Hi my name is Linda

[LSoaft092116]

Newly retired and looking to travel this beautiful country. I've been tent camping most of my adult life but want to have a trailer now for longer trips. I enjoy reading all the tips in the Fiberglass RV email.

[MC1]

I tented for many years too but as one ages the comforts of a trailer are really appreciated.

[PatchWork]

I am also just ordering my first trailer, a 13' Scamp. We'll be pulling it with a 2002 4 cyl. Toyota Tacoma and are wondering about the pros and cons of installing brakes.

PatchWork

[MC1]

Hi PW

Cons.... It will cost a few hundred dollars.

Pro... All goodness!!! The big one is much shorter stopping distances which could very well prevent an accident.

[Mike Magee]

Linda, welcome. You will love having a trailer. No setting up a tent, no wet canvas, and you can stop anytime you feel like it and go inside to make yourself a lunch or snack.

Faith, trailer brakes are so helpful. Faster stopping when you need it most. They'll help you avoid overheating the truck's brakes when going down a steep grade. And if your trailer ever were to start swaying due to improper loading (too much weight to the rear), it's very easy to engage the trailer brakes only and bring the trailer back into line.

[Island Claire]

Originally Posted by Mike Magee

Linda, welcome. You will love having a trailer. No setting up a tent, no wet canvas, and you can stop anytime you feel like it and go inside to make yourself a lunch or snack.

Faith, trailer brakes are so helpful. Faster stopping when you need it most. They'll help you avoid overheating the truck's brakes when going down a steep grade. And if your trailer ever were to start swaying due to improper loading (too much weight to the rear), it's very easy to engage the trailer brakes only and bring the trailer back into line.

Mike can you please explain this more. We know there is an emergency "setting" on the trailer brake thingy in the van, but really do not understand how it should be applied. We have found that we do adjust the trailer brakes up and down when traveling depending on the terain. Would love a clear description, or link to a good description, of how to properly use trailer brakes.

[LSoaft092116]

Hi All
Thank you for the warm welcome. Trying to buy a used 13' Scamp here in CA. No luck so far. Thanks for the tips on the brakes. I will be pulling with a 6 cylinder Tacoma. Will look into the brake system. Really looking forward to traveling this fall. Will tent this summer.

[alan H]

There is a newly listed Perris pacer located in so California ( Redlands )
It would be in the inland empire crisis listed ... It is listed for $3700 Ono
I have one of these and my 2015 Toyota Tacoma with 6 cyl pulls it just fine w/o any special hitches (ie sway bar... Weight dist hitch etc)
The nice thing about the Perris pacer is the huge windows... I've had mine weighed ... It is 1560 lbs with hitch weighed if 225



Sent from my iPhone using Fiberglass RV

[John Linck]

Linda,

I wouldn't tow much of anything without brakes. Stopping before impact is pretty important.

Good luck choosing your new rig.

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by PatchWork

I am also just ordering my first trailer, a 13' Scamp. We'll be pulling it with a 2002 4 cyl. Toyota Tacoma and are wondering about the pros and cons of installing brakes.

PatchWork

The brakes on a 13' Scamp are very small. What they do for you is help braking a small amount, but might be enough to prevent an impact in an emergency braking situation. The biggest thing they do, in my opinion, is they help keep the trailer behind the tow vehicle. I'd had at least two experiences where I probably would have be in real trouble without the brakes and at least one where I believe I would have lost the trailer. Both worked to keep the trailer from passing me.

In heavier trailers like "Airstream trailers", brakes do a lot of combination trailer and tow braking, with light weight fiberglass trailers (13' ) the keep the trailer from attempting to pass the tow.

[Mike Magee]

Originally Posted by Island Claire

Mike can you please explain this more. We know there is an emergency "setting" on the trailer brake thingy in the van, but really do not understand how it should be applied. We have found that we do adjust the trailer brakes up and down when traveling depending on the terain. Would love a clear description, or link to a good description, of how to properly use trailer brakes.

Ok, have a look at this photo of a typical brake controller module. This is the part you have stuck next to your seat or mounted on the underside of the dash, someplace you can easily reach it while driving.



See that lever on the leading edge of the front? It slides sideways, on this one it goes from right to left, but this can vary by brand. When you slide this lever, assuming you've adjusted the settings properly beforehand, the lever will engage the trailer brakes without involving the tow vehicle brakes. In contrast, if you step on the brake pedal, both tow vehicle and trailer brakes are engaged.

If a trailer starts whipping from side to side uncontrollably, the trailer's rear end is trying to pass the tow vehicle. We want to slow down the trailer, but NOT slow down the tow vehicle. Maintaining a relatively steady speed with the gas pedal, actuate the trailer brakes to slow the trailer and it should come back into line behind the tug.