Trailer brakes and sway bars

[talbot]

Any P21 owners adding brakes &/or sway bars to their trailers? Never used either, but we just got a Toyota Highlander V6 for a tow vehicle. Manual has a big section on towing. For the weight of the P21 package, Toyota recommends both brakes and anti-sway. Why add them now, after years of towing with a little RAV4? Because I may have been doing it wrong all along. Wouldn't be the first time.

[Brian N.]

Talbot: Remember that Toyota and other companies in general adhere to the "Cover your butt" policy. They are avoiding lawsuits. I'm not saying that it is a bad idea to have them anyway. In my opinion being conservative concerning safety is a good idea. I sold my Volvo and purchased a Subaru Outback to tow my P165 partly because the Subaru had a better tow capacity.

[Krusen]

My MacGregor 22 would be near the same size and weight as your rig. I had hydraulic surge brakes,  This gave a maximum of about 200 pounds of "push" on whatever tow vehicle I used,

No special equipment on the vehicle itself, and no special skills to use it properly.  Only downsides, brake overheating on long downgrades, due to trailer matching engine braking.  Backing uphill will also set the brakes, but this can be prevented by inserting a pin to disable the brakes.

Sway bars are pretty much un necessary if you have proper tongue weight, and fully inflated tires.  The tires on the trailer were 6 ply rated.

Strap the boat down tight, so it cannot rock with side gusts from wind or passing vehicles  I had a straight down strap at the bow eye, in addition to the bow winch, ratchet straps at the stern corners, and a REAL truckers 3 inch ratchet strap across the front of the cockpit.

I pulled that trailer thousands of miles, mostly at speeds above 50 and as high as 80, mixed 2 way traffic and Interstate, with no adventures or surprises.

Tow vehicles ranged from a Taurus SHO, tow rated at zero, to a Ford Ranger pickup with simple bumper hitch, and a big GMC Sierra with tow package and monster V8 engine.  Properly set up trailer towed much the same behind them all.  Maintaining the speed limit on I70 over the Appalachian mountains was a challenge with the little Ranger, but the right gear did it, (stick shift).

[tjspiel]

Talbot: Remember that Toyota and other companies in general adhere to the "Cover your butt" policy. They are avoiding lawsuits. I'm not saying that it is a bad idea to have them anyway. In my opinion being conservative concerning safety is a good idea. I sold my Volvo and purchased a Subaru Outback to tow my P165 partly because the Subaru had a better tow capacity.

And interestingly enough, the same exact vehicle will have higher rated towing capacities outside the US.

[talbot]

Thanks for the encouragement. As it happens, I needed to drive to Seattle-Tacoma Airport yesterday, a dry run for my Puget Sound trip with my daughter in August. The computer estimates I was getting 36 mpg on the flats in a 27 mpg vehicle. I'm skeptical. I'll divide miles by gallons on my next fillup, and We'll see what it says with Starlight hooked to the bumper.