[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by captpete13

hey Destroyer I got one that should get you fired up. At the marina I work at there are 6 trailers that we use for hauling boats. Only one, the biggest one, has brakes that work. Every fall and spring I haul almost 150 boats mostly to and from our inside storage facility which is over 7 miles from the marina. Usually if the boat is over 30' it goes on the trailer with brakes. But that trailer is also the tallest and we are restricted to 13'9" due to a low bridge close by. So sometimes even the 30'+ boats go on the trailer without brakes. I drive with common sense and keep plenty of room between me and the car in front of me.

Ummm... well, that's good Pete, but I used to live in So. Toms River (right on the Beachwood border) and know a lot of
the streets in the general area. (I'm not a BENNY) They're filled with vacationers, kids, people walking their dogs, etc., and a lot of the streets don't have sidewalks, so ppl walk in the street. So the plenty of room you keep in front of you if fine... right up until the point that some kid darts into the street after a ball or something.

I've seen a lot of people pull trailers without breaks in my day in that area,
and truthfully I've pulled a lot of them myself. That didn't make it any safer for me than for anyone else.

But I think you misunderstand me here. I really don't get fired up about stuff like this. I'd like to think of it more in the vein of a teacher trying to teach a lesson for some of the younger guys that are just getting into boating and think they can pull a 2 1/2 ton load at 55 and stop on a dime without anything happening. The plain truth of the matter is that the laws of mass and inertia don't care what kind of a vehicle you are using to tow. It's still going to take a longer distance to stop then you would be able to normally. And braking distance aside, the brakes on a trailer help keep your trailer from fishtailing or jackknifing in a panic stop. Can you tow safely without brakes on a trailer? Of course you can.... if you keep a safe following distance, and are mindful of changing road conditions, etc.
The problem is, most people aren't, or they get lulled into a false sense of safety over the length of a long trip. To me, trailering without brakes is like going boating without any safety equipment aboard. Can you do it? Of course. But to me, knowing that I have life jackets, fire extinguishers, etc. on hand is well worth the piece of mind.

God forbid anyone here should get into a situation (and it only takes one) where they need to stop in a hurry and cannot. Is anyone here willing to risk the life of some kid because they felt that the upkeep of brakes on their trailer was just too much trouble? How do you face the parents of the kid you just killed and tell them it wasn't your fault? How do you live with yourself? Like I said, to me it's a no brainer.. brakes are simply a piece of safety equipment, just like life jackets, radios, flares, distress signals, etc etc etc. I won't go boating without any of them.

PS.. for those that don't know what a BENNY is, see the BENNY post.