Rigor replied:

Hi John , I know what you mean when one gets into the groove and the speed creeps up a little and all of a sudden over a crest and around the corner you have to slam on the brakes and the trailer pushes the back around. I am sure we have all been there at some stage . Brakes even on a 500 Kg trailer must help a little in these situations but to my mind if you have ABS it may not be an issue, personaly don't like ABS myself but must admit in some cases there are helpful.
Trouble with a light trailer it is very hard to adjust the brakes to do exactly what you want.
Just my thoughts FWIW.

Cheers Dave L.

Gully replied:

Hi John;
We have a camper trailer, soft top, over the side, tent type (Coffs Canvas Coolibah). Its over the 750kg mark and when we bought it new I foolishly did not opt for the brakes. After one experience on a wet slipery dirt road (Barrington Tops) having the sensation of the trailer moving the rear of the vehicle around, I took it to a public weighbridge and had it weighed, 850kg (mostly loaded). I got brakes fitted straight away and have been very happy with the amount of control that I now have and certainly feel more in control. Even in traffic going through towns you feel more confident pulling up at lights, etc. I think the all up after martket cost was around the $800 mark, this included fitting and the electronic brake controller. Not a big cost for peace of mind.

In my opinion brakes on a camper trailer are manditory, have them fitted before you buy. But also remember that they require maintenance.

Cheers.

Mainey (WA) replied:

John, I bought a Southern Cross C/T, it was supplied in the standard form without brakes because they were not required by law as it was under 750 kg.

On the way home from the factory I decided to return it to them for the brakes to be fitted because when you have a 400 Kg trailer that's when *EMPTY* and are feeling the huge difference in the braking effect on a tar Melbourne road at 60 kph, and I was worried about how bad is it going to be on a dirt road at normal travelling speed, and weighing a whole lot more because of all the gear that goes into the trailer area when travelling.

Had the electric brakes installed and can assure you they are truly fantastic, you don't know the trailer is there now, even on the dirt the trailer stops without any problems of wheel skidding and always in a straight line.

I would never consider having a trailer without electric brakes again :-)

Gajm (VIC) replied:

My CT is over the 750kg mark, but there is no way I wouldnt have brakes on it even if it wasn't manditory. The recent trip away had several incedents where I was thankfull for the electric brakes.

We would have definitely cleaned up at least one roo, and we got caught in some ruts that had the whole car fishtailing severely at which point I asked my wife to reach over and hit the trailer brakes, which brought the whole thing back into control. Hate to admit it but it was my fault entirely, going too fast for the road conditions, not something I usualy do...but was having one of those hubby and wife moments and concentration was less than optimal!

So definitely look at CT brakes, and I personaly would opt for the electric brakes, because being able to touch the lever and get the trailer back into line is a very nice feature indeed

Cheers

Glenn

Ted(Vic) replied:

If your budget will stand an additional $700 - 800 incl. bits for car, then I would get brakes. Personally I would get brakes initially and even add kitchen or toolbox at a later date if $$ tight.

Ted

Member - TonyG (Qld) replied:

Hi John,

When I got my trailer built, I thought it a must have to get brakes installed.

I went with mechanical drum brakes, and a hyland 2000 coupling.

Using the basic trailer empty, brakes are still a must have to make sure the trailer does not jacknife.

With the trailer having an empty weight of approx 250kgs, then the tent put on top at say 200kgs, then all the campling gear at say 100kg, and then fuel and water at say 100kgs, and then recovery gear at say 50kg, you end up with a heavy load.

My thoughts are either trailer with brakes, or no trailer at all. I am just trying to be safety conscious

Thanks

TonyG

kev.h replied:

Hi John
Electric brakes are the only way to go but make sure you can adjust them from the cab (some have the adjustment on the trailer - i put up with this for too long ) now i would not have anything else Override brakes are ok but nowhere near as good
Regards Kev

Member - Ian A (QLD) replied:

Hi John ,I've got a Camel C/T weighs about 850kgs ,got electric brakes on it and wouldn't be without them.I've got a Techonka Prodigy brake controller under the dash and you can adjust your braking to suit the terrain,bought it online for about $150 & cost me $40 bucks to get fitted. Hope this helps, c ya Ian.

bit wet but luvin it...

Member - John C (QLD) replied:

Thanks every one.

Just what I needed. I have been getting too much reverse publicity!
These people all sound so knowledgable, and when I raise a concern, they sort of make out you either don't know what you are talking about, or you are wasting your money.

Will opt for brakes.