Okay, I have a 7X10 flat bed trailer. It has a 3500lb single axle w/out brakes.
According to the Tundra manual towing anything over 1000lbs needs to have brakes.
So unless I want to worp rotors and beat my truck up premature I need to get an axle with brakes.
Questions;
What does this intale?
What are "all" the parts will I need to buy?
Where's the cheapest place to buy a trailer axle w/brakes?
With regard to the premise of the post (trailers over 1K need brakes), I have an 8x10 and have loaded it up at times, well over 2K, and didn't have a braking problem. Of course, I'm in Florida. To be sure, you need to be prudent when driving and plan ahead.
As for adding brakes to the trailer, I assume that you are going to go electric? It's more economical. Hydraulic kits are available, but they are very expensive.
On the truck side....
You need to wire up for a brake controller. See my post on this...Adding 7-pin wiring and Brake controller to 03 Tundra w/o TO
If you have the factory tow package, you will have the 7-pin wiring installed and just need to hook up a brake controller to the factory wiring. Most guys seems to favor the Prodigy brake controller....which you can find for about $100 on the internet.
On the trailer side....
You will need new hubs/drums and the brake backing plates with hardware...at a minimum. The magnets on the trailer brakes are wired into the 7-pin RV connector (which you will have to add wiring to the trailer and wire-up a 7-pin connector on the trailer). Some states, like NC, require a break-away setup, which consists of a small battery and break-away trigger. This setup activates the trailer brakes in the event that the trailer, well, breaks-away.
10" brake hardware is about $50 per side.
10" brake drums are $50 each side.
Break away kit- $50.
Hydraulic disc brake kits are available from the same site for $400. Disc brakes on that small trailer would be way overkill. I wouldn't think that a hydraulic disk brake setup would hold up well on trailers that are rarely used.
When you think about it, the last option might be the best option. If you go electric, the most economical deal is the axle for $209, controller for $100, then add shipping and wiring (say $75+). This is all assuming you do your own installation. So, you'll be in for almost $400 when all is said and done. The surge brake setup (and some would argue that surge brakes can be dangerous on heavy setups, but in your case, I think they would be just fine), runs $300 plus shipping, but won't require any additional wiring or controllers. You may find that you will need to have the old coupler cut off and the new one bolted on. You may or may not feel comfortable doing this yourself. The upside of the surge brake setup is that there is no need for the tow vehicle to have a brake controller, so if someone borrows the rig, they will also have brakes.
The surge brake option is tempting for me, but for how little I use my trailer and the loads I haul, it's frankly not worth the money. I've had no problems without brakes...I just adjust my driving accordingly.
Before you go out and spend all that money. Tow the trailer with weight on it for a while. Towing a trailer under maybe 3-4k lbs w/o out brakes, from my experiences, is absolutely no problem at all. When you get a big 20 ft trailer with a truck on it, that's when you definetely need trailer brakes.
Try it out for a while before you go to all that hassle. I'll be you with a small trailer like that you won't even know it's there.
I have towed my Mustang on a car trailer and an enclosed trailer with 3500 lbs of garbage inside, no trailer brakes, I never exceeded 60 mph, and I just gave myself lots of room. No problems.
I towed a boat, its in my pics, which weighs 3000 lbs. I can't think of the type of brakes the trailer had, but basically when pressure is detected on the ball, the brakes engage automatically. When you pull forward, they release, its a pretty good system, and I could feel the trailer slowing the truck.
I'm sure electric brakes are the way to go. I've towed with those before as well, and the brake controller is adjustable to increase the amount of braking the trailer does.
__________________
Mama's don't let your babies grow up to be Woodrow!
Thanks for the suggestions.
I'm not so much worried about being able to stop. I towed this same trailer with a 97 4runner and didn't have trouble stopping but, I did worp my rotors. I usually tow in the mountains so, I'd rather spend the $300 to $400 on trailer brakes than (that) money on brakes on rotors for my truck.
I towed this same trailer with a 97 4runner and didn't have trouble stopping but, I did worp my rotors.
That indicates you did have trouble stopping. I did the same thing to my minivan. No trouble stopping, but I kept warping my rotors. I think the system was trying to tell me something.
