Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire towing without brakes

What is the heaviest bumper pull trailer you would tow without trailer brakes assuming a half ton v8 crew cab 3.73 rear end with trailering package. Sway bar but not weight dist bars. Relatively flat ground, low altitude about 130 miles. mix of city and hiway miles.new brakes on the truck.

you gonna a broad swath of answers here.

personally I've never pulled a trailer without brakes with a 1/2 ton of more than 2-3k lbs. Say a 3500lb trailer with 2 fourwheelers on it.

You always here folks bragging about what they can pull with their trusty ole half ton. The stories make me glad I was no where around.

Its not the going, its the whoaing that'll get ya.

Legally, it varies greatly by state. Here's a site with state by state regulations: TRAILER BRAKES

I've pulled 2 tons brakeless with a 3/4 ton without any problems but if you get in an accident, it'll be your fault, no matter what else happened. A local guy spent 4 years in the pen for bad brakes on his gravel truck. A motorhome cut in in front of him and slammed on the brakes to make a turn. He hit it and 2 people died. It was entirely not his fault but they saw the worn brakes and it was all over.

You can tow anything you want without brakes, no problem. You WILL have a problem when it comes to stopping.

I would not tow anything larger than maybe a snowmachine trailer without brakes. Bad juju.

In California, brakes are required on any trailer coach or camp trailer having a gross weight of 1500 lbs. or more.

Phil

I have had the ABS computer fail while hauling a 53' four axle trailer with over 60,000 lbs of paper on board. I got it stopped but it took a while.

Hell, you need a helmet and a HANS device too in California.

For me, the heaviest load I tow w/o trailer brakes is my 700lb (+\-) Can Am 800cc, 2 up Outlander ATV on a 5'x8' utility trailer. I'm guessing the trailer weighs about the same as the ATV. Any more than that (boat, camper, etc) it's going to have surge or electric brakes on each axle. I mostly use my 1/2 Ton Chevy Tahoe, but my wife's Trailblazer pulls (and stops) the trailer/ATV combo effortlessly also.
YMMV. -TomT

I've driven every conceivable type and combination of vehicles in my over 45 years of driving, and both with and without breaks. Electric, Air, Hydraulic, and Air over Hydraulic. And one thing I can guarantee you is, if you don't keep them adjusted, your driving without brakes!

Phil

I don't tow much myself other than the occasional small trailer with my Kawasaki mini-mule on board but see people pulling large boats behind half ton and smaller Trucks and SUVs all the time around my lake house. Can't imagine they all have brakes.

Heck just go look at a public boat ramp any nice Saturday and you'll see all sorts of stuff the people on this thread would apparently never consider

Your owners manual will clearly state the maximum. The lower of the owners manual and state law will apply to you. I agree about the keeping them adjusted part.

I've had a few mis-adventures towing heavy, uneven loads without trailer brakes. One I was sure I would not get through unscathed, but I did. I don't do that chit anymore. To quote Clark Griswald (National Lampoon's Vacation) "It's nothing to be proud of, Rusty"'.

Idaho's law is a bit different. They require brakes on any trailer over 1500lb EMPTY. That leaves a lot of leeway when you start stacking on the load. You can have a load weighing far more than what's safe and still be legal.

Ski boat. 19ft jet, shallow V, big block and fiber glass. Maybe 1500#'s + trailer?

Any more is scary.

brakes?

If your not worried about staying within the confines of the law.I would limit it to 2500/3000lbs and do not tow at high speeds keep it under 60 and watch your corners as the trailer will want to push you in a corner if you apply the brakes.

If you have little experience towing I would avoid doing it at all but if you have experience remember a little common sense will go a long ways.

I can't answer directly but am currently towing +/-2500# with no trailer brakes and a Dodge 3/4 ton and it's a non-issue. Prior to that, I towed 4500# with trailer brakes and a 1/2 ton Chevy and it was a total goat phug trying to get things slowed down...

You ain't just a-whistlin' Dixie...

Not me. I've always gone by the rule of thumb that 'you can never have too much truck'..

Spot on.. Most trailers at 3K GTW won't have brakes.. Most over that weight will have at least one axle w/brakes up to 6K, then both axles over 7K...

I have a 16' tandem axle trailer rated at 7000#, no brakes and a 1/2 ton Chevy. We got rear-ended last fall going 45 mph with about a 3500# load. Hitch and hitch lock failed, safety chains failed. Trailer came around and got into side of truck. Not pretty. Hit and run. I will always wonder how brakes would have affected the outcome.
About a month ago I put 3 tons of gravel on same truck and trailer. I only had to go about 10 mi. on flat ground. It was about all the truck wanted. I wouldn't recommend it for any distance or uneven terrain.

3 k # is the law here.
Seems reasonable.