Could really use a hand figuring out how much my (hopefully) Tacoma will tow...

Surge brakes when setup properly and maintained work great.

That stated, electric brakes are simpler and more flexible.

 

Don't believe everything you read on the internet. I've towed trailers with one, two and three axles with everything from jet skis to a 47' high performance boat on them. And yes, I've towed with surge, electric and electric over hydraulic brakes. Most of what I've towed over the last 40 years or so though has had surge brakes. Are they as good as the other two options I mentioned? if they're properly sized, installed and adjusted (for drum brakes), they're actually pretty darn good. The only time I ever had any serious problems with surge brakes was on a total POS tandem axle boat trailer with totally non-functional brakes. Electric brakes wouldn't have been any better in that case.

 

depends on who’s maintaining the surge brakes
DIY

or uhaul that gave me a trailer with a broken light, said ball height doesn’t matter
And guy in the back wrenching whispering witchcraft with one tooth

I’m more curious how crazy it is to tow a single axle box trailer that doesn’t have any brakes on it whatsoever

auto towing a surge brake trailer is probably not the same as manual clutching in to shift