Well, I'll be making an 1800 mile round trip from Gawga to Tejas this coming weekend. Going down unloaded, coming back with a Crown Vic sized car, so I'm guessing a 4000-4500 lbs load. I've pulled cars around town on short trips with no problem, but this'll be the longest run I've made towing something. The tow vehicle in question is an '04 F150 Scab, 5.4, 3.55 LS/tow package. We're not looking to blaze any paths on the way down or up, just to have a safe trip.

So, any preparations I should make before I roll out? I plan on changing my oil before heading down, since I'll be due for another service by the time I get back anyways, balancing my tires and rechecking my alignment. Just making sure everything's dress right dress on the truck. The trailer we'll be using doesn't have brakes on it, but I'm reasoning with a GVWR of 13Kish lbs, a curb of 5200 lbs for the truck and a 4000 lbs load, I'll come in well under the rated gross weight. Lots of heavy duty tie downs and 4x2s hammered down to chock the vehicle in place when we're coming back will be standard fare as well. Anything else I'm missing?

 

I highly recommend finding/renting/borrowing a trailer with brakes for that distance. Crown Vic weighs at least 4000 pounds plus another 2000 pounds for a car hauler. That's a lot of weight in addition to your 5500 pound truck for just the truck's brakes. Thus, why most state have laws requiring trailer brakes for over 2000 or 3000 pounds.

 

I agree with APT on this one. I tow a 7000# travel trailer with my '04 scab, and you definitely want the brakes. If it were across town I'd say you were all right, but 1800 miles is a long way.

Besides the cost of an accident or ticket would outweigh the rental of the proper trailer.

Dave

 

Yes, any trailer over 3000lb requires brakes. Then any trailer with tandem axles requires brakes on both axles. I see alot of trailers on the road now that don't follow the 2nd one, but IMO I'd rather have the 2nd set for that 1 time you might need them.

To give you something to think about, I pulled my 18' 10k trailer with an 86 Ranger reg cab short box on it 230 miles to a friends house. My load was running about 5-6k lb since you need to include the weight of the trailer in your total load. Your load will likely be the same or heavier since a crown vic weighs ALOT more than my Ranger does. On the way down I was having problem with the trailer and had intermittant brakes at times. I will tell you that when trying to stop that load with a 97 F150 there was no such thing as a panic stop. All I could do was slow down and if someone had pulled out in front of me I had no choice. My load was also alot lighter than yours so it will be even worse. GVWR has NOTHING to do with braking power. All that signifies is how much capacity the drivetrain can handle safely.

Also remember that if you take that trailer and you get in an accident, even if its not your fault, you will be in more trouble than you can imagine. You will be pulling with an unfit trailer and your insurance company will drop you like a bad habit, then everyone that was involved will have an open door for a lawsuit. After trying to stop my old rig with no brakes on the trailer no way would I ever run a setup without a properly working brake axle. I don't really want to be responsible for piling into a car with a family in it because I was pulling a load I knew I couldn't stop.

 

Yeah, maybe across town, you'd be ok, but for a 900 mile road trip???? I know the 2004's have bigger brakes and all, but the "13Kish" Gross COMBINED Weight Rating still assumes your trailer has it's own brakes..... While your truck will have no problems moving the load you speak of and you sound like you are preparing for the "GO" part, you must also pay attention to the "STOP" part as well.....

I've towed pleanty of overloaded truck and trailer combos, but the most "white knuckle" run was the time I had to tow an 18' covered utility trailer loaded up to about #5000 with no trailer brakes for about 400 miles...... It had them, but for whatever reason they did not work after I was on the road. Had to get to the job site ASAP, so just went on (this was about 12-13 years ago...).... Well, I made it, but let me tell you, there is no more helpless feeling then to have to hit the brakes with traffic in front of you and you can't stop, no matter how hard you press the brake pedal........ I was able to 'stop' without hitting the car in front of me, only because I pulled onto the shoulder, but I was looking at the passenger of that car through my window!!

I tow a #4500 travel trailer now and will not hit the street if those brakes don't work!

Life's a crap shoot anyway, and I've been very lucky with mine so far, but it's also taught me that it can change in a heartbeat!

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

Mitch

 

Hm...reckon I'll have to start asking around for something with brakes on it then. I'll figure something out. Y'all stay tuned.

 

That was a very good choice...What everyone here said is true...

I hauled a 22' trailer and it would have been bad had it no brakes...The truck brakes alone can't cut it...or stop it...

