Towing no more than 3000#s

[underwhelmed]

Given that I’m never going to tow more than 2500-3000 pounds, much less most of the time, do I need to bother with a Brake Controller?

Read all the threads and saw that Ford says up to 3500 without. I’m leaning towards skipping the expense and hassle of Brake Controller.

Thoughts?

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[Frenchy]

All depends on the trailer honestly. If the trailer has one, the. I would take advantage of it as it will help you stop safely with the extra weight. If the trailer you plan to pull doesn't have a trailer break, then I would not worry.

 

[Grumpaw]

As Frenchy indicated it depends on the size and type of trailer. If a utility trailer thats a rental, it will most likely have surge brakes, so no controller necessary.
If it's a camper, you will most likely need one. Any camper with a GVWR of 3000 lbs or more will have electric brakes and a controller is needed. The camper may only weigh 2000 lbs empty, but if loaded weight is 3000 lbs or more, it will come with electric brakes.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Are you still looking at those Hiker Teardrop Trailers? They’re fairly light and I didn’t see any brakes listed in their specs.

 

[underwhelmed]

Are you still looking at those Hiker Teardrop Trailers? They’re fairly light and I didn’t see any brakes listed in their specs.

Actually looking at smaller Aliner now. Ive decide I need to be able to stand up in my old age

 

[WOADKIL]

Actually looking at smaller Aliner now. Ive decide I need to be able to stand up in my old age

Used to have an Aliner for a number of years. Loved it , but wife wanted something with a real potty...

 

[harringtondav]

My opinion is you'll be OK w/o brakes.....assuming you maintain a safe following distance at all speeds.
My first experience with towing was with a 3200# Dodge Caravan pulling a 3000# boat/trailer. Power and high speed control was fine.
One time I bone headed and was following too close at 45-50 mph. Sudden traffic slow down caused me to panic brake. The trailer wanted to keep going and swung into the next lane.
I had electric brakes on the trailer the next time I pulled it.

 

[Grumpaw]

Pull a 2000-3000 lb trailer without brakes and slam on the truck brakes, or tow in rain/wet road surface and hit your truck brakes hard and see what happens.......
I guarantee you will be changing your undies....
Panic stop or wet road surface even hitting vehicle brakes you still have the weight of 2000-3000 lbs "pushing" you forward. You will either hit whatever is in front of you, or the trailer will fishtail, taking the truck with it.
It is just not worth the risk to tow without a control IF the trailer has brakes that require one.

As far as expense, you do not need to go the high dollar Ford unit. For around $100 get a Tekonsha Prodigy P2 tie it into the underdash factory wires and your done.

 

[Josh Stretch]

If you’re never going to tow a trailer that has brakes then obviously you don’t need a brake controller.

But I’m with grumpaw on this one. If you do get turned around in an accident you’ll really wish you spent the $200-300 to do it right. Get a ford (made by redarc but sold through ford) brake controller. They’re discontinued so they’re a little hard to find but you can still find them on ebay for under $200. The ford unit is the only one that maintains the collision avoidance system. It would SUCK for the truck to apply maximum brake to avoid a collision and for the trailer to be brakeless.

It’s a pretty easy install and kinda fun. It took me about an hour. The hardest part is running the wire to the third brake light. If you have sliding rear glass it makes it much easier. There are a couple of videos on YouTube that do a really good job of showing the installation.

Obviously you can do whatever you want, but I always think about what regrets I would have if a situation turns out bad. If I got in a wreck while towing and didn’t have a trailer break, I would definitely regret not getting one before the wreck.

 

[dstig1]

It is rare to find a trailer in the <3000 lb class with electric brakes, IME. That being the case, then a controller will have nothing to control. But as others said, it is a lot nicer if you have it on any trailer. I even have an old P3 Tekonsha from my F250 that I saved that you could have cheap if you want it.

 

[harringtondav]

Electric drum trailer brakes aren't too expensive, and easy to install. The worst part of my install was fishing the B- ground and the B+ brake wires through the trailer frame tubes.
Connecting these wires and the existing light wires into a seven pin female plug is also easy.
When you first connect the trailer the display will prompt you to enter the trailer length. This re calibrates the blind spot warning for the longer length.

 

[Frenchy]

It is rare to find a trailer in the <3000 lb class with electric brakes, IME. That being the case, then a controller will have nothing to control. But as others said, it is a lot nicer if you have it on any trailer. I even have an old P3 Tekonsha from my F250 that I saved that you could have cheap if you want it.

Gross or empty? If empty, it's not as rare. If gross then I can understand

 

[Frost]

We had an ALiner,think it weighed 1300 lbs and it had brakes. Towed it with my wife's CRV and we did have a brake controller installed.

 

[dstig1]

Gross or empty? If empty, it's not as rare. If gross then I can understand

Trailers are rated by gross.

 

[Frenchy]

Trailers are rated by gross.

But you didn't specify if you were going by the gross rating or the empty weight

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