Yes, I think you should have a braking system, and that answer comes from a guy who doesn't have one. I tow a 2002 Jeep Wrangle that I believe is a little lighter than your Jeep. I tow it behind a heavy diesel pusher with a very nice engine brake and air brakes that get used very little.
You will be towing with a lighter class C, no engine break, and brakes that use brake fluid that could overheat and fail if you don't have a brake on the toad. Since you're in Oregon, you'll be dealing with mountains.
The DP's heavy weight gives better control over a toad without a braking system. I'ved been in the mountains from Colorado to Alaska and back down to Bisbee, AZ without any problems. Am I illegal in some states - maybe, it depends on their weight limits for a toad without brakes. I'm also illegal if I coast down off a mountain 5 miles over the speed limit.......
I bought my Road Master off of another Jeep person at a considerable cost savings. He had it on Craig' List. Unfortunately, I had to buy the adapters that bolted to the Jeep because he was too lazy to unbolt them before he sold his Jeep.
Building a set up with surge brakes could be interesting. I didn't know you could hook surge brakes into a vehicle's brakes. I've never used surge brakes because most of my trailer towing is snow machine trailers during the winter and I don't want to depend on the trailer tires getting enough of a grip on the ice to engage the surge brakes.
Keep looking at EBay, Craig's List and anything else you have locally.
Bill
