Supplemental Brake... Necessity or Preference
We seem to have a good number of discussions on the issue of the need for supplemental brakes... Unfortunately many of the discussions are not very productive in terms of giving those who have an open...
Forum Discussion
CA Traveler wrote:brodon wrote:My concern has always been safety, legal and liability. States have different laws requiring aux brakes. A 3,880 toad requires a brake in most states.
Just bought a Nat. Dolphin 38' Class A MH; looking at braking issue.
MH stats:
GVWR 24,000
GCWR 30,000
Unloaded WR 20,840
Max CC 3,160
Cargo CC 1,782
Tow Veh 3,880
The way I read these figures, I should be able to pull and brake with my MH safely.
Should the unfortunate happen I don't want to be explaining to the insurance company or judge why I ignored the states requirements. Not to mention putting my assets at risk.
Most states do not have laws requiring a braking system on a towed motor vehicle.
However, nearly all states have a braking performance requirement. You must be able to come to a full stop within a certain distance from a certain speed, on a level, hard, clean surface (See MCA (Montana Code Annotated) 61-9-312 for an example of such a law). If you can meet that performance standard, you are legal. If you can't meet the standard, fix it so you can.
An almost identical standard can be found in the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS).
