ahhh crap..you just rained on my parade

 

It's money well spent some of the best ones out only cost ~$100. This is less than what a ticket would be if a cop happened to check you. Your truck should be wired so if you get the premade harness it will take you about 15 minutes to install. If you have to splice the Ford harness (which should be in your glove box) to the brake harness 25-30. Another thing to consider is the shape of the TT. Big flat sided things catch a lot of air which can make your truck do crazy things. Being able to hit just the trailer brakes has saved me a trip to the ditch before.

 

Just talked to my friend that made the reservation. He says that when he made the reservation the trailer brake topic came up when he was signing the paper work. The owner of the trailer rental place crossed it out and said it was not needed. He also asked what type of vehicle we were going to use to tow it. I guess this camper does not have trailer brakes. I know it is available on these campers from searching online. I guess it could be an option on this camper since it isnt that large. Then again the guy that made the reservation has been known to tell stories and we call him T3 (Tall Tale Teller).

 

just found a site showing towing laws for all the states. In Texas you can tow up to a 4500lbs trailer without trailer brakes....

http://www.wecamp2.com/equipment.html

 

I am gonna get called an idiot, but I towed a hand me down 24 footer that weighed around 7000. No trailer brakes. I was on I30 from Abilene to Dallas, with very light traffic. Drove about 60mph. Got 11 mpg with the stock tune, and had no issues other than the butt pucker factor. At 4500 lbs you should be OK. With that in mind, you will be traveling I35. THE BUSIEST interstate in Texas due to NAFTA. There are Millions of Semi's that dont meet DOT standards, and a crapload of people driving over 80. You will crap your pants.

DO NOT DRIVE OVER 55mph! You wanna be able to stop that bad boy. Slower is safer, arrive alive!

 

Just make sure you don't put any potable water, or any gear in the trailer then, because that will place you over that magical 4500 lb threshold.

I can't believe this trailer doesn't have brakes!

It's the law in Ontario for anything weighing 1360 kg's (roughly 3000 lb's) or more. If they don't have them, it's a $500 ticket, and you're stuck on the side of the road until you either get a tow, or fix the brake situation. There's a reason engineers have decided that brakes are a necessity at these weights.

 

You need a breakaway switch in Texas (2). I don't know how that works without brakes on the trailer though

 

 

I'm not sure what they are called , but I have pulled large boat trailers that had the brakes working from the weight of the trailer pushing against the ball of the truck. Had a mastercylender on the hitch that worked wheel cylenders to automaticaly brake. Pretty cool set up. I didn't feel any tugs or pushes when stopping.

Maybe the trailer rentals have that type brake

 

Surge brakes.

 

Well I plan on just doing maybe 60mph at the fastest. And we are driving down at 10am so the traffic should be light. I am going to go down there to the camper rental place and check it out my self and have a talk with the guy that owns the place and see what he thinks.

 

If it doesn't have surge brakes, be careful.

 

Normally, you'll only see surge brakes on boat trailers, or trailers that are exposed to water (not always though), because surge brakes are better sealed from water with hydraulic lines and a sealed reservoir. Electric brakes are completely exposed and therefore tend to corrode faster.

 

texas requirement

sound like that rule counterdicts itself, is it 3000 pounds or 4500 pounds?

if it is 4500 pounds or less you are fine, if the guy renting it to you does not require it, dont worry about it. looking at a map you could not be going more than 70 to 80 miles. you seem to understand that you cant go 80 mph and draft on other vehicles A$$. just take it easy and allow plenty of braking room.

 

I havent ever towed something huge like this but I have towed a 20ft boat many times with my little v6 ranger I used to have. I'll drive slow and give myself plenty of room.