Electric Brake Question and Sway Bar.

bgsnmky

Let the questions begin :-)

So we should have our Outback S near the end of January.

My dealer stated that it comes with electric brakes and they cannot let us off the lot withoiut the tow vehichle not having the ability to use the electric brakes.  Does that sound right?  DO we HAVE to have them...would you say they are imperative..and we want to be safe.

Here is our scenario - we wanted the Tab (we were looking at the Tag) --- but our vehicle is maxed out at 2000lb. so we were going to get a new TV but my brother who lives 10 minutes away offered for us to use their Avalanche anytime we want.  SOoooo....we were going ot for the first 6 months or so just to make sure how much we use it etc and not have to hurry and get a tow vehicle.

Our dilema - do we get the electric breakes added (dealer said 250.00) and then if we move them we would pay $150.00....so probably end up spending the $250.00 again and get them added to our TV.


Next - how many have Sway Bars?  and would youi recommend.  any negative to them.  I have been googling to try to understand what it does. 

RollingBnB

Brakes are required by law in most if not all states, also makes sense just for safetys sake. There is a controller out there (Prodigy RF) that is wireless and portable. After the receiver is installed on the trailer, the transmitter plugs into the cig lighter in the TV and away you go. Easy to move from TV to TV. Sway bars are not needed for such a light trailer.

Vermonster

Brakes at the weight of the t@b are not required in all states but certainly recommended with smaller tow vehicles.  I have 4 trailers of various types and only my 5 ton equipment trailer has brakes other than the t@b. You need to install a brake controller and should be able to wire it through your 7 pin plug.  Im not familiar with the wireless controllers mentioned above.  Technology moves way faster than I do!   In states that require brakes, I'm not sure if surge brakes like I have are allowed.  Anyone know?

ericnliz

bgsnmky, Your questions bring up a couple that need to be addressed first. Does the Avalanche have a factory tow package? I only ask because I tow with a 2006 Avalanche Z71 LT that came equipped with a tow package from the factory. If not, I would definitely follow RollingBnB's suggestion and go with the portable, wireless Prodigy. The only thing you'll need to move from vehicle to vehicle is the transmitter. Sway bars are not something I would even consider for the trailer. I use 2 different tow vehicles, and sway has never been an issue at all.
Just a side note to you, my dealer wired my other tow vehicle for free, no charge, and it included the brake controller as well!

TabberJohn

What year/model is the TV with the 2000 lb limit?

Nomad

"my dealer wired my other tow vehicle for free, no charge, and it included the brake controller as well!" <- Sounds like someone paid too much to begin with, dealer feeling guilty :-)

ericnliz

Actually, smart guy, nice folks to work with! Homebodyatheart bought theirs from same folks!

Nomad

Nice folks <- I'm sure. And smilin all the way to the bank ;-)

ericnliz

It's called negotiation, yours probably smiled more than mine did! You're kinda feisty today, did you run out of pineapple upside down cakes?

Ratkity

Requirements for electric brakes for towed vehicles vary state-to-state (there's a website out there I found once), but the only differences I found between the lower 48 were 1000# vs #1500 weight of the pulled trailer, meaning the weight limit really didn't vary that much. That means all T@Bs that are loaded go over the limit. It's a safety measure because your vehicle cannot stop the momentum of the extra weight that will push you in case of an emergency stop. 

I'd look into the wireless Prodigy. I heard it's a good product and you can transfer it to your new TV! Regarding the 7-pin wiring harness and connector, I'm afraid you'll probably have to eat that cost. 

The friction sway is not necessarily needed on most vehicles (lots of discussions here about it). Sway normally a product of tongue weight, but there are other factors too. My sister could pull her Outback and I could pull my T@Bitha with our mid-sized trucks without sway or use of the friction sway bar. Her BF has a Jeep (Jeep-peeps, don't ask me the details of it), but he totally needed to use the friction sway bar - probably because it was a 2-door model and has a short wheel base. 

I hope this helps!

