Sorry to hijack the "trailer steel" thread, but I just had to respond to KC's post, and comment on my trailer brake situation.
KCStudly wrote:In Connecticut it is illegal to tow a trailer equipped with brakes using a TV that is not equipped to apply them, regardless of whether the trailer requires them (i.e. in CT you only need brakes for 3k lbs and up, but if I put brakes on my 1200 lb trailer, then I'm required to be equipped to use them)...
Texas is more lenient (quoted from the Texas Dept. of Insurance website, and it's also on the Texas Dept. of Public Safety website)
A trailer, semitrailer, or pole trailer is not required to have brakes if:
1)its gross weight is 4,500 pounds or less; or
2)its gross weight is heavier than 4,500 pounds but not heavier than 15,000 pounds, and it is drawn at a speed of not more than 30 miles per hour.
My 4x8 squareback is heavy, at 2225 lbs, so when I upgraded to a 3500 lb axle in 2014, I added brakes. My tow vehicle, a 2004 Chevy 2500HD, has big 4-wheel disc brakes, and really didn't need any help from the trailer brakes (not even while descending an Oklahoma mountain, nor from 75 mph). However, I have a 2001 BMW X5 3.0i (a semi-mechanically-restored project car/daily driver that I want to tow the little trailer with sometime), but it only has a 4-way flat wiring connection (no brakes), as wired in by the previous owner (he's an electrical engineer, so I'm not sure how it's wired, unlike any of the ways I'd wired up others myself).
If i decide I absolutely need the 7-way wiring for my trailer brakes, I'll need to spend hundreds to either get the factory BMW wiring harness and module, or rig-up my own work-around from parts found on Etrailer and Ebay, with no guarantee of functionality. The X5 (an early generation E53 model) needs special wiring or the electronic light module (that controls all lighting) goes nuts; I'd get the previous owner, who wired it up earlier. to rig it up again, this time for trailer brakes, but he's no longer my next-door neighbor, and he's moved away, and incommunicado it seems.
So, I might just tow the 4x8 TTT without brakes hooked-up (or my 4.5x12 utility trailer that doesn't have any brakes), since the X5 has a towing capacity of 5000 lbs (if it had the 4.4l V-8, it'd be 6000 lbs), and pretty large 4-wheel disc brakes.
Specs, my X5 compared to my '04 2500 HD:
2001 BMW X5 E53 3.0i- Maximum Towing Capacity (lbs) 5,000
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (lbs) 6,005
- Curb Weight (lbs) 4,519
- Payload Capacity (lbs) 1,486
- Horsepower (hp) 225
- Torque (lb-ft) 214
- Axle Ratio 4.10
2004 Chevy 2500HD 6.0l- Maximum Towing Capacity (lbs) 12,000 (increased by adding booster springs to 13,000+)
- Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) (lbs) 9,200
- Curb Weight (lbs) 5,153
- Payload Capacity (lbs) 4,047
- Horsepower (hp) 300
- Torque (lb-ft) 360
- Axle Ratio 4.10
The 2500HD doesn't feel the trailer back there, the X5 probably will; but since I traverse mostly flatlands, It's not a great concern, and I'll only take the X5 to local spots for camping (if ever), because the 2500HD's bed has been outfitted with more "camping-specific" gear, I'd need for longer trips.