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[RC] Trailer brakes (was Truck questions) - k s swigart

Dede said:


I agree (oh sorry, I'm not supposed to say that). Pulling is one 
thing- stopping safely is another aspect that we don't always consider. 
I could pull my 2 horse steel trailer with my 89 Toyota "mini" truck 
(OF COURSE I DON"T).  I seriously doubt it would stop it in a timely 
fashion.


And a bunch of other people have talked about having enough
truck to stop the trailer.

However, this question becomes almost moot if you have
adequate trailer brakes...and anybody hauling a horse
trailer should pay very close attention to that.  Your truck
should NOT be stopping the trailer, the trailer should have
enough brakes to stop itself.  Personally, my gooseneck
trailer has enough brakes to stop not only the trailer, but
the truck too...yes, I tested it.

I don't recommend using the trailer brakes to routinely stop
your truck, but I do recommend making sure that your trailer
brakes are good enough for the trailer that you are driving
when it is fully loaded.

Nor, however, do I recommend towing with "not enough truck"
however, it isn't because of pulling power (as many people
have mentioned), but it also isn't because of stopping power
(as the trailer brakes can compensate for that), it is
because of steering and handling.  And in fact, the biggest
difference between a 3/4 ton and a 1 ton is in the
suspension (I can buy a 3/4 ton truck with the same engine
and brakes...and even the same rear end).  The suspension
doesn't make a big difference in stopping and starting (in
fact a heavy duty suspension is HEAVIER so it increases the
amount of work that the engine has to do to start and it
increases the amount of work that the brakes have to do to
stop), where the suspension makes a difference is in the
turning, and keeping the right amount of rubber on the road.

If you tow with "not enough truck," as long as you have
enough trailer brakes, the place where it is most likely to
become unsafe is going around turns.  So, if (like me) most
of your driving to endurance rides is straight up I-15, you
probably don't need as heavy duty of a suspension as if you
are constantly winding up and down Utah's Hwy 12.  Straight
up I-15 hardly puts any stress on the suspension (nor, does
it put much stress on the brakes for that matter :) I drove
350 miles to the Grand Canyon Ride and only put my foot on
the brakes 5 times...two of those times were because I had
to stop for gas in Baker...which, if I had a diesel, I
wouldn't have had to do :)).

How much truck you need has as much to do with where you
drive as it does to do with how heavy your load is.

kat
Orange County, Calif.

p.s.  You really SHOULD have enough trailer brake, no matter
how much truck you have, even though you can get away with
less (or no) trailer brakes if you have a lot of truck.

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