Nomad

Must be the 2-door because you certainly don't need a sway bar with the 4-door.

dragonsdofly

Definitely get the prodigy rf. I purchased it and had the box mounted on the trailer as I picked it up from the dealer with the controller plugged in the vehicle. As we were preparing to leave for a six week, 10,000 mile tour of the west and southwest,we were rear-ended and our TV was totalled. Three good things happened. One, all of us walked away including the twit who hit us while taking a "selfie". She didn't think she had to stop for us or the fire truck with full lights and sirens that we had stopped for. Two, her impact into us kept the firefighters safe and they cleared the intersection. Three, as they towed away our mortally wounded vehicle we removed our controller from the glove box ready to be plugged in to the replacement TV. You cannot predict what might happen but the radio controlled braking system allows you to switch tow vehicles, upgrade or make changes without rewiring anything in most cases. Apologies for the novel.

Ratkity

Glad you were ok, @dragonsdofly!!!

marknjudy

" including the twit who hit us while taking a "selfie". She didn't think she had to stop for us or the fire truck with full lights and sirens that we had stopped for"

It's Christmas, but I so want to go on a rant about idiocy such as this, but I won't.

Glad you were okay as well.

trainwrecked

I use a friction sway.  It was an inexpensive option and while I'm sure it's unnecessary most of the time, I like having it back there when the wind picks up or if I have to make an unexpected maneuver.  One disadvantage is that it needs to be removed before backing up to avoid bending it.

bgsnmky

TabberJohn said:

What year/model is the TV with the 2000 lb limit?

Ford Escape 2014 1.6L

per ford it is saying 2000lb limit

bgsnmky

by the way is there a setting to get emails when comments are made!!!  :-)

bgsnmky

ericnliz said:

bgsnmky, Your questions bring up a couple that need to be addressed first. Does the Avalanche have a factory tow package? I only ask because I tow with a 2006 Avalanche Z71 LT that came equipped with a tow package from the factory. If not, I would definitely follow RollingBnB's suggestion and go with the portable, wireless Prodigy. The only thing you'll need to move from vehicle to vehicle is the transmitter. Sway bars are not something I would even consider for the trailer. I use 2 different tow vehicles, and sway has never been an issue at all.
Just a side note to you, my dealer wired my other tow vehicle for free, no charge, and it included the brake controller as well!

hey ericnliz - i am asking my brother and sister-n-law for more details and will get back to you.  

it is a 2004 - but they will ask the father in law as that is who owned the car at first. 

When you say yours came with tow package so that means it included electric breakes. 

bgsnmky

Dragonfly - glad you are ok too..scarey I am sure.

Sounds like the prodigy rf is the way to go.  this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001P0ZA86/?tag=googhydr-20&hvadid=153666530304&hvpos=1t2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10247061764666100850&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=e&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9027205&hvtargid=kwd-24725070503&ref=pd_sl_41b0j57qmq_e

So the 7 pin connector on the trailer - so we bring the prodigy to the trailer and they would wire it there..I am assuming.  right.  I can ask the dealer to do it free - why not?  :-)  

ericnliz

bgsnmky, The Avalanche came with the seven pin connector that was directly wired into the fuse box, and came with the brake controller as well. All I had to do was plug it in to the seven pin, set the brake controller to my desired setting, and go. Our Avalanche also has a "tow mode" which helps with the amount of down shifting on hills. If your brother & sister in laws Avalanche has a seven pin connector, it should accommodate fine for the brakes on the trailer, just need a brake controller if it doesn't have one, hence back to the wireless Prodigy. I hope that answers that question.
I think I know what you're asking for your first question about emails, so I'll give it a shot. You can send personal messages to another person by clicking on their name, when their info comes up, you will see on the top right where it says message, click on it, type in your message, and hit post message. If that's what you're asking, we should be good, if not, please clarify a little more. Thanks

bgsnmky

ericnliz said:

bgsnmky, The Avalanche came with the seven pin connector that was directly wired into the fuse box, and came with the brake controller as well. All I had to do was plug it in to the seven pin, set the brake controller to my desired setting, and go. Our Avalanche also has a "tow mode" which helps with the amount of down shifting on hills. If your brother & sister in laws Avalanche has a seven pin connector, it should accommodate fine for the brakes on the trailer, just need a brake controller if it doesn't have one, hence back to the wireless Prodigy. I hope that answers that question.
I think I know what you're asking for your first question about emails, so I'll give it a shot. You can send personal messages to another person by clicking on their name, when their info comes up, you will see on the top right where it says message, click on it, type in your message, and hit post message. If that's what you're asking, we should be good, if not, please clarify a little more. Thanks

I need to see if there is a way to get notification that an update to the thread has been made.  like "subscribe" so I get an email  I decided to check the thread and WOW - lots of posts..and I didn't know

TabberJohn

bgsnmky said:

I need to see if there is a way to get notification that an update to the thread has been made.  like "subscribe" so I get an email  I decided to check the thread and WOW - lots of posts..and I didn't know

In upper right under your forum name is a series of icons the first of which is your Notifications settings.

jgram2

bgsnmky-if you're using an iPad-when I login and hit "discussions", new posts and those threads with new comments are displayed differently and show the number of new posts to an existing thread since I last read the thread. Makes it easy to check out new posts/comments without filling up email. I have no idea if desk or laptops work similarly.

Ratkity

trainwrecked said:

I use a friction sway.  It was an inexpensive option and while I'm sure it's unnecessary most of the time, I like having it back there when the wind picks up or if I have to make an unexpected maneuver.  One disadvantage is that it needs to be removed before backing up to avoid bending it.

If you ever bend yours, I have an extra one I'd sell cheap.

Verna

bgsnmky said:

ericnliz said:

bgsnmky, The Avalanche came with the seven pin connector that was directly wired into the fuse box, and came with the brake controller as well. All I had to do was plug it in to the seven pin, set the brake controller to my desired setting, and go. Our Avalanche also has a "tow mode" which helps with the amount of down shifting on hills. If your brother & sister in laws Avalanche has a seven pin connector, it should accommodate fine for the brakes on the trailer, just need a brake controller if it doesn't have one, hence back to the wireless Prodigy. I hope that answers that question.
I think I know what you're asking for your first question about emails, so I'll give it a shot. You can send personal messages to another person by clicking on their name, when their info comes up, you will see on the top right where it says message, click on it, type in your message, and hit post message. If that's what you're asking, we should be good, if not, please clarify a little more. Thanks

I need to see if there is a way to get notification that an update to the thread has been made.  like "subscribe" so I get an email  I decided to check the thread and WOW - lots of posts..and I didn't know

@bgsnmky, your profile is set up correctly for you to get email notifications for everything you need. If you're still not getting emails we'll need to change compare the email address you signed up with and the email you expect the emails to be received. I hope that helps.

bgsnmky

Verna said:

bgsnmky said:

ericnliz said:

bgsnmky, The Avalanche came with the seven pin connector that was directly wired into the fuse box, and came with the brake controller as well. All I had to do was plug it in to the seven pin, set the brake controller to my desired setting, and go. Our Avalanche also has a "tow mode" which helps with the amount of down shifting on hills. If your brother & sister in laws Avalanche has a seven pin connector, it should accommodate fine for the brakes on the trailer, just need a brake controller if it doesn't have one, hence back to the wireless Prodigy. I hope that answers that question.
I think I know what you're asking for your first question about emails, so I'll give it a shot. You can send personal messages to another person by clicking on their name, when their info comes up, you will see on the top right where it says message, click on it, type in your message, and hit post message. If that's what you're asking, we should be good, if not, please clarify a little more. Thanks

I need to see if there is a way to get notification that an update to the thread has been made.  like "subscribe" so I get an email  I decided to check the thread and WOW - lots of posts..and I didn't know

@bgsnmky, your profile is set up correctly for you to get email notifications for everything you need. If you're still not getting emails we'll need to change compare the email address you signed up with and the email you expect the emails to be received. I hope that helps.

Thanks Verna..i went in right after someone pointed it out and set it up.  Works perfectly now...