Towing weight equation- Do I need trailer brakes?

[Ajax MD]

Wife wants to tow our Coleman pop-up camper with her HMMWV to campgrounds in hilly MD and PA.

I found the XM381 website with the 24v to 12v converter cable. That's awesome. Here's my question:

This is not a little, bitty pop-up. It's a Coleman Plantation that weighs something like 2750lbs. Then, we pile another 200lbs worth of crap into it. This thing max's out my Subaru Outback's towing capacity and I only tow the camper to places at sea level. The camper has electric brakes (which I have equipped my Subaru to operate). I know the HMMWV can pull the camper with no problem, but does it need the assist from the camper's electric brakes or can I skip wiring up a civvie electric brake controller on the HMMWV?

 

[simp5782]

Wife wants to tow our Coleman pop-up camper with her HMMWV to campgrounds in hilly MD and PA.

I found the XM381 website with the 24v to 12v converter cable. That's awesome. Here's my question:

This is not a little, bitty pop-up. It's a Coleman Plantation that weighs something like 2750lbs. Then, we pile another 200lbs worth of crap into it. This thing max's out my Subaru Outback's towing capacity and I only tow the camper to places at sea level. The camper has electric brakes (which I have equipped my Subaru to operate). I know the HMMWV can pull the camper with no problem, but does it need the assist from the camper's electric brakes or can I skip wiring up a civvie electric brake controller on the HMMWV?

Would depend on the state law is on minimum weight trailer brakes are required.

 

[Ajax MD]

Ah, I hadn't considered the problem from that angle. I'll dig into our state laws and see what I can find.

Here we go:

Maryland Trailer Brake Laws

All trailers must be equipped with parking brakes adequate to hold the vehicle on any grade on which it is operated.

All trailers with a registered gross weight of at least 10,000 lbs. must be equipped with brakes on all wheels.

Trailers not exceeding 3,000 lbs. need not have brakes on all wheels, provided that the total weight of the trailers does not exceed 40% of the gross weight of the towing vehicle when connected to the trailer and the combination of vehicles is capable of complying with braking performance requirements.

Trailers between 3,000–10,000 lbs. need not have brakes on all wheels, provided that the trailer has 2 or more axles, is equipped with brakes acting on all wheels of at least 1 of the axles, and the combination of vehicles is capable of complying with braking performance requirements.

 

[MattNC]

One of the biggest advantages of the brakes beyond handling extra weight is the help it offers keeping the trailer from jack-knifing around you under hard braking. The weight your listing in my mind is kind of borderline from my experience. Its the gray area where brakes might not really be needed but are appreciated. The XM381 adapter box is what I installed. I haven't added a controller yet but the XM381 site does have instructions on how to do it.

 

[Ajax MD]

One of the biggest advantages of the brakes beyond handling extra weight is the help it offers keeping the trailer from jack-knifing around you under hard braking. The weight your listing in my mind is kind of borderline from my experience. Its the gray area where brakes might not really be needed but are appreciated. The XM381 adapter box is what I installed. I haven't added a controller yet but the XM381 site does have instructions on how to do it.

Exactly my thoughts. The math puts it in the "marginal" zone. I'll probably end up installing the controller. I will at least feel safe enough to perform some test tows locally, without it.

 

[Coug]

laws here for towing a trailer without brakes are under 3000 lbs, or 40% the tow vehicle's weight, whichever is lower.
I think that might be a national code, not just local, but haven't checked to be certain.

I tow a 2000 lb trailer with my VW sportwagen, I installed trailer brakes first thing when I bought it, and never had an issue no matter what I was doing (but I rarely do above 55mph with it either)

 

[TOBASH]

Wife wants to tow our Coleman pop-up camper with her HMMWV to campgrounds in hilly MD and PA.

I found the XM381 website with the 24v to 12v converter cable. That's awesome. Here's my question:

This is not a little, bitty pop-up. It's a Coleman Plantation that weighs something like 2750lbs. Then, we pile another 200lbs worth of crap into it. This thing max's out my Subaru Outback's towing capacity and I only tow the camper to places at sea level. The camper has electric brakes (which I have equipped my Subaru to operate). I know the HMMWV can pull the camper with no problem, but does it need the assist from the camper's electric brakes or can I skip wiring up a civvie electric brake controller on the HMMWV?

Always use the assistive braking system! Makes your drive safer. If you live near snow or ice, then it’s a no brainer. If not, rain or oil on the road can make a routine trip a disaster without assistive brakes IMHO

Happy trailed.

T

 

[snowtrac nome]

The correct reply is if you have them they should be hooked up. If your hmmwv has had the brake upgrade for add on armor kits ,or shelter carriers you likely have enough brake to stop it. We stuffed more weight than that into them rigs in Iraq they still stopped good. state laws some times trump common sense or manufactures ratings so its always a good idea to have them functioning.

 

[Ajax MD]

The correct reply is if you have them they should be hooked up. If your hmmwv has had the brake upgrade for add on armor kits ,or shelter carriers you likely have enough brake to stop it. We stuffed more weight than that into them rigs in Iraq they still stopped good. state laws some times trump common sense or manufactures ratings so its always a good idea to have them functioning.

I don't think it has any of those brake upgrades. The only MWO tag was for the PRC radio setup.

 

[Coug]

If you don't want to do any wiring in the HMMWV, there are several brake controllers that mount to the trailer instead of the truck. The first one plugs in between the 7 pin outlet and the trailer harness and uses bluetooth, the second one hardwires to your trailer and uses a FOB to adjust it.

Curt Echo Wireless Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 2 Axles - Proportional Curt Brake Controller C511

Bluetooth-enabled brake controller wirelessly connects to your smartphone, turning your phone into a brake control interface. The compact unit plugs i

www.etrailer.com

Autowbrake Electric Brake Controller - Trailer Mount - 1 to 3 Axles - Proportional Autowbrake Brake

Electric brake controller installs on your trailer - no box to get in the way in your cab, and you can easily switch between different tow vehicles wi

www.etrailer.com

 

[Ajax MD]

If you don't want to do any wiring in the HMMWV, there are several brake controllers that mount to the trailer instead of the truck. The first one plugs in between the 7 pin outlet and the trailer harness and uses bluetooth, the second one hardwires to your trailer and uses a FOB to adjust it.

Curt Echo Wireless Trailer Brake Controller - 1 to 2 Axles - Proportional Curt Brake Controller C511

Bluetooth-enabled brake controller wirelessly connects to your smartphone, turning your phone into a brake control interface. The compact unit plugs i

www.etrailer.com

Autowbrake Electric Brake Controller - Trailer Mount - 1 to 3 Axles - Proportional Autowbrake Brake

Electric brake controller installs on your trailer - no box to get in the way in your cab, and you can easily switch between different tow vehicles wi

www.etrailer.com

That's fantastic. I'm not a fan of cutting into the military harness. They're flakey enough on their own.

 

[Coug]

That's fantastic. I'm not a fan of cutting into the military harness. They're flakey enough on their own.

Yeah, neither am I.
I can see a risk of the bluetooth one getting stolen if someone knows what they are looking at, but it really isn't much more than a decent controller installed inside the cab. It's probably the route I will go when I finally get around to a hitch on mine.

 

[TOBASH]

Those things look awesome BUT I prefer my Easybrake system with mechanical brake activation. Pulled a Landcruiser round trip of 4400 miles with one. Felt like I was pulling and stopping a feather.

I strongly recommend using any brake activation device you can get.

Best

T