lots of questions

[Mary C]

I am Mary and live in Ga. About six months ago I decided to build a teardrop. I have read and read and now I have questions and as i read I have more questions. hopefully they all will get answered here soon but for now I will just read and try to be a good listener but....... they have lowered the weight limits in North Carolina and heard that the state patrol can weigh your trailer on the spot so over 1000 pounds can mean a ticket if you don't have electric brakes?????California's Laws are the same and I plan to be going on my Big trip in 2015 I will barely have the money for the trip NOT tickets. If anyone can help Do I need electric brakes on my 4 x 8 TD?

[steveyos]

Hi, and welcome,
I have a 4x7 trailer in California and have never seen CHP do that. I may be the law or not but I don't think it is a problem. I don't think they want you to go through the truck scales either.

[S. Heisley]

Most, if not all, states honor each others laws; so, if you are within your state's requirements and your trailer is registered in your state, you should be okay, even when traveling to/through another state.
For the record, California's weight limit for trailers without brakes is 1,500; and, North Carolina not included (didn't know they had changed), I'm pretty sure that the only state whose limits are at 1,000 is New York.

http://www.towshop.com/trailer_suppleme ... g_laws.htm

[Mary C]

ok, Thanks for the answeres. I got my info off the Federal Dept of Transportation site. But saw an interesting story about a woman who in NC was involved in an accident where her TD swerved into the oncoming traffic and a car hit the trailer. I will see if I can find it. it really has me thinking about electric brakes anyway for the safety part. I have pulled a horse trailer and Loved the brakes system. Everyone has been so welcoming. Thank you so much.

[M C Toyer]

Welcome Mary -

What will you be using for a tow vehicle? That will have an impact on whether brakes are advisable or not.

M C

[Junkboy999]

There is problem and the answer all in one go. The HP is not going to use portable scales on every trailer
that goes past them. But.. if you got into an accident in your trailer is over the weights, guess what.
The same goes if the officer see your car can’t handle the weight or you are having problems controlling
the trailer.

Some trick to lighten your load is to keep your water, and cooler in the car if you can. Try to keep the
weight even in the car, don’t just fill up the trunk. That might make your car set low in the back making
your trailer look even heavier.

[Shadow Catcher]

I don't care what you tow with, it is always better to have brakes and not need them than to need them and not have them. I can say that from firsthand experience. #1 did not have brakes, #2 does. As much as anything it is a matter of control, particularly in bad weather.

[eamarquardt]

Some trick to lighten your load is to keep your water, and cooler in the car if you can. Try to keep the
weight even in the car, don’t just fill up the trunk. That might make your car set low in the back making
your trailer look even heavier.

This is not a solution. Your car's brakes are meant to stop a certain amount of weight. Moving weight from the trailer does nothing to help your car stop itself and the trailer as it doesn't matter where the weight is.

Most, if not all, states honor each others laws; so, if you are within your state's requirements and your trailer is registered in your state, you should be okay, even when traveling to/through another state.
For the record, California's weight limit for trailers without brakes is 1,500; and, North Carolina not included (didn't know they had changed), I'm pretty sure that the only state whose limits are at 1,000 is New York.

http://www.towshop.com/trailer_suppleme ... g_laws.htm

If yer gonna tow a trailer in California it has to comply with California laws. It doesn't matter what the laws of your home state are. In addition to the weight limits there are specific requirements that must be met for deceleration or stopping distances, or both. Sooooooooooooooo, even though your trailer weighs less than the maximum weight to require brakes based upon its weight, if you can't decelerate at a certain rate or stop in a certain distance you are not in compliance with the law. For example Texas has a high weight limit but also has deceleration and stopping distances that must be met. It's not difficult to translate a deceleration rate to a stopping distance. D=1/2(A)(T-squared). This stopping distance requirement is mentioned in the site that Sharon cited. Soooooo, the weight of your trailer is not relevant if you can't stop it as required by law and it's not safe to assume you're in compliance with the law just because your under the maximum weight limit.

I don't care what you tow with, it is always better to have brakes and not need them than to need them and not have them. I can say that from firsthand experience. #1 did not have brakes, #2 does. As much as anything it is a matter of control, particularly in bad weather.

I used to have a tent trailer (1,200#) and towed it with a Ford Taurus. I thought I was fine till the brakes overheated and faded coming down a mountain. I finally got it stopped, let the brakes cool down, and made it the rest of the way down the hill. Won't make that mistake again.

If Tumbleweed Tex were here he'd wanna hear: "Don't tow a trailer weighing any more than a third of the weight of your tow vehicle w/o brakes. It simply ain't safe".

Gus

[S. Heisley]

Some trick to lighten your load is to keep your water, and cooler in the car if you can. Try to keep the
weight even in the car, don’t just fill up the trunk. That might make your car set low in the back making
your trailer look even heavier.

This is not a solution. Your car's brakes are meant to stop a certain amount of weight. Moving weight from the trailer does nothing to help your car stop itself and the trailer as it doesn't matter where the weight is.

