I can safely tow 5000# with my Dakota,as long as I do it real slow and easy,if your trailer doesnt have brakes you better be real careful when you coming off a 9% grade or steeper for instance or have to do a panic stop from 70 mph,the ant towing the grasshopper will get ran over. Have you ever noticed how far it takes something that weighs 80K to stop from 70 mph?thats with 10 sets of heavyduty brakes and an engine retarder,tow with care one horse can pull over a ton but He has trouble holding it back-Kevin
if your trailer doesnt have brakes you better be real careful when you coming off a 9% grade or steeper for instance or have to do a panic stop from 70 mph,the ant towing the grasshopper will get ran over.
I won’t tow anything over 3000lbs if the trailer doesn’t have brakes. My pop-up which weighs about 2000lbs has brakes. Mid-size SUV’s should NOT be towing anything heavy without brakes.
I have two notes about trailer brakes:
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When you setup your (non-commercial) electric brake controller, you’re supposed to put it on a setting at which it barely keeps the rig from moving forward at idle. That means the trailer brakes are only supposed to provide a little extra stopping power, not much stopping power in the grand scheme of things. With the right setup, the towing vehicle still applies most of the braking power for the whole rig, which is what makes a pickup truck with big brakes better than the average minivan or crossover SUV for towing.
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I seriously doubt anyone makes or sells a trailer that weighs as much as 3,000 lbs. that doesn’t come with trailer brakes already installed. Surge brakes seem to be the latest fad since they don’t require a brake controller.
Thanks Guys ,you all seem to have a little more common sense then some Folks.Which brings me to this,on the show"Ice Road Truckers" the people seem to a lot of trouble with their brakes icing up on their rigs-do they make a good electric braking system for Northern climes?-Kevin
Also,can anyone give me a good link on the new Ford trucks,all this discussion has really,piqued my interest-Kevin(have tried the Ford site,its merely tantalizing)
There are reports that ford is preparing some body shops to handle the aluminum bodies, mostly the ones connected to dealers.
Kevin, in case you missed it earlier, this has some good detail:
Thanks @Jes,what I really want to see is the curbweights,anybody that doesnt think GM has been on a diet should go underneath a silverado on a lift and pickup a starter for a 5.3-Kevin
However on the GM subject,I hear tell that GM has been dabbling with magnesium,Mg has a few quirks,pretty flammable,less corrosion resistance one reason why the “Hueys” went to Prodomintly Aluminum construction ,was because of the corrosion problems in the marine environment.We used to burn the white metal in chainsaw componets(I think they were something like half Mg and half Al) made a pretty nice fire when you got it going(Magnesium will burn under water) so I assume GM has found a way to address some of the issues with Mg.I think it probably has a better strength to weight ratio then Al at least Mg is lighter then Aluminum(Aluminum has about the same density as concrete),Who knows where the quest for lighter durable materials will lead-Kevin
Does anyone remember the early 2000 silverados that had a plastic bed? It was the protec bed option and they were great, don’t rust, strong, lightweight. I know a guy that has one thats 10 years old and he uses the truck for actual real work and hauling and his protec bed is holding up great.
I have a honda mower with a plastic deck and its held up 10 years just fine.
People will not move away from using big trucks as personal transportation until fuel hits a minimum of 5-5.50 a gallon, its just the way we are.
Even if gas costs $5.50 a gallon, some folks will continue to use big trucks as personal transportation
They’ll just start rationing or cutting on back on other things . . .
Sending the kids to the dentist
Sending the kids to the doctor
Taking care of the house
Buying new clothing for the kids
Anniversary presents
Birthday presents
Maintaining the truck properly
etc.
Even if gas costs $5.50 a gallon, some folks will continue to use big trucks as personal transportationThey’ll just start rationing or cutting on back on other things . . .
I think your right, Here in town we have a guy with a girlfriend and 2 kids, he has this jacked up late model silverado, 2500 diesel, You see this flipping thing driving around town all day long it seems, well the truck initially was very nice, now the tires are bald and that makes me question what other maintenance has been neglected.
This same guy is always getting his electricity shut off for non payment, Last year I think he was on the list 3 months in a row, he will pull up to the office in his “Usa Freedom Diesels” Pickup, come in and cry and moan about how he has two kids and how can anyone expect someone to pay a 250 dollar electric bill… His Girlfriend drives a Tahoe and she commutes 40 miles one way, I figure these people spend well over 1200 a month on vehicle payments and fuel.
I don’t feel sorry for him, There are many I do feel bad for but not him, if you are living in a 15k dollar house, driving a 45k truck and can’t pay your electric bill your priorities are screwed up.
( I am not knocking anyone living in a cheap house who owns expensive vehicles, however this guy has kids and the shack they live in IMHO is not suitable for children. I feel if you want to live in a 15k dollar house and have 75k in vehicles thats your business, but if you have kids you should try to find something other than a shack to live in if you have enough disposable income to afford such an expensive truck)
People have the wrong priorities,I have a good republican friend,who defended one of His friends,who owns classic automobiles and a late model Corvette(while His Girls didnt have decent clothes to wear to school) as having diffeernt priorities.hmmmm,what should ones priorities be? Hint I dont think it should be macho image-Kevin
I have a good republican friend,who defended one of His friends,who owns classic automobiles and a late model Corvette(while His Girls didnt have decent clothes to wear to school) as having diffeernt priorities.hmmmm,what should ones priorities be?
I have a ultra-conservative friend who’s just like that. Not into cars though. But bought huge house (4500 sq ft)…Throws parties every month to show of his new house. Two young kids are always in rags. Buys their cloths at thrift stores (yet he wears $3000 suits). He thinks my priorities are messed up because I buy MY clothes at TJ-Max discount. I still have one kid in college and one starting in less then 2 years.
Well Mike,bless you-I believe the needs of others should be addressed before we play hard.There will always be a chance to have fun when priorities become clear.TJ Maxx is one of my favorite stores(one of my goals is to wear a suit as few times as possible before I die)-Kevin
LOL
Kevin, one of my goals is to never, ever, ever wear a suit again for as long as I live. Or even shoes. I’ve devoted the rest of my life to sneakers and sandals, shorts and jeans.
@MikeInNH and @kmccune: Thanks for the tip about T J Maxx. I haven’t bought any clothes since Robert Hall’s went out of business.
When I was growing up, money was tight. However, we had a comfortable house and food to eat. Education was a priority of my parents. Sometimes I think the education I learned in having to learn how to do household and repairs on our cars and equipment was as valuable as my formal education in college and graduate school. I learned to set priorities from my parents’ example. Our son set his priorities following our example. Our son supports his wife and daughter on a teacher’s salary. Their household does not have cable television. From the time his daughter could walk, she was taken to the library to find books. Now, she is never without a book. She just won the top prize in her division as a 6th grader in the local science fair competition.
I drove used cars for a long time, but they got me where I needed to go and repairs that I couldn’t do were made at the local gas station. I had colleagues that owned expensive cars and had to be taken to a dealer 60 miles away for servicing. My clothes came off the rack at Robert Hall’s, but I never had wardrobe failure as Michael Jackson’s sister did while performing live on television.