How much weight to pull before you have brakes on a trailer? My boat is 1,300 lbs., my 115 motor is around 400 lbs, and the rest of the weight in the boat would add another 600 lbs.,just a guess. I pull it with a F-150. Switching trailers, should I have brakes or not on the new trailer?
The limit for boat/motor/trailer is 3000 lbs. You are really close by the time you add the trailer so it looks like you should have them.
Found a AAA webpage that lists each state. Most are similar but some are not. Never thought about looking up this requirement when pulling through another state. http://drivinglaws.aaa.com/laws/trailer-brakes/
IMHO, there’s no such thing as too much horsepower OR brake power.
How much weight to pull before you have brakes on a trailer? My boat is 1,300 lbs., my 115 motor is around 400 lbs, and the rest of the weight in the boat would add another 600 lbs.,just a guess. I pull it with a F-150. Switching trailers, should I have brakes or not on the new trailer?
I don’t think it’s necessary at all. I had a cliner fish hawk 1750 with a 125 hp. I pulled it with a ’10 F150 and I replaced my brakes at 100k. They were only about 1/2 worn.
I had plenty of stopping power. I would argue even better than my ’99 F150 without a trailer.
Trailer brakes are required because of the need for emergency use, yeah they come on with most stops, but they are designed to supplement in quick stops. They are not there to save your pads… 
I would want brakes on a rig of that weight. Absolutely.
Keep in mind a pickup truck is very light in the back end most of the time. Bad things can happen in a panic stop when all that boat weight keeps moving forward when the truck is trying to stop.
Grouse.
Check your owners manual. That will state how heavy of trailer you can tow without brakes. The maximum towing capacity of the truck and the maximum towing capacity without trailer brakes are very different. For example, my Honda Pilot has a towing capacity of 3,500 lbs but towing anything over 1,300 lbs requires that the trailer have brakes. Trailer brakes really don’t add that much to the overall cost of the trailer. As has been stated, it’s nice to have them if you have to stop quickly.
Boone
Brakes it is. Always better to error on the safety side. Thanks everyone!!!
For ease of maintenance, go with disk brakes if it’s an option.
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