Which electronic brake do you all use for pulling such a big trailer with the 80? I have a popup and have been wondering which brake system should I buy.
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
Pulling a 5300lb 25 Ft Travel Trailer? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter tucsonlx
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
LC4LIFE
Supporting Vendor
lockd80
Totally right
x3 .. tekonsha, my popup did not have brakes on it when I bought it (a 19 foot coalman @ about 3500lb loaded) and the 80's brakes had a hard time keeping up. I installed the brakes on the trailer myself and what a huge difference!!
Thanks fellas... I noticed that the Tekonsha Prodigy also has a P3 model... any opinions? After camping all last year (about 6 trips) my brakes were taking a beating especially in the mountains 
. This for sure will be my next purchase!
. This for sure will be my next purchase!
lockd80
Totally right
Biaggi,
The P3 looks like it will be easyer to set up and operate than the Prodigy, this would be nice because the Prodogy only has a two digit display and to decifer what it is telling you requiers the owners manual. I have had my Prodigy for a couple years and still occasionaly need to refer back to the manual.
Also is your trailer equiped with electric brakes? The reason I ask is that my pop up did not have the electric brakes installed on the axles I had to buy and install them myself. The job is easy, if you can do drum brakes you can install electric brakes. I did the wiring also but if you are not familiar with electric brakes you may want to have a trailer shop do that part as well as installing the brake controller wiring. my 2c.
The P3 looks like it will be easyer to set up and operate than the Prodigy, this would be nice because the Prodogy only has a two digit display and to decifer what it is telling you requiers the owners manual. I have had my Prodigy for a couple years and still occasionaly need to refer back to the manual.
Also is your trailer equiped with electric brakes? The reason I ask is that my pop up did not have the electric brakes installed on the axles I had to buy and install them myself. The job is easy, if you can do drum brakes you can install electric brakes. I did the wiring also but if you are not familiar with electric brakes you may want to have a trailer shop do that part as well as installing the brake controller wiring. my 2c.
Locked80,
Yes my popup has the electric brakes. It's the Coleman/Fleetwood Bayside with 2 king beds. It weighs close around 3200-3500 and is about 23' long from the rear bumper to the hitch (when closed). I have a mechanic that has installed electric brakes to his Dodge Diesel truck that pulls a car travel trailer (for his 'on the go' mechanic shop) that weighs over 5k lbs easily... So I just wanted confirmation on what the other 80 owners use.
This is a great forum!!!! I thank all of you for your input and can't wait til taxes come back so I can go into mod madness mode (well a limited mod mode since I have to go through the 'Procurement Dept.' aka wife ;p)...
Yes my popup has the electric brakes. It's the Coleman/Fleetwood Bayside with 2 king beds. It weighs close around 3200-3500 and is about 23' long from the rear bumper to the hitch (when closed). I have a mechanic that has installed electric brakes to his Dodge Diesel truck that pulls a car travel trailer (for his 'on the go' mechanic shop) that weighs over 5k lbs easily... So I just wanted confirmation on what the other 80 owners use.
This is a great forum!!!! I thank all of you for your input and can't wait til taxes come back so I can go into mod madness mode (well a limited mod mode since I have to go through the 'Procurement Dept.' aka wife ;p)...
This is a good thread, it answered some questions I was gonna be asking very soon.
I have a 14' Jayco pop-up camper that weighs about 2,500lbs empty (no brakes) and I just got rid of my tow vehicle. With a wife, 4 small kids, and a dog it gets loaded down pretty good.
I'm buying a 94 FJ 80 this week from a member here. I plan on using it to tow my Jayco but was a little concerned because my 5.4 ford seemed to have a hard time on steep hills (up & down) and such.
Anyway I feel better after reading this thread. I will be looking into trailer brakes for the Jayco but still have a few questions.
