Braked or un-braked trailer?

[laimeduck]

I have recently retired so next year will be using our Benimar for some long term (months) touring in Europe - Hurrah!

I am looking at having a towbar fitted so we can tow a smallish Box trailer, ie 750Kg, which will contain the motorbike, 2 push bikes and other clobber. Although the Benimar is rated to 3850Kg, we are limited on weight and for longer trips we want to take more luxury items to be comfortable.

 

I have found what looks like a very neat, good priced, brand new, four wheel box trailer with a payload of 490Kg but it is un-braked.

 

My question is :- what are the advantages/disadvantages and legalities of braked over unbraked trailers?

 

I thank you in advance!

 

[Guest pelmetman]

Braked trailers are heavier so eat into your carrying capacity ;-) ...............fully loaded unbraked trailers do require a defensive style of driving............especially when going down hill in the wet 8-) ........

 

I have also read/heard somewhere that some foreign plod don't weigh the vehicle, but add the plaited weights together :-S ............hence why I had my trailer plaited at 730kg ;-) .......

 

 

[Keithl]

Jeremy,

 

At that sort of weight I personally would go for braked.

 

As an example we used to tow a folding camper which was a braked trailer of circa 1,000 kg and this was far easier to tow than my unbraked garden trailer when loaded to even around 500 kg. NB This was with a large MPV and not the MH.

 

What towing capacity do you have on your plated weights?

 

Keith.

[Retread24800]

Its got to be a more comfortable experience if you large trailer is braked and there are additional advantages......You have a hand brake when unhitched!

To be legal here in France Your Trailers plated capacity (PTAC) + your Campers Max weight must not exceed the train weight for your vehicle.

Trailers over 750KG PTAC must be braked

If the Combination of Towed trailer and the Tractor exceed 3500Kg Plated then you are restricted to 90kph on Auto-route and Dual carriageways with a central barrier, 80kph elsewhere and 50kph in towns.

The trailer must have insurance in all cases the gendarmes would expect to see a separate policy for a trailer over 500kg,  so it should be stated quite clearly on your policy to avoid unpleasantness.

 

[colin]

My personal take on it, for occasional use a unbraked 500kg trailer is fine, for extended use braked is much better. Aside from the stopping distance, when coming down long descents the more brakes the better.

[lennyhb]

At that weight I wouldn't even consider an un-braked trailer, your motor home is already loaded up to the limit. Not much fun being pushed down a steep hill by an un-braked trailer - been there done that.

[Archiesgrandad]

We can only speak as we find, I have an unbraked 750 kilo trailer that I tow behind the car or the van as required. We frequently do the 750 mile journey to and from the house in France, and on the outward journey the trailer is loaded pretty near it's maximum, and it's a mix of motorways and country lanes with hills.

To date we have had no problems of any sort, nor do I anticipate any. It is unlikely that I, or indeed any of us, drive at 10/10 in the van, so we do not test the brakes to the limit and driven sensibly you will have no problem.

If you have brakes you will have to maintain and service them, parts are not always easily obtained, and it eats into your payload, and of course you pay extra to have them. You will not notice any benefit from having them, so why bother.

AGD

[Muswell]

Archiesgrandad - 2014-11-21 3:12 PM

 

To date we have had no problems of any sort, nor do I anticipate any. It is unlikely that I, or indeed any of us, drive at 10/10 in the van, so we do not test the brakes to the limit and driven sensibly you will have no problem.

I

AGD

 

The problem is the idiot who is at 10/10 or even 11/10. Yesterday I was doing a good speed in my Transit down a narrow country A road which I know very well, and even in a quick Golf there are only a couple of safe places to overtake. Imagine my horror when I could could see the small van behind was overtaking me coming up to a blind bend. I had to brake hard to let him in, even with that if anything had been coming at the usual speed for the locals we would have all been totalled.

[laimeduck]

Keithl - 2014-11-21 12:58 PM

 

Jeremy,

 

At that sort of weight I personally would go for braked.

 

As an example we used to tow a folding camper which was a braked trailer of circa 1,000 kg and this was far easier to tow than my unbraked garden trailer when loaded to even around 500 kg. NB This was with a large MPV and not the MH.

 

What towing capacity do you have on your plated weights?

 

Keith.

 

Keith & others thanks.

 

I believe my max towing weight is 5500-3850 ie1650Kg.

 

The Svtech plate has the following:-

GVM 3850

GTM 5500

Axle1 1850

Axle2 2120

 

The trailer I am looking at is 260Kg unladen, payload 490 Kg max ie plated 750Kg

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121483929919?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I estimate that the normal load I'll have in the trailer is:-

105Kg Motorbike

30 Kg pushbikes etc

50 Kg other clobber

 

ie total ~200Kg

 

... so the loaded trailer will weigh about 460Kg.

 

At 3850Kg my speed is limited anyway, & I don't do 10/10ths in the motorhome. I don't use motorways much as I don't like paying tolls or sitting in jams, so it's N or D roads for me, enjoying the countryside.

 

Keeping the total trailer weight to under 500Kg would also seem to have the added advantage of not needing Insurance to keep the Gendarmes happy (ref retread24800). If I've understood what you've said correctly?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pkc]

I wonder do you really need a four wheel trailer for that sort of load, a single axle is easier to manoeuvre on site, I found that the four wheel kind gave a more choppy ride.on first sight it seems a good precaution against punctures, but on the downside you have twice as many wheel to pick up a flat, just a thought.

Nice to see you are still with us.

[Keithl]

Jeremy,

 

Watch out as that price is PLUS VAT! it only says it in small print.

 

Keith.

[George Collings]

The laws of physics dictate that in an emergency your 3850 mgw camper will be pushed by its aproximatly one fifth the weight unbraked trailer a fifth further along the road before they come to rest. Your vehicle may have all the other anti-skid gizmos that help you maintain control but they cannot get over that extra weight shoving you along.

 

Issac Newton Rules ! OK

[4cls]

We use a 'Brenderup' raising roof 2wheel trailer, I believe it is rated at 750k, unbraked. Used to transport a veteran Motorcycle, both behind the motor home an Ace air stream 680FB,and sometimes the car. All the clothing tools and fuel etc go in the tralier, It tows like a dream when loaded and if we think forward enough when slowing there is not a problem. It boils down to anticipating traffic flows and using the gear box on climbing and descending hills. If we had to buy again we would again go for an unbraked trailer. .With a jockey wheel there is no problem manouvering it.

[takeaflight]

750kg or under does not need to braked legally. Even fully loaded to max weight it won't have much effect on your fully loaded motorhome. It must be remembered that as far as VOSA is concerned. It's not what weight you have on board, it's the weight you potentially can carry. Therefore if you go for a larger trailer even if you have only a can of beans on board if the plated weight is say 2000 kg then this is the weight that is taken into consideration. While 2 wheels is easier to move around unhitched IMO I like the security of 4 wheels.

[RogerC]

To Laimeduck....nice looking 'legal' trailer you're looking at.  I would go along with what Archiesgrandad said............and buy it.  It's legal, it's within the safety parameters laid down which no doubt allow a degree of latitude for those who inadvertantly (or otherwise) overload.  As for the 11/10th's and 'what if' 'risk averse/doom and gloom' comments from other posters all I would say is if 'what if' was a reason for not doing something why bother getting out of bed mornings?

 

The bottom line is it's a nice trailer, nice price, legal and doesn't need a lot of maintainance relative to a braked trailer.

 

[laimeduck]

RogerC - 2014-11-22 12:11 PMTo Laimeduck....nice looking 'legal' trailer you're looking at.  I would go along with what Archiesgrandad said............and buy it.  It's legal, it's within the safety parameters laid down which no doubt allow a degree of latitude for those who inadvertantly (or otherwise) overload.  As for the 11/10th's and 'what if' 'risk averse/doom and gloom' comments from other posters all I would say is if 'what if' was a reason for not doing something why bother getting out of bed mornings?

 

The bottom line is it's a nice trailer, nice price, legal and doesn't need a lot of maintainance relative to a braked trailer.

Roger, Archiesgrandad, pkc & all others ...... thanks for the encouragement! All comments were well received.After trawling around E-bay & other sites now for some months & seeing loads of expensive square sided dross or Heath Robinson outfits I thought it looked good and was jolly good value for money even with the VAT. All I've got to do now is crawl around in the mud under the Benimar, get the measurements, then get in contact with Watling Engineers (towbars) for a quote. That is unless anyone out there knows of a decent towbar fitting service near Romney Marsh in Kent where we have just moved to?Thanks chaps & chapesses!

[Pete-B]

We've also got a unbraked Brenderup 5ft x 3ft two wheeled trailer which we tow behind our Bessie, It's rated at 600Kg payload. I've built a solid hinged flat top for it with 12mm ply covered on the outside with 2mm chequered ali sheet and 15mm ali angle round the outside edge which makes it waterproof.

 

So even when it's loaded with all the bulky things like sun chairs, water and waste carriers, tools, and loads of other things and then our two bikes which I lay flat and strapped down on the lid I'm still well under the 6ooKg including the weight of the lid. In all it tows like a dream, I always keep the rear camera switched on to keep an eye on it but I don't know why. I did have to make an emergency stop on one occasion due to some stupid idiot pulling in front of me when trying to overtake with a lorry coming the other way. I can't honestly say I noticed that amount of difference with or without the trailer but I'm sure there must have been. I did have the presence of mind to glance at the camera view and have to say we came to a halt in a straight line.