Brakes on towed vehicle or not?
Just wondering how many of you have supplemental braking on your toad vehicle or not. Our toad weighs about 2700 lbs. towed behind a 30 ft. Class C 450 Ford chassis so I believe brakes are not legally...
Forum Discussion
MPond says it right! I agree! Our motorhome plus our toad when loaded as we travel is a little over 1000 pounds below the GVWR of the motorhome alone. Also the toad weighs less than 3000 pounds which is the limit without brakes here in Florida. I spoke with the chassis manufacturer who said that if the combined total weight is less than the GVWR for the motorhome then there is no reason to need auxiliary brakes on the toad.
All of the auxiliary brake manufacturers want us to believe that ALL states ALWAYS require auxiliary brakes, but this is false.
As MPond stated, you can always do something to improve your braking. Even if you are driving a motorhome alone, you can increase the size of the brakes, used larger tires to increase the area of rubber contacting the road, etc, etc. However it seems to me that if your vehicle meets the requirements of the chassis manufacturer and the requirements of your state, you should be "legally" safe, whether you ever get hauled into court or not.
Ed Headington
All of the auxiliary brake manufacturers want us to believe that ALL states ALWAYS require auxiliary brakes, but this is false.
As MPond stated, you can always do something to improve your braking. Even if you are driving a motorhome alone, you can increase the size of the brakes, used larger tires to increase the area of rubber contacting the road, etc, etc. However it seems to me that if your vehicle meets the requirements of the chassis manufacturer and the requirements of your state, you should be "legally" safe, whether you ever get hauled into court or not.
Ed Headington
