Do I Really Need A Brake Buddy
I tow a 2006 Honda Accord....been using a brake buddy but since it's not a heavy vehicle I don't want to use the brake buddy. Most of my travel is level with some slight hills. Used to do the 11,000...
Forum Discussion
MCA 61-1-101:
"(82) (a) "Trailer" means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle."
Note that a "trailer" in Montana is designed to:
1. Carry "property" (not people)
2. Be "drawn by a motor vehicle". A towed motor vehicle is not designed to be towed, it must be modified to allow towing.
For those who are wondering what MCA61-1-101 (82)(b) says, here it is:
"(b) The term does not include a mobile home or a manufactured home, as defined in 15-1-101."
That, of course, has nothing to do with the discussion at hand, but I thought I might as well include it for information purposes.
So, in Montana are brakes required on a towed motor vehicle behind an RV?
It depends.
Can your RV comply with MCA 61-9-312 (4)?
" 61-9-312. Performance ability of brakes. On a dry, hard, approximately level stretch of highway free from loose material, a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, upon application of the service brake, must be capable of stopping at a speed of 20 miles an hour within the following distances:
(1) 25 feet for passenger motor vehicles, except buses and pioneer vehicles;
(2) 40 feet for buses, trucks, and tractor trucks;
(3) 45 feet for motor vehicles registered or qualified to be registered as pioneer vehicles under 61-3-411(2)(a) when equipped with two-wheel brakes or 25 feet when equipped with four-wheel brakes;
(4) 40 feet for all combinations of vehicles; and
(5) 30 feet for motorcycles, quadricycles, and motor-driven cycles.
I doubt that anyone can deny that a motorhome towing a vehicle is a "combination of vehicles"!
"(82) (a) "Trailer" means a vehicle, with or without motive power, other than a pole trailer, designed for carrying property and for being drawn by a motor vehicle and constructed so that no part of its weight rests on the towing vehicle."
Note that a "trailer" in Montana is designed to:
1. Carry "property" (not people)
2. Be "drawn by a motor vehicle". A towed motor vehicle is not designed to be towed, it must be modified to allow towing.
For those who are wondering what MCA61-1-101 (82)(b) says, here it is:
"(b) The term does not include a mobile home or a manufactured home, as defined in 15-1-101."
That, of course, has nothing to do with the discussion at hand, but I thought I might as well include it for information purposes.
So, in Montana are brakes required on a towed motor vehicle behind an RV?
It depends.
Can your RV comply with MCA 61-9-312 (4)?
" 61-9-312. Performance ability of brakes. On a dry, hard, approximately level stretch of highway free from loose material, a motor vehicle or combination of vehicles, upon application of the service brake, must be capable of stopping at a speed of 20 miles an hour within the following distances:
(1) 25 feet for passenger motor vehicles, except buses and pioneer vehicles;
(2) 40 feet for buses, trucks, and tractor trucks;
(3) 45 feet for motor vehicles registered or qualified to be registered as pioneer vehicles under 61-3-411(2)(a) when equipped with two-wheel brakes or 25 feet when equipped with four-wheel brakes;
(4) 40 feet for all combinations of vehicles; and
(5) 30 feet for motorcycles, quadricycles, and motor-driven cycles.
I doubt that anyone can deny that a motorhome towing a vehicle is a "combination of vehicles"!
