Do the brakes on my towed car have to be hooked up?

[toddabney]

Sent: 1/29/2008

Hi everyone, my long term plan is to tow an old Subaru wagon with my 1973 brave w/440-3. Is it true that it is state law in California (or other states) that you must have brakes on the rig being towed?  it would seem to me that  "hard wiring"the brakes from winnie to the Subaru would be better than the "box on the floor of the toad that hooks up to the brakes via a arm thing".. any advice?..... i have been told that the brave should have enough power to pull the subbie all day  true/false?  thanks again for all the info i have gleaned from this sight. take care, todd

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 1/29/2008

Hey Todd,

Some states do technically require that a towed vehicle have a braking system of some sort, and some require that the vehicle have a break-away brake...in other words, if the vehicle comes loose, it stops itself automatically (that is one of the good things those boxes on the floor are good for...lol).  Also, some states also have weight restrictions on what you tow, as well as length and overall length.  Tandem towing is illegal in every state I know of (like the guy we saw recently who was towing a truck...and hitched to the truck was his fishing boat!).

However, if you have plates from say Florida, where you don't need a braking system on your Toad, and you drive through most of the states where they are required, then you more than likely will have no legal issues at all...all of the states I know of only enforce their strict towing guidelines for residence of that state.

A 440 won't even feel a little Subaru when you tow it.  Just make sure the brakes in the Winnie are perfect!

Kev

[denisondc]

Sent: 1/29/2008

It depends. Have a look in this table:
http://www.towingworld.com/articles/TowingLaws.htm
And you can try searching at your DMV's site:
http://www.dmv.org/ & put in the state where your RV is registered, and where you have your driver's license.

And as Kevin says, you usually (though not Always) can assume that being in compliance with the laws in your 'home' state will be adequate in the other states. If you are going into Mexico, its different, and you would want to spend time reading the www.rv.net forum about RVing in Mex. and Cent. America.

Personally I would tow a car behind the motorhome without connecting the brakes - in non-mountainous area. Its easy in the southeastern states. If I were going to drive to Ca and climb over the Rockies, I would either have something like 'Brake Buddy' in the car, or we would unhitch the 'dinghy' to go down (or up) long grades.

[toddabney]

Sent: 1/30/2008

i am hoping to travel the s.w. area of the usa.not to many hills i think.and what you said about unhooking and "roading" it would be safer and save some fuel on long hills as well. so has any one used the hard wiring the break lines from winne to the toad system? would that be a better system?thank you for the links denison. so glad i found this sight.thanks again, todd (thats me in the California sun,someday....)

[ClydesdaleKevin]

Sent: 1/31/2008

Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to me that if you hard-lined your breaks from your toad to your RV, then every time you connected it up, and every time you disconnected it when you arrived at your destination, wouldn't you have to bleed your brakes in both the RV and the toad?

Seems like too much trouble to me...lol.

Kev

[denisondc]

Sent: 1/31/2008

There is a problem bigger than the need to bleed the brakes each time: In the event the dinghy came loose & ripped away a brake hose - there must be a foolproof system of transferring -pressure- with zero chance of losing brake pressure/fluid from the motor home.
I would read the postings and do some searching at the 'towing' forums at www.rv.net. You will probably find info on all of the different schemes that are available, effective & legal. Be patient with www.rv.net, sometimes they run s-l-o-w.

[toddabney]

Sent: 1/31/2008

hey guys,the only reason i talked about hard wiring the breaks together was i read a test of sorts in a RV magazine. it showed the box type toad brake system that stuck to the floor with a arm thing that hooked to the toads brake peddle.then there was a single arm type thing that somehow was hooked up to push on the toads brake pedal.i thought it was hard wired to the rv. looking back it would seem that the arm thing was plumbed to the RV brakes ,not to the toads brakes.....so i was just shooting in the dark trying to explain the toads brake system.       so i hope makes sense........ the only to learn is to ask questions,right? thanks again, todd

[MSN Member]

From:AlbuqHenry   
Sent: 2/1/2008

I myself don't know a whole lot about setting up a towed veh. brake system but I cant think of how a system would work that would actually use  the brake fluid of the towing veh. to work the towed veh.... now using an electronic controller on the towing veh. wired to a control at the pedal seems more doable....the first time I saw a trailer with a master cylinder at the hitch I thought that was pretty niffty... My first thought abut that was how do you back up the trailer?... then I figured there must be a pin or something you put in to keep it from working when you back up..

[ibdilbert01]

Sent: 2/1/2008

You must be talking about Surge Brakes. I actually like that style of braking system, and your right, there is a pin you can put in them to backup. Most states have banned manufactures from making any new trailers with surge brakes. The reason was your braking is limited going up a hill. I find it kinda silly, but oh well.....