In my simple world, if the total weight of the truck and trailer exceed the GVWR of the truck, use trailer brakes. Period. I could tow my trailer without brakes and it'll stop just fine (I'm maxed out on weight). I can give myself tons of extra room for stopping. And then some pinhead who didn't know I was towing a heavy trailer without brakes cuts me off and I can't stop because he used up all my safety margin.
It's all about managing risk. I can tow a 15,000 lbs trailer on the bumper. It'll move, it'll stop, it'll turn. I may be able to do that for years and never have any issues. But I am exposing myself to some serious risk while doing it.
I towed a 4,800 lbs 6x12 U-Haul from SC to MD with my minivan. Twice. I was way overweight, I couldn't go faster than 52 mph because I had the hitch weight so light because the minivan was bottomed out. It did it and I thought I was the MAN because I outsmarted the sticker on the door. Nothing bad happened, so it must be ok.
Almost killed my family towing a pop up trailer (3,200 lbs) without trailer brakes (same minivan as above). We almost didn't stop and we split a rear tire.
So, Tund-doublecab-4x4, I think you have chosen very wisely. You will be a much safer towing partner with the brakes installed.
I guess when I read your email originally, I incorrectly assumed you'd only be towing about 1,000 lbs. That's why I said trailer brakes were an option and not really necessary. I see now that I interpreted your email wrong.
Yes, if you're towing often (just about any weight) OR towing heavy stuff (like cars or something that heavy) you need trailer brakes on one of the axles of that trailer. When they'll really come in handy is when some vehicle pulls out in front of you, or you come up to a light that has a real short yellow and you're about to run it, etc. If anyone tells you that you don't need trailer brakes if instead you just drive more cautiously, they certainly haven't towed weighted trailers that often.
There are 2 points to remember with trailer brakes. One, most states have laws requiring brakes on trailers. In the Carolinas its 1000 pounds, in New Jersey its 15oo pounds. Most states are different. Weather or not your vehicle can stop without brakes doesn't matter. There is a legal question if you are involved in an accident in a state that requires trailer brakes you could leave yourself open for a nice fat law suit if you don't have them. Trailer brakes will help you stop better & prevent your rig from jack knifing on a wet slippery road. They'll also save the brakes on your tow vehicle. Quick story here. I was in Pa towing a 17 foot Casita travel trailer that weighed 2500 pounds. I was on a back country road. There was an abandoned railroad crossing in front of us. Suddenly the car in front decided to stop fast for reasons known only to him. It caught me by surprise. I hit the brake pedal with both feet & locked up my brakes including the brakes on my trailer. I stopped exactly 1/2 an inch from his rear bumper! I still get goose bumps thinking about that incident. Had I no brakes on my trailer & would have run into his rear for certain. So regardless of anything, it pays to have brakes on your trailer. KNOW BEFORE YOU TOW! Coal Miner in New Jersey.
Just some more thoughts regarding trailers and legal issues....
Folks, do not underestimate your legal responsibility for trailer safety...regardless of whether the trailer is yours or not....
1. If your trailer brakes loose and it harms/kills someone, you can go to jail for manslaughter. Happened in Orlando...guy was towing a trailer without safety chains, trailer came loose, ran over a kid waiting for the school bus, guy went to jail for 10 years!
2. If you fail to meet minimum legal requirements and you are involved in an accident, your insurance company could refuse to indemnify you by virtue of the fact that you were operating a vehicle not suitable for highway use. That leaves you open to being sued personally and not having your own property covered.
Of course, the fact that Toyota says we are supposed to have trailer brakes on rigs more than 1000# leaves all of us running small utility trailers (which often weigh more than 1000# when loaded) open to personal liability (me included). Gee....now I'm seriously considering upgrading my trailer. $300 is a lot cheaper than getting sued. Hmmm....
Almost killed my family towing a pop up trailer (3,200 lbs) without trailer brakes (same minivan as above). We almost didn't stop and we split a rear tire.
Oh boy. I wonder how close I came to not making it through my youth. My parents used to take us camping with a pop-up behind our 85 Celica.