Most, if not all, states honor each others laws; so, if you are within your state's requirements and your trailer is registered in your state, you should be okay, even when traveling to/through another state.
For the record, California's weight limit for trailers without brakes is 1,500; and, North Carolina not included (didn't know they had changed), I'm pretty sure that the only state whose limits are at 1,000 is New York.

http://www.towshop.com/trailer_suppleme ... g_laws.htm

If yer gonna tow a trailer in California it has to comply with California laws. It doesn't matter what the laws of your home state are. In addition to the weight limits there are specific requirements that must be met for deceleration or stopping distances, or both. Sooooooooooooooo, even though your trailer weighs less than the maximum weight to require brakes based upon its weight, if you can't decelerate at a certain rate or stop in a certain distance you are not in compliance with the law. For example Texas has a high weight limit but also has deceleration and stopping distances that must be met. It's not difficult to translate a deceleration rate to a stopping distance. D=1/2(A)(T-squared). This stopping distance requirement is mentioned in the site that Sharon cited. Soooooo, the weight of your trailer is not relevant if you can't stop it as required by law and it's not safe to assume you're in compliance with the law just because your under the maximum weight limit.

I don't care what you tow with, it is always better to have brakes and not need them than to need them and not have them. I can say that from firsthand experience. #1 did not have brakes, #2 does. As much as anything it is a matter of control, particularly in bad weather.

I used to have a tent trailer (1,200#) and towed it with a Ford Taurus. I thought I was fine till the brakes overheated and faded coming down a mountain. I finally got it stopped, let the brakes cool down, and made it the rest of the way down the hill. Won't make that mistake again.

If Tumbleweed Tex were here he'd wanna hear: "Don't tow a trailer weighing any more than a third of the weight of your tow vehicle w/o brakes. It simply ain't safe".

Gus

Gus is right. Don't over-do your weight. Yes, brakes are always better. But, if you keep it down around 1,000 lbs or what your state's law says you can tow and within what the manufacturer says your vehicle can tow and stop, you should be okay. If it wasn't reasonably safe, there would have been laws passed against it by now. So, follow the rules and laws and use plenty of common sense. Don't drive like the devil is chasing you. Just go slower; don't speed; be careful. Also, balance your weight properly so you don't get sway like that lady that you mentioned did. (I'm betting that she wasn't loaded properly or the trailer wasn't built right, as well as possibly being over-weight...the trailer...not the lady. TeeHee) If you feel your trailer start to sway, slow down until you get it back under control. It should be noted that, unlike most states, California has a maximum speed when pulling a trailer of 55 mph. Of course, whether you are towing or not, the slower you go, the quicker and easier you can stop and the easier it is to get your vehicles back under control if something goes wrong.

On towing safety: http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12.htm

On Speeds, here: http://www.iihs.org/laws/speedlimits.aspx

And here: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws ... _laws.html

PS. If you decide not to put on brakes but think you might do it later, be sure to go with a 5 lug style of wheel, not 4. If anybody can add to that, please do.

[S. Heisley]

ok, Thanks for the answers. I got my info off the Federal Dept of Transportation site. But saw an interesting story about a woman who in NC was involved in an accident where her TD swerved into the oncoming traffic and a car hit the trailer. I will see if I can find it. it really has me thinking about electric brakes anyway for the safety part. I have pulled a horse trailer and Loved the brakes system. Everyone has been so welcoming. Thank you so much.

Hi, again, Mary:

I tried to find the website that you used when found your answers. I went to http://www.dot.gov but got a 404 Error when I tried to query for brakes or trailers. I did find this website by the Automobile Assn, which confirms that North Carolina now requires brakes for trailers weighing more than 1,000; so, I think it is up to date:

http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/trailer-brakes/

Could you please give use the address for the website that you were using? It could be very useful. I looked at 20 search screens of website data and finally gave up.

Thanks

[Mary C]

Sorry it is taking so long, I am not ignoring the question. It is just I am busy going thru all my stuff looking for the web site. I printed it out but I think i mailed it to my Brother (the one who does not admit there is such a thing as a computer. I have been printing things and sending them to him. But for me I have made up my mind I am going to have electric Brakes, the discussion on here and with a fellow who explained the mechanics convinced me that the best thing to do is get a Boat trailer with a 5 lug back plate and have my brother install Brakes. You all have been most helpful My brother can weld additional metal to the frame making it the right size for me and I can get one for about $100 around here. My brother can sand blast and I can paint it. I already have a controller so we will have to wire it up and one more thing I am getting a new to me car in early 2015 so I am not sure what I will ultimately pull it with but for now a '96 GMC 4WD Truck. Everyone has been great , Thanks for the discussion. it was VERY Helpful!!Mary

[Mary C]

Hey I finally found the towing info. www.towingworld.com I knew I'd find it !! I write down everything. Thanks again!!

[S. Heisley]

Thanks, Mary...Cool site but now I know why I couldn't find it....I was looking for a '.gov' type of site.

http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm

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