[denisondc]

Sent: 2/1/2008

On the other hand, when going down a hill, the surge brake will be more effective than on the level. Oh Well, If the state legislatures have passed a law, it must be for the best.........

[bluebird]

Sent: 2/3/2008

I had a problem with surge brakes 36 years ago. I was going down a hill and had to apply the brakes on the tow vehicle. Next thing I knew I was taking up 3 lanes trying to keep the thing on the road. When I touched the brakes on the tow car the trailer brakes locked up because all the weight on the surge portion of the trailer. That caused the brakes to lock and unlock the same over and over till I finally got it stopped. Every time the brakes would unlock, it felt like someone had hit me from behind. I never used that trailer again, I sold it to another racer. He had the same problem and removed the surge part and welded it solid. The cheapest way to have brakes on a towed vehicle would be a trailer or a dolly with electric brakes.
 
Chuck

[toddabney]

Sent: 2/4/2008

hey chuck,i thought of using a tow dolly w/brakes.i could unhook the driveline in a few minutes on the subaru and be good to go. again thanks for all the ideas.todd

[Phåråoh]

Sent: 2/6/2008

Use of tow dolly would also eliminate the requirement to hook up brake lights to work on the rear of the toad.

[Mtnlion]

Sent: 3/2/2008

I have been reading the responses on towing a Subaru Wagon with a 1973 brave,w/440.3.
California seems to set the example to most. Per the DMV Recreational Vehicles and Trailers handbook states. Tow vehicle must have enough power to tow a vehicle behind it, which you do enough power. Safety chains needed to prevent the towed vehicle from separating from tow vehicle. Chains should be in a " X " fashion below the ball mount, with enough slack that they do not restrict turning or allow the coupler to hit the ground. Breakaway switches are required for any vehicle having a gross weight of 1500 lbs. or more and manufactured after December 31, 1955. They are designed to activate vehicle brakes if the towed vehicle becomes separated from tow vehicle. One end of the breakaway switch is attached to an electrical switch on the towed vehicle frame and the other end is looped around a stationary hitch component on the tow vehicle. If the two vehicles becomes separated, the cable pulls a pin inside the breakaway switch and applies full power from the towed vehicles battery then to the towed vehicle brakes. Even though hitch component failure is rare, the breakaway switch and saftey chains must be in good working order. Safety chains and an electrical breakaway switch should be sufficient to me. I drove semi trucks for a living. Some states have less restrictions than others. If you can comply to California laws you will be in comply will all other states.
I tow a Jeep Cherokee behind my 1969 D22. I use the Brake Buddy system. In the mountainous areas it can get to be a rather hairy ride when that Jeep is pushing you down the hill. The D22 has shoe brakes not disc. Shoe brakes tend to take a little longer to stop and can fade away quick.
Please take a look at my rig under the members list. See Mtnlion_1 and click on "The Den" hypertext.
Happy Trails, Safe Motoring and may God Bless you path as you travel.
Mtnlion

[OldEdBrady]

Sent: 3/2/2008

What got my attention was the phrase in Mtnlion_1's post, "even though hitch component failure is rare..."

I certainly know the consequences of that happening, even though it is rare, as listed in the post I put in on "A Trip to (Never) Remember"!

It can happen.

[MSN Member]

From:lucidsodemite   
Sent: 5/14/2008

a tow dolly with brakes sounds like the way to go too get some tail lights like a tow truck has on magnets that plug into you light harness and you would be away to the races. do they make a really basic bare bones super light 4 wheel dolly w/brakes i wonder i would like to get a small 4wd truck to replace my atv, i want a plow on it that is easy to take off so i can plow my driveway in the winter which is the biggest task my atv sees and small enough to still play on some trails and be road legal. can i tow a vehicle with a manual trans with the front wheels up on a doily and the back wheels on the road without damaging the transmission? i know that is a no no with an automatic.

[Phåråoh]

Sent: 5/14/2008 9:58 PM

Unless the automatic is like most cars these days... front wheel drive.. 

[toddabney]

Sent: 5/15/2008

Hello, I have thought of using a tow dolly also. It would not work to tow a 4x4 with a tow dolly. You would have to unhook the drive line to avoid hurting the tranny. It is only 4 bolts to drop the drive line, so that is not that bad. now would brakes on the tow dolly be enough to stop the toad?or be legal? what do the teeming millions say? thanks,

Todd

[DanielTBolger]

some of the newer 4x4 have a way towing them with out pulling the drive line  it tell in the own manual  Also the place make a drive line that be disengaged with a cable on dash