I don't even have anything to tow yet, and I'm already considering buying a brake controller!
I have an 05 Tundra d/c I hual a 12x6 trailer with either two 600lb 4 wheelers
or two 500lb sleds up some pretty steep mountains and down. I have 66,000
miles on my truck. I have never had any problems with braking. I just had
my yearly Virginia safety inspection and was told I might get another 30,000
miles out of the pads
Okay, I have a 7X10 flat bed trailer. It has a 3500lb single axle w/out brakes.
According to the Tundra manual towing anything over 1000lbs needs to have brakes.
So unless I want to worp rotors and beat my truck up premature I need to get an axle with brakes.
Questions;
What does this intale?
What are "all" the parts will I need to buy?
Where's the cheapest place to buy a trailer axle w/brakes?
Any and all help is appreciated.
I've been towing a 2700lb race car on an 1800lb 18' diamondplate trailer with the truck bone stock and it is just fine.
I have always heard the rule of thumb is ......if the trailers weight exceeds more than half of the tow vehicles weight , then you need trailer brakes .
What does the Tundra weigh ?? around 5000 lbs ???
I wouldn't even consider needing brakes until you start towing more than 2000 lbs
I tow 2500 lbs on a regular basis and sometimes up to 3000 lbs with my 86 4x4 4 cyl pick up , and also with my wifes 92 4runner (both vehicles weigh a little over 4000 lbs) , and my trailer does not have brakes , never had a problem , been doing it for years , and I tow in the mountains too .
Trailer brakes are nice to have , and are safer if your hauling moderate to heavy loads ....especially in bad weather , I should actually have them for my set up but I drive accordingly and stay out of the mountains in bad weather .
With a nice big truck like the Tundra , and only a 1000lb trailer , you have absolutely nothing to worry about
I guess everyone is going to say I'm paranoid, but...
Consider the geometry. Part of stopping is to try to stop pointed in the correct direction.
First, it doesn't take a lot of weight to push the back of a vehicle either to the left or right. A 1000 lb. push is plenty to cause a jack-knife.
When you stop weight shifts forward - the back of the truck goes up. Now, the trailer is not only pushing, but it's pushing upward decreasing the weight on the rear wheels. Now it takes even less force to cause a jack-knife.
Can the trucks brakes stop 2000 lbs. Yes, easily, assuming that you aren't going around a turn or the pavement is tipped, or it's wet.
I want to keep everything going in the correct direction. Trailer brakes helps achieve this even when towing a small trailer. I think that folks that say that you don't need trailer brakes for 2000 lbs have never tried stopping fast while towing. Let's hope they don't need to.
The rule of thumb I use that I think is bullet proof: if the total weight of the truck, cargo and trailer exceeds the GVWR of the truck, then you should use trailer brakes. Biggest concern is brakes. They were designed to stop the GVWR of the truck, no more. There is margin. Use it at your own risk.
Towing over 1K, trailer brakes required???
Re: Towing over 1K, trailer brakes required???
There are 2 points to remember with trailer brakes. One, most states have laws requiring brakes on trailers. In the Carolinas its 1000 pounds, in New Jersey its 15oo pounds. Most states are different. Weather or not your vehicle can stop without brakes doesn't matter. There is a legal question if you are involved in an accident in a state that requires trailer brakes you could leave yourself open for a nice fat law suit if you don't have them. Trailer brakes will help you stop better & prevent your rig from jack knifing on a wet slippery road. They'll also save the brakes on your tow vehicle. Quick story here. I was in Pa towing a 17 foot Casita travel trailer that weighed 2500 pounds. I was on a back country road. There was an abandoned railroad crossing in front of us. Suddenly the car in front decided to stop fast for reasons known only to him. It caught me by surprise. I hit the brake pedal with both feet & locked up my brakes including the brakes on my trailer. I stopped exactly 1/2 an inch from his rear bumper! I still get goose bumps thinking about that incident. Had I no brakes on my trailer & would have run into his rear for certain. So regardless of anything, it pays to have brakes on your trailer. KNOW BEFORE YOU TOW! Coal Miner in New Jersey.
but I drive accordingly and stay out of the mountains in bad weather .
Linear Mode