 

Alright, so while I'm hunting for another trailer with brakes on it, to avoid this in the future, I see a bunch of places online that have add-on brakes for trailers. Obligatory dumb question time: What's typically involved in bolting on brakes to a trailer that ain't got 'em? I figure I can tinker around with it little by little until it's right, since I'm not taking this trailer on the road now. I see 7-1/8" (I think) drums, 10" drums, and a few different ones. I think this depends on what size spindle is on my trailer currently, right?

 

Well, the only "bolt on" brakes that I'm aware of are the electric type. They have hydraulic "surge" brake systems too, but they are probably more then just a simple bolt on......

Having only serviced my trailer brakes as a gauge, I can't say for sure on how to install of them...... It seems to me that as long as there is some sort of bracket to attach the back plate to, then the other thing is just slipping the drum over the hub.

The back plate would hold all the physical brake parts in one unit.

Electric brakes function pretty simply too. They work by using a magnet that rides up against the face of the drum, kinda the same as how a disk brake works. When power is sent to the magnet, it grabs the drum and with the forward motion of the wheel activates a lever that pushes the shoes against the drum lining. The more power to the magnet, the harder it grabs the drum....

You will need a brake controler for the truck and the proper wiring for the trailer. If the truck has the tow package, then it also has the round 7 pin connector that's already wired for electric brakes. (you still need the brake controller however.)

You will then need to get the corrosponding male 7 pin connector for the trailer and wire it accordingly, incorporating the new electric brake wire (usually blue).

I'm really surprised that the car hauler trailer you have does not have brakes already, as it's been pretty much the "law" that trailers that weigh more then 2 or 3 thousand pounds are required to have brakes on them for some time......

Anyway, I'm sure there is more to them then what I've included here, but should give you a basic idea of how they work...

Oh, the size of the drum is going to be determined by the existing wheel size more then anything..... I would think that you'd want the 10" drums at the very minimum.... That's what I've got on my travel trailer and I've only got 13" wheels.

Good luck!

Mitch

 

Well, I did it. We took the trailer without brakes on it. A few observations though:

1. Georgia to Texas is a long and boring drive.
2. Don't buy what the manufacturer tells you their trucks are capable of.
3. Did I mention Georgia to Texas is a long and boring drive?
4. Unloaded trailers raise all sorts of hell clattering along concrete roads.
5. Coming back through Dallas down 35 was a royal pain in the ***, even with an unloaded trailer, I can only imagine having to squeeze through concrete dividers on either side with cars rushing up on me with a loaded trailer.

We loaded up about 600-700 lbs of stuff in the bed, along with some stuff in the car, a '99 Grand Marquis, and the car on the trailer. Driving around Killeen in the suburbs was no big deal. Get that thing on 35 though, and wow. Seeing your trailer shove the truck all over the road has to be the worst feeling short of seeing your trailer racing you down the road. We went all of a half mile before we unloaded the car and drove it back with me following in my truck and the unloaded trailer.

I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever do that one again. Next project: Add brakes to the trailer, get a brake controller, and borrow a diesel F250 if I ever make that trip again to bring a car back with me.

Was it dumb? Yeah. Was it illegal? Probably so. Will I do it again? Not on your life or mine.

 

"Too be old and wise you must first be young and stupid"

That's one of my favorite 'No Fear' shirts. Just bustin' your chops.

At least you made it back in one piece. If the truck handled that badly, more than likely there was either way too much tongue weight or way too little. Was the back of the truck mashed down?

Read my post on the sticky thread above about the weight distributing hitch. The brakes are a VERY wise investement and for towing 5000+ lbs I highly recommend the distributing hitch.

 

Look around for a Dexter Axle dealer. Try www.dexteraxle.com You may find the least expensive way to put brakes on your trailer is to replace the whole axle assembly. It is certainly less expensive to replace the backing plate assembly rather than just brake shoes! Check online. (I used Lucky B of Arkansas) Tractor Supply also has new axles. It's worth looking into.

model a

p.s. I spent a couple of years living in Killeen, wearing green.

 

Blackbird SC sez...

Actually, the truck sat pretty level loaded to the gills like it was. It's got a rake just like every other '04, but with the trailer, the car, and the stuff in the bed, it looked pretty level viewing from the side. After that experience, I don't think I'll be using that trailer for moving cars around anymore unless it's like from my block to another two or three streets down.

Our trailer isn't built around a car hauler configuration, more of a utility trailer sorta thing that just happens to be able to hold a car, hence why there's no brakes on it.

Man, I tell ya, that trailer pitchin' all over the road busted every thing I got, chops and all. Heh. And check out the sig now...

model a sez...

My mom has family living there. My dad was stationed at Fort Hood back in the day. My uncle passed away recently though, so we went down to straighten things out.