Whats safe without a Brake controller?

An easy and cheap solution would be to rent a two-wheel car dolly from UHAUL to tow the car.

 

The cost is the problem. Trust me thats the first thing I thought of. I wont get into it all, but financially it wouldnt make sense. Its not a lot of money but it could be a waste.

 

That's a bummer, man. I have no idea how much they cost to rent- probably cheaper than buying/installing a brake controller I would think.

Anecdotally I towed an 81 malibu with one of those recently. Make sure if you do it you take the parking brake OFF of the car you are pulling once it's strapped down or you'll just drag it through the person who you bought it from's grass and ruin their lawn, then you'll have to drive away quick and never come back.

 

Always remember to release the park brake and put it in neutral before flat towing or dolly towing.



As for the topic, I'd be real careful towing a heavier load without brakes. I made that mistake once before I got my brake controller in and it was alright until I had to make a quicker stop and the brakes just weren't doing their thing. Nothing bad happened but it was a bit of a shock how fast I couldn't stop.

If you're unsure if the load is too big and assuming you have a safe quiet road nearby bring it up to 40mph or so then try to stop fast. Smooth but firm pedal application. You might be real surprised at how much longer it takes to stop.

You could just buy a controller though. They're not that much and it's not like you use it up, you'll have it for every other tow you ever do. If you have the factory tow package you could even borrow one, it'll just plug in. Based on my towing experience I draw the line at around 2000lbs with no brakes.

 

Master SAE or whatever letters you get to put next to your name or not, that's an incredibly ignorant comment...

Search the site a little bit, you'll find that most of us have put the trucks through their paces.

 

Whats your point? the Trailer the OP is talking about has a 7 pin plug on it.

If youre building a trailer with no brakes or onboard power requirements, or axle level reverse lockout, you use 4 pin. If youre building a trailer with electric brakes and without onboard power requirements, you use 5 pin. If youre building a trailer with onboard power with or without electric brakes, you use 6 pin.

You only build in a 7 pin plug if you have to run a reverse lockout solenoid.

The trailer HAS a 7 pin plug.

 

what is your point?
not what the OP is asking?

 

Yes, they certainly are. Without a reverse lockout solenoid to run, there is no reason for the 7th pin.

On the truck side, you go with the biggest plug the truck is equipped for, and adapt down to whatever the trailer has.

On the trailer, you go with the minimum the trailer depends on.

 

OP asked if it is safe to pull.
IF IT HAS HYDRAULIC BRAKES, IT IS.
The 7 pin plug on the trailer indicates that it may. OP should confirm.

 

For those people talking about pulling 6000 pounds without trailer brakes.... VERY STUPID IDEA.

If the roads are definitely all empty, you can anticipate traffic signals, stop signs, etc., and take your time braking over a longer distance. The problem is that the roads are full of stoners in beat up and souped down noisy honda civics. You cant anticipate those, so you depend on being able to stop... FAST.

The heavier the load, the longer it takes to stop unless you add additional brakes.

 

i've towed my honda s2000 (3000lb) on a huge dump trailer (easily 4000lb or more) without a brake controller and had no problems. Just put the car in 4th gear if it's an automatic and just gie yourself room to slop, you'll need it with the momentum.

I've also towed an s2000 on a uhaul traler about 400 miles recently and they truck does just fine.

if i were you i'd rent the uhaul trailer though, it's only like 60 bucks and it makes life easy, they have surge brakes IIRC

 

it may be that way in canada, but in the US hyd surge you only need 4 wires in a 6 plug.
and the reason for the 7 pin plug here is for a trickle charger for the break-a-way switch for elect. brakes.
I don't want to fight or pick a fight about this, but my uncle built trailers for 35 years.

 

This is actually a timely thread for me. I want to tow a rock buggy on a 16 foot flatbed trailer about 240 miles (each way, with a couple decent sized mountain passes). the buggy is probably 3200 lbs, and the trailer is probably 1600 lbs. My guess is with gear and everything I'll be loaded to about 5000 lbs.

I'm not new to towing, just new to this vehicle. I towed about 3800-4000 lbs last week (without trailer brakes FWIW) and the truck felt fine. I have a brake controller that I can install tonight, and the consensus seems to be that this 5000 lb load shouldn't be too much for the truck...stock.

I have the 2.5" OME lift with the Dakar leaf springs and 285/70/17 tires. So my question is: has anyone pulled around 5k in a taco with a similar setup? I have a drop hitch, and again I'll put my brake controller in. Does this suspension setup drastically compromise the towing capacity of the vehicle?

It's a 2010 double cab offroad.

 

Brakes on the taco sucks..

The taco has plenty of power to get the job done but not so much on the braking side..can be sketchy, even with trailer brakes...

This is what I often tow on the weekends

 

Well, that looks to be about what I'm working with. Looks like I shouldn't have too many problems. I know the road well, so that helps.

I guess my only other fear is the return trip. Going down it'll be nice and cool--60*'s at night. The return will be 100*'s in the sun. hot. I suppose I should prepare to not be using the AC on the way home.

 

I blew through an intersection that suddenly turned red against me..went from a two second yellow light to a red light..had to panicked brake but I still went through the intersection and almost tboned a car. Taco felt like it had no brakes even with the trailer brakes locked up and skidding across the intersection. Give yousrslf plenty of room. In panick break situations the taco will fail while towing

 

OK PEOPLE, THIS IS THE EXAMPLE OF HOW A TRAILER AND TRUCK SHOULD LOOK WHEN TOWING. ITS PERFECT. HE'S GOT THE PERFECT WEIGHT BALANCE ON THE TRAILER, OR SHOULD I SAY IN FRONT OF THE FIRST AXLE. THE NOSE OF THE TRAILER IS STILL POINTED UP. THAT MEANS IT WILL PULL AND NOT DANCE GOING DOWN THE ROAD. THE TRUCK IS PRESSED DOWN A LITTLE BIT ON THE ASS END, NOT TOO MUCH WEIGHT.
ALL 4 TIRES ON THE TRAILER ARE BITING THE PAVEMENT AND WILL NOT DANCE.
****BONUS, SOMETHING I ALWAYS HAD, HE EVEN HAS A SPARE MOUNTED ON THE SIDE.

 

I even cross my chains lol

 

Does the trailer have electric brakes? If the answer is yes, then hook up the brake controller. If the answer is no, then the controller will do nothing for you.

 

Here, I am in good sprites today, its been two days since I have had a stroke related headache.
http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm