Pontoon Trailer Brakes or not?

A.F.C. 8511

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24ft custom pontoon boat. Tandom axel trailer, chevy 4.3 silverado. Trailer brakes REALLY neccisary?
Mostly summer use, to and from lake. No real city driving, open country roads or highway
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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24ft custom pontoon boat. Tandom axel trailer, chevy 4.3 silverado. Trailer brakes REALLY neccisary?
Mostly summer use, to and from lake. No real city driving, open country roads or highway

if your boat and trailer weigh more than 2000# in some states, yes. 3000# in others (38 of the 50)

a trailer for a 24' toon is going to be 1200#+
the toon will be 2500# +

so I fairly confident the answer is YES if it is on a public road. doesnt matter what type of road.

now, if the trailer never leaves private property, then its up to you
 

porscheguy

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Most states put the weight limit for brakes at 3000lbs. Thats why a lot of trailers with no brakes are rated at 2990. If your trailer can haul a 24 boat, you should have brakes. In many states, if your trailer was equipped with brakes, regardless of its official weight rating, youll need working brakes to pass inspection.

I see your argument frequently. Youve got a full size pick up, dont travel far, not many stops, not very fast. Its all well and good. Even I towed my boat and trailer for about 6 weeks this summer with inoperative brakes and I didnt think it was too bad. I had to get them up and working so I could get it through inspection. And when I did, it made a huge improvement. The whole rig is much more stable under heavy stops, and requires much less pedal pressure. And that time I spent without brakes was long enough to fry my pads on the truck. Brake pads are meant to operate within a temperature range, and once you exceed that range, pad wear increases rapidly. Now Ive got to put brakes on the truck.

The other consideration is that the law requires brakes. If youre involved in an accident and there are no injuries, youll probably avoid any troubles by not having brakes. If there are injuries, you can expect more scrutiny of your rig. If there are children and injuries you can definitely expect scrutiny. They find out you have no brakes on a trailer that requires them, all of a sudden the fault is on you. Any civil liability is on you. If someone dies? You can face criminal liability and you can guarantee your rig will be inspected with a fine tooth comb.

Trailer surge brakes can be a pain. I get it. They may seem unnecessary for a few hundred miles per year. But if you shop around, theyre not too expensive, and the work isnt that hard. Why take the chance?
 
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bigdee

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Its not about the load your carrying. Its about rated capacity of trailer. Tandem axles make brakes a requirement in most states.
 

roscoe

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Most states put the weight limit for brakes at 3000lbs. That?s why a lot of trailers with no brakes are rated at 2990. If your trailer can haul a 24? boat, you should have brakes. In many states, if your trailer was equipped with brakes, regardless of its official weight rating, you?ll need working brakes to pass inspection.

I see your argument frequently. You?ve got a full size pick up, don?t travel far, not many stops, not very fast. It?s all well and good. Even I towed my boat and trailer for about 6 weeks this summer with inoperative brakes and I didn?t think it was too bad. I had to get them up and working so I could get it through inspection.



Inspection ?

Oh no, I can't ask about that.
 

porscheguy

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We have a state safety inspection on all cars, trucks, and trailers in MD whenever they change hands, with only a handful of exceptions. Vehicles registered historic are exempt. But a trailer cannot be registered historic regardless of age. Its not the onerous annual safety inspection like VA however.

Its really a double edged sword. Inspection standards can be a little vague, and the inspections are carried out mostly by people in the repair business which makes for a conflict of interest IMO. I dont believe we have a state safety inspection facility. There are a handful of people who only do safety inspections, but no car repairs. If buying or selling cars in MD, The safety inspection can be a help or hindrance depending on your position/perspective. Ill explain why.

the safety inspection is valid for I think 30 days and/or 1000 miles. Buyers or sellers can have it done and as long as its within 30 days/1000 miles it doesnt have to be redone. If I sell a car, Ill have it inspected because odds are, Ill be selling it to someone in MD. By having the valid inspection, Im essentially offering a warranty or guarantee that the vehicle is in tolerable condition with no major surprises lurking beneath the surface. The buyer can get it on the road with minimal hassle. I can use that as leverage when a buyer tries to lowball. As a buyer, if the vehicle does not have a safety inspection, I can use that as an excuse to lowball the seller. Also as a buyer, if it is inspected by the seller, it gives me the assurance that I can buy it and tag it the same day. It also gives me the assurance that I probably wont have to immediately spend 1000s of dollars on vehicle repairs immediately after purchase.

Trailer inspection isnt too hateful. All required lights must be present and operational. Tires have to be in tolerable condition and meet or exceed a minimum tread depth standard. No rust perforation on the frame. No excess material loss due to rust on hardware. If originally equipped with brakes or theyre required due to weight, then the brakes must be intact and fully operational. Pad/shoe thickness must meet or exceed a minimum thickness.
 
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roscoe

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Ok Got it.

But....

What if I buy a classic muscle car for example.
I need to title it so I can register it, so I can insure my $50,000 investment.
But the car is not in drivable condition, partially restored, or accident damaged, so it won't pass inspection.

In that scenario, what do you do? Is there some work around?
 
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Davetowz

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I run brakes on all of my trailers. The comfort of knowing that the load is helping in the braking is worth it. There is also the legal requirement that was mentioned already. The brakes are really appreciated if the trailer is pushing you downhill.
 

porscheguy

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Ok Got it.

But....

