20,000 Teton 5er - Truck Needed (legally)

Whether you agree with folks that say the truck brakes stop the truck, trailer the trailer does not matter. I would agree, that electric brakes are not that great. BUT, if you get inspected, a test or two or three an leo will give you is the trailer had better hold the truck! If you pull the trailer with the truck, and all the brakes are locked up, that is a pass. But if the brakes on the trailer are not locked up, not holding the truck with the emergency cord pulled, or you having your finger on the manual lever on the brake controller, you WILL have a failed brake system per that LEO! That trailer will not be allowed back on the road being towed until it can meat those standards!

If your trailer brakes do no meet this standard from the day you buy your trailer assuming new, then it does not meet state and federal laws, return it! not that you probably can return it. But you need to get the manufacture to make it meet the laws that you have to travel under.

I've been able to stop my dump truck with the 2 - 6K axel brakes on my equipment trailer! I stop quicker with the trailer brakes working than with out. I've stopped quicker with my sw 2500 and a dw 3500 with a single 3500lb axel with brakes on than the same pulling the same trailer with no brakes. Brakes on trucks lasted longer too. To say I am not a fan of trailer brakes, would be improper.

No one wants to depend on "JUST" the truck or trailer brakes to stop higher loads. That is not fun, having been there done that! One should have proper brakes on the trailer if the trailer weighs more than the tow rigs cargo ability. ie if you have 2000 lbs of payload to gvwr, then a trailer weighing 2001 lbs plus per say, should have brakes on the tv imho. Hence why I put brakes on the single axel trailer. Made life a lot nicer when you have a truck full of yard debris, 2000+ lb trailer behind you pushing you along.......

Marty

Just out of curiosity, have you ever had your RV stopped and your brakes checked like you describe? I've never heard of, or talked to anyone who has ever been checked that way. Just wondering as I wasn't even aware of it.

hone eagle wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

hone eagle wrote:
statements like "trailer brakes stop the trailer " make the hair on the back of my neck stand up .

:h :H :H

don't happen ever
take a truck any truck ,panic stop from any speed you want ,now do it with a trailer hooked on - same distance ? highly doubt it.
Trailer brakes are worse then useless if you believe and trust them to stop the trailer .
They are smaller then the brakes on a '60s econo box and are expected to stop trailers weighing 3 times more?
come on
now get them toasty like coming down a hill or stop and go freeway driving . and are they all perfectly adjusted?
When a mod blithely states 'trailer brakes stop the trailer' I get a chill.

You need to take a ride with me and do a panic stop, you will be shocked as I was at how fast the truck and RV stopped.

..

I had a panic stop last September going south on 395. I was very happy for the great result but not a 20,000 lb load.
chevman

Cummins12V98 wrote:

hone eagle wrote:

Turtle n Peeps wrote:

hone eagle wrote:
statements like "trailer brakes stop the trailer " make the hair on the back of my neck stand up .

:h :H :H

don't happen ever
take a truck any truck ,panic stop from any speed you want ,now do it with a trailer hooked on - same distance ? highly doubt it.
Trailer brakes are worse then useless if you believe and trust them to stop the trailer .
They are smaller then the brakes on a '60s econo box and are expected to stop trailers weighing 3 times more?
come on
now get them toasty like coming down a hill or stop and go freeway driving . and are they all perfectly adjusted?
When a mod blithely states 'trailer brakes stop the trailer' I get a chill.

You need to take a ride with me and do a panic stop, you will be shocked as I was at how fast the truck and RV stopped.

I would only be shocked if the combined rig stopped in exactly the same distance as the truck alone .
We are kind of talking two different things here with Marty ,I agree with him the trailer alone will stop the combined rig or should (like a train...eventually ),my fear is that it will give a false impression to a beginner that it doesn't matter whats hooked together the stopping distance will remain the same .
I contend that its not likely.

Cummins have you seen a recent demo of a brake controller called 'direct link'?
the improvement over stock ?..........80 feet now thats shocking.
they changed to hyd disks and anti lock.
locking and skidding your trailer tires is NOT the goal like some here have proudly posted.

fj12ryder wrote:
Just out of curiosity, have you ever had your RV stopped and your brakes checked like you describe? I've never heard of, or talked to anyone who has ever been checked that way. Just wondering as I wasn't even aware of it.

I have NOT been stopped with an RV. I "HAVE" been stopped in my pickup, and class 6 mdt pulling my equipment trailer, and I WAS checked as described! They will also make sure you have at least 11.5V for the battery on the trailer. If it is less than 11.5V, your are impounded on the side of the road until you get the battery up to 11.5, or disconnect and go get a new one.

This has also been told to me in a number of class's I have taken from CVEO's, as to how and why they check and enforce weight laws etc for smaller rigs under 26K lbs. IE what and IF they would do if they also pulled over RV's. folks like myself pulling smaller trailers doing landscape maintenance, contractors working out of pickups to class 6 rigs.

I HAVE had to stop my old TT with just the truck a few times......forgot to plug the trailer plug in after an overnight stay or a couple of nights at a single place where I stayed connected per say, except for the trailer plug.

At the end of the day as noted, truck brakes stops the truck, trailer brakes needs to stop the trailer! Yeah it is nicer to have a truck with MORE than enough brakes, frame etc. BUT, not everyone wants to drive around in a truck with 20K lbs of free payload to stop a trailer when the trailer brakes fail. I did not realize my ground was shot on the equipment trailer one time, drove around many miles with it behind the navistar, hooked up to my old dually......thing did not stop worth a dang!

I can generally speaking stop quicker with the truck and trailer than just the truck alone. Not by much, but still quicker.

Marty

Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!

RLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!

I would highly recumbent you get it done ASAP. You will say "I wish I would have done it sooner" !!!!!

I have a MaxBrake it applies the pressure equal to the RV based on brake line pressure. Very seamless braking.

I know the RV brakes would stop the combined setup and also the other way around. Just know it won't happen fast!

no fear These guys have no fear of heavy trailers

RLGetman wrote:
Thanks again for all the inputs on braking. I personally feel that the weak link in my F450 dually with an 18,500lb 5er is the braking system. I drive extremely careful with as big a safety envelope as possible. I still fear the day I have to do an emergency stop. My next upgrade will have the disc brakes. Good Luck Everyone!