Trailer Brakes Do I need it ?

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by nymack66

I still have brakes on the rear axle, I only remove the front ones.
I use the SR528 which is the Autobahnen of Florida, legal at 70 MPH folks drive at 90 MPH with little or no enforcement and absolutely no shoulder to pull over in an emergency.
A very good friend of mine died on the Van Wick Expressway in NY 25 years ago changing a flat tire, and I never seem to forget the way it happened. I am scared to death been at the side of the road ever since.
When my Brakes locked up the wheel is literally on fire, this will eventuality explode the tires which in turn will take out my rear the rest will be obvious.
To prevent this is why I remove the front brakes so if a lock up happens it will be on the rear only and hopefully minimize damage.
I appreciated the warnings do get me wrong I would have love to keep it on all four wheels. But the lockups is driving me crazy. This is a relatively new trailer and this should not happen but it does.
The dealer replace the starboard front a while ago, now the port front locked up a few months back.
I was amazed at the corrosion around the brake cylinders when I removed them not a lot to cause the lockups as agreed by the dealer also. I am diligent about hosing this trailer down with fresh water after each trips.
Hopefully it works out I be on the SR528 this weekend hopefully no lockups on the rear !

Even 25 years later, I'm sorry to hear of your friends death. The Van Wick is a deadly road under the best of conditions.

NJ's law states that the trailer has to have brakes, not that all axels have them. So by having the rears still working on your trailer, you comply with the law up here.... and I know that all states have their own laws, so it's hit or miss sometimes.

The only way i've found to keep the corrosion at bay was to remove my drums and then hit the workings with my power washer. I figure that I get an extra 2-3 years out of my brakes that way. And since the drums themselves don't go bad, I only have to replace the backing plate and the inner works when doing a replacement. I like drums... much cheaper than disks, and they don't lock up like disks do.

[nymack66]

Thanks, I will use the pressure washer going forward its an excellent idea. Hopefully the rear holds up if not I will replace with some good quality ones ...

[cfelton]

The trailer I have came out from under a 26ft. Bayliner. I shortened it up and moved the axles and roller cradles forward to balance the weight. I removed the remains of four drum brakes and replaced the wheel bearings. The trailer is really heavy duty and galvanized so its really HEAVY! I pull it with a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 v6 automatic and only had trouble one time.
I was coming home from the Outer Banks behind 3 minivans full of folks from Maryland and the third time they slamed on brakes I locked the brakes up and it felt like it picked the rear end of my truck off the road. I came so damn close to hitting them, it wasn't funny. When I got home I ordered a new surge actuator and a set of Kodiak Stainless Steel Disc Brakes and installed them on the front axle. Now when I hit the brakes the boat trailer stops the truck. I love em!

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by cfelton

The trailer I have came out from under a 26ft. Bayliner. I shortened it up and moved the axles and roller cradles forward to balance the weight. I removed the remains of four drum brakes and replaced the wheel bearings. The trailer is really heavy duty and galvanized so its really HEAVY! I pull it with a Toyota Tacoma 4x4 v6 automatic and only had trouble one time.
I was coming home from the Outer Banks behind 3 minivans full of folks from Maryland and the third time they slamed on brakes I locked the brakes up and it felt like it picked the rear end of my truck off the road. I came so damn close to hitting them, it wasn't funny. When I got home I ordered a new surge actuator and a set of Kodiak Stainless Steel Disc Brakes and installed them on the front axle. Now when I hit the brakes the boat trailer stops the truck. I love em!

Amen!!!! ,

My Eureka moment came when I was trailering my 21' Cruisers with my Cherokee and we were going down a hill late at night. There was a light at the bottom of the hill that changed just before I got to it so I hit the brakes... and the boat pushed me about 5 -10 feet into the intersection. Thank God there were no vehicles coming from the sides, and no cops around to see me half run a red light. I've had brakes on my trailers ever since then. It's just plain good old horse sense to have them.

[SkunkBoat]

I have been in the "brakes are worse than no brakes" camp since the 3rd year of owning my V20, when they locked up and smoked for the 3rd time with the boat on trailer. Forget about an empty trailer....skip to my lou....
I dock my boat so I trailer only a couple times a year and there are no hills.

BUT... the bearings are due for a proactive replacement and I'm thinking of putting on a brake kit. I'm in NJ and as Destroyer said, the law is the law. I don't worry about whether its safe, because it is, I worry about tickets and lawsuits.

still on the fence....anyone wanna talk about how trailer LIGHTS suck?

[garbubba]

I'm with the folks here that say they aren't worth the trouble, at least if you are in salt water..

How the heck does a cop know if you have trailer brakes without climbing under your trailer?

Just buy a bigger tow vehicle and no following too closely!

I have trailer brakes on my car hauler & love them (when they are working). But they don't go swimming.

Doug

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by garbubba

I'm with the folks here that say they aren't worth the trouble, at least if you are in salt water.. How the heck does a cop know if you have trailer brakes without climbing under your trailer?

For starters he can look at the hitch where it connects to your tow vehicle to see if you have surge type brakes, or he can glance at your dashboard to see if you have electric brakes.

In NJ, where most people trailering from the north part of the state to the shore use either the Turnpike or the Garden State Parkway I can guarentee you that the State Troopers that patrol these roads know exactly what to look for. I have a friend that's a Trooper and he told me that they have special classes that train them in these sorts of things.

Originally Posted by SkunkBoat

BUT... the bearings are due for a proactive replacement and I'm thinking of putting on a brake kit. I'm in NJ and as Destroyer said, the law is the law. I don't worry about whether its safe, because it is, I worry about tickets and lawsuits. Still on the fence....anyone wanna talk about how trailer LIGHTS suck?

Skunk, just go to Harbor Freight (There's one on rt 37 in Toms River I believe). Buy one of the Submersible LED trailer light sets they have. (Less than $40, and I've seen them on sale for $26) Make sure it's the rectangular lens submersible set and not just their non-submersible square lens trailer set. They work totally great, nice and bright day or night, they are sealed, you can dunk them with no problems, and the bulbs don't corrode in the sockets like incadescent bulbs do. Then, when you are mounting them, solder each one of your wires together before you wire nut them. (The nut acts as an insulator, not a connector) The lights will last you many years of trouble free trailering. Lights still SUCK, but much less this way.

[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.

[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.

[captpete13]

Geez Capt. buzzkill. I'm just messing with you. I understand the importance of brakes too. Being a Benny (which if you wern't born here you are) has nothing to do with it.