What if I buy a classic muscle car for example.
I need to title it so I can register it, so I can insure my $50,000 investment.
But the car is not in drivable condition, partially restored, or accident damaged, so it won't pass inspection.

In that scenario, what do you do? Is there some work around?
I actually made an error in my earlier explanation. You dont need a safety inspection to transfer the title to your name. In md you can do the title transfer and you can get your tags and registration as well. For tags and registration you must show proof of insurance. Without a safety inspection you will pay the full price for registration but will be given 30 day stickers for your tags which allow you to drive the vehicle to the inspection facility. Once you pass, they will then give you your 12 or 24 month stickers.

So yes, you can get the title and insure it without the inspection.

For vehicles over 20 years old, you can get a historic tag which I believe will exempt you from safety inspection and definitely exempt you from emissions testing. This is a restricted tag which limits your annual mileage, and youre supposed to only drive it to car events. They passed more onerous driving restrictions on historic plates last year because all of the poor people with beat up 27 year old Hondas and Toyotas were abusing the historic plates to get exempted from emissions inspections. Now the law specifically states you cannot drive a vehicle with historic plates to work or school.
 
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briangcc

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Ok Got it.

But....

What if I buy a classic muscle car for example.
I need to title it so I can register it, so I can insure my $50,000 investment.
But the car is not in drivable condition, partially restored, or accident damaged, so it won't pass inspection.

In that scenario, what do you do? Is there some work around?

In NY you can title a vehicle and not register it - no plate, no inspection required. At that point you can insure it, again in NY. If you later want to register it...take the title and the insurance card to the DMV, pay your registration fee, and get a temp inspection sticker good for 10 days. Did that with both my 78 Trans Am and my 80 Firebird.


To the OP... good decision on the brakes! You'll appreciate a working set. I know when mine were replaced on the Four Winns it made a difference. Surge disc on that trailer.
 

Scott06

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Trailer brakes I would reccomend highly. I got a tie down kit that has worked well for me (seen some negative comments on tie down) in fresh water and short trips.
On insurance I've gotten boat insurance and muscle car insurance without titles in both cases, vin number only. On the car I've carried comprehensive with no liability for a GTO while restoring it for the last 12 years, yes the rests is taking longer than planned...
 

roscoe

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The title/registration/inspection/insurance issue was specific to "porscheguy's" comments, and specific to his state.

His comments are now missing/deleted.
 

HT32BSX115

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24ft custom pontoon boat. Tandom axel trailer, chevy 4.3 silverado. Trailer brakes REALLY neccisary?
Mostly summer use, to and from lake. No real city driving, open country roads or highway
Well, yeah. I can tell you that if you hit someone, (with no trailer brakes) and the "Slip-And-Fall" lawyer for the person you hit finds out that you had no brakes on the trailer (AKA "Blood in The Water") you're likely going to be at fault (even if the guy pulled out in front of you)

Just saying......



I have an 87 21ft Four Winns (about 5000lbs ) + steel tandem axle trailer (1000+ lbs) that originally came with only the front axle "braked" using hydraulic drum and a surge coupler.

About 5 years ago, I welded brake backing plate brackets to the rear axle, removed the older surge system and front drum hyd brakes and installed 4 "regular" Dexter electric brakes after buying a 2005 F350 with the OEM TBC (Trailer Brake Controller)

Before, when using the surge system, the brakes were always very hot after going down a long hill and once in a while if I braked heavily, it would lock the front axle brakes on the trailer. And backing up a hill on gravel or dirt, the brakes would usually lock and skid the front axle wheels........

So far, for the last 5 years or so, the electric drum brakes work flawlessly and the FOMOCO TBC just works!

If I had it to do over again, I might probably do the MUCH MORE expensive stainless disc electric over hydraulic brakes because regular electric drums don't do all that well in salt water.

I don't boat in salt water and regular electric drum brakes are no worse than the older hydraulic drums anyway..... The magnets are completely epoxy sealed so water doesn't seem to hurt them

I would not use another surge system on any trailer, and any "new" boat I get in the future will either have electric (over hydraulic disc) brakes or I'll swap them out!

Cheers,

Rick
 
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JimS123

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In NY the law says unladen weight above 1000 lbs and/or loaded weight above 3000 lbs required brakes.

My trailer is 800 pounds and the gross weight is 2800 pounds, so brakes are not required.

I drive 3 miles to the launch ramp on a 30 mph speed limit street. My towcar's brakes are adequate to handle the load under those conditions. That's why I never had the trailer equipped with brakes. We DO require annual inspections, and with brakes the inspection procedure at the auto shop is unreasonable.

Check your local and state laws to see what you need to do.
 

ahicks

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So, taking it past the step where one might be wondering what the law (or anyone else) requires, I've had pontoon boats continuously since the mid 70's, have trailered extensively from the UP of Mi to the Gulf of Mexico, including trips across the Canadian border, and have never pulled a trailer with brakes. Further, I've never been stopped or had anyone approach me on that topic while on the road. Take that for whatever it's worth.... -Al
 

ahicks

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Stating an opinion, with a lot of experience to back it up. Sorry it doesn't agree with yours. Well, actually, after your comment, I don't care....

When it comes to the topic at hand, I believe people should consider that/have the brains to figure out, that a mini van tow vehicle, a 6000lb+ tow vehicle and any vehicle used to pull a trailer to and from the boat landing twice a year, MIGHT have differing needs when it comes to trailer brakes. That, and the chances of having your choice challenged are pretty much slim to none.
 
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