party will go after both of you.

Might be a good idea to quit loaning your trailer to friends and relatives!!!!

[Rzrbrn]

Well stated Mike

[Jay H]

Required by law or not, they are well worth the cost. I put a new axle with brakes on my trailer during my reno. I waffled over whether it was a foolish thing to do. I mean they were great and I could tell they worked but I wasn't sure that they were just overkill. I only have a 13ft Boler and I push it around the campsite by hand...
The justification for me happened last August as I was returning home from a trip. I was pulling back onto the highway just after sunset and I will admit I was accelerating hard when a deer wandered out of the ditch and stopped in my lane. Let me tell you, those brakes paid for themselves in spades that night. Without them, I know I would have hit that deer. As it was, I came real close. So if you are wondering if brakes are necessary on a small FGRV, my answer is yes. Just because the government hasn't made it a law yet doesn't mean it isn't the smarter choice.
(By the way I drive with snow tires too and they aren't required by law yet either.)
Jay

[bpfick]

There's another related issue in this conversation and it doesn't get enough attention. Hook up that aforementioned Lowe's 5x8 utility loaded with some remodeling materials of say 1000 pounds behind your Subaru or Chevy econo-box and it may push it around a bit. Hook that same trailer, with the same 1000 pound load behind a light duty truck with giant rotors and brakes, a truck that could easily haul that same weight as bed cargo, and braking would likely cause little perceptable difference at all.

So when the same question comes up over and over, "Can I pull this 13' FGRV, and btw, it has no brakes on the unit as it was only 1200 lbs from the factory?" I often wonder why the braking ability of the TV isn't considered into the discussion more often. Just a musing.

[vintageracer]

The braking ability of a potential tow vehicle should be one of the FIRST considerations when picking a tow vehicle as you probably already have the trailer and therefore will know the weight and size of the trailer.

Pulling a trailer is not a real issue. STOPPING the tow vehicle AND trailer is a BIG issue. The towing capacity listings on vehicles only tells half the story.

The vehicle manufacturers should be required to list the braking capability of the vehicle loaded and unloaded at the GVW's listed for that particular vehicle (without trailer). That would really tell the true "capacity" of a vehicles loaded carry capacity and safety when loaded to the maximum GVW (Gross Vehicle Weight).