Dodge mini van and a Scamp 13

[Sunseeker]

Ever hear of direct link? It plugs into the on board computer on the tv and synchs the trailer brakes. Kind of expensive but if it takes out the guess work it's probably a sound investment for me since I am brand new to towing. I really thought the wiring harness worked the trailer brakes in synch with the tv. Had no idea if been towing this puppy free wheel. Lucky we only have little bitty hills around here.

 

[flying kurbmaster]

it is possible that the trailer brakes work on a hydrolic system in the tung as opposed to electric. if that is the case you likely don't need anything.

 

[highdesertranger]

kurb is right do you have a master cylinder in your coupler. you can tell if three's a little cap to add brake fluid to. highdesertranger

 

[Sunseeker]

I just took a look and nope no little cap. When I spoke to the people at Scamp they said they were electric brakes and they didn't used to put them on the 13 footers at all before but now they're standard. That really should have clued me in about getting a brake controller installed. Kind of glad I didn't though cos I'd just need to get another on for the mini van.

 

[StarEcho]

The most important thing I've learned about towing a trailer is that you need sufficient tongue weight to avoid swaying.  Weight distribution bars are to distribute tongue weight, so they don't help if you don't have enough to begin with.  I towed a little 12 footer with WD hitch and it swayed all over if I went over 50 mph.  Another forum member convinced me to move my batteries from the back to the front and that made the whole difference in how it handled.  Really.  Night and day.  So with my larger 21' trailer I followed the same principle and had absolutely no problems towing it with my little Jeep.  Now mind you it is an ultralight 3500 lb trailer so it's within my Jeep's limit, but there was absolutely no sway even at highway speeds.  And that was with a Fastaway E2 equalizer hitch. (combination of WD and sway control)  So I guess what I'm trying to say is to make sure you have enough weight in the front of your trailer if you want to use a WD hitch or equalizer hitch.

 

[Sunseeker]

Thanks StarEcho, that's very good to know. I was trying to keep tongue weight down but sounds like that's not as wise as I thought. There sure is an awful lot of math involved in all this! Glad I have a calculator cos math is not my friend.

 

[masterplumber]

General rule of thumb is you want 10 - 15 percent of the total weight on the tongue. So a 3500 lb trailer should have at least 350 lbs of tongue weight. I tend to run a little more, but I'm towing with a 1 ton truck so it can handle it.

 

[Sunseeker]

Fully loaded it's likely to be around 1800lbs so am I right in thinking the tongue weight should be 180 - 270?

 

[highdesertranger]

yes sunseeker that's about right and with tongue weight that low you can check it with a bathroom scale. highdesertranger