I have a 91 FJ80 that I will be taking the tow hitch off of and putting on the 94. The 91 also has airbags in the coils (stock coils) and I'm wondering if they will fit the 94. The 94 has an OME 1" lift.
Anyone know if the airbags will work with the OME 1" coils ??
I do have another Pop-up that is smaller and weighs less. Its a 95 Dutchman that needs a new roof, some holes in the canvas patched, and tires. I thought about fixing it up, painting it to match the 80, making a big roof rack to haul my canoes and stuff, and swapping another axle under it with 31's.
.
I have a 14' Jayco pop-up camper that weighs about 2,500lbs empty (no brakes) and I just got rid of my tow vehicle. With a wife, 4 small kids, and a dog it gets loaded down pretty good.
I'm buying a 94 FJ 80 this week from a member here. I plan on using it to tow my Jayco but was a little concerned because my 5.4 ford seemed to have a hard time on steep hills (up & down) and such.
Anyway I feel better after reading this thread. I will be looking into trailer brakes for the Jayco but still have a few questions.
I have a 91 FJ80 that I will be taking the tow hitch off of and putting on the 94. The 91 also has airbags in the coils (stock coils) and I'm wondering if they will fit the 94. The 94 has an OME 1" lift.
Anyone know if the airbags will work with the OME 1" coils ??
I do have another Pop-up that is smaller and weighs less. Its a 95 Dutchman that needs a new roof, some holes in the canvas patched, and tires. I thought about fixing it up, painting it to match the 80, making a big roof rack to haul my canoes and stuff, and swapping another axle under it with 31's.
.
TrickToy,
I think the airbags will fit the springs. I doubt any changes were made to diameters of the coils. Also, my LX450 pulls pretty good in the mountains and highway. I also have a stabilizer bar for the trailer that hooks up to a 1" ball next to my 2" hitch and it doesn't sway at all. I just went through brake pads and rotors like crazy... I really need to get that electric brake unit put on asap.
I think the airbags will fit the springs. I doubt any changes were made to diameters of the coils. Also, my LX450 pulls pretty good in the mountains and highway. I also have a stabilizer bar for the trailer that hooks up to a 1" ball next to my 2" hitch and it doesn't sway at all. I just went through brake pads and rotors like crazy... I really need to get that electric brake unit put on asap.
Last edited:
I'm traveling this same road as well. If I want to ge tthe wife and daughter outdoors I'll have to go with something like the trailmanor or pop-up to drag comfortably behind the 80. I had a 27 foot Wilderness and unloaded on flat land pulling it with a similar sized chevy tailblazer it did fine but if I got into any small hills or MTN like east TN it gave it hell and bordered dangerous making climbs with the pedal to the floor. It was not a good fit. I'm leaning more towards the pop-up style sitting on taller tires with the utility rack in front for the gear and kids 4-wheeler that way we can drag it deeper in the trails when necessary. Storing the pop-up in the garage or shop is another benefit my Wilderness without a cover was sun & weather beat no matter how much you take care of it.
TrailManor|Easy Towing|Lighweight Travel Trailer
TrailManor|Easy Towing|Lighweight Travel Trailer
I like the TrailManor, but $30k?!? 
I like the TrailManor, but $30k?!?
Agreed
I took a look at one used for 10K and thought that was high until I got home and looked at them more. I'd never pay that much coin for a new one but will keep my eye out on the used ones. You can pick up some really good deals in my neck of the woods as people buy them and realize they're not using them enough to justify the cost. The same happens with boats here.
Fleetwood makes an off-road pop-up camper, Evolution and Evolution II. A little pricey as far as pop-ups go but not too bad.
The Evolution has a nice size storage rack/platform on the front and the Evolution II has a big platform/toy hauler on the front.
My buddy bought a used Evolution last year, here is a pic of it.
The Evolution has a nice size storage rack/platform on the front and the Evolution II has a big platform/toy hauler on the front.
My buddy bought a used Evolution last year, here is a pic of it.
Jayco has one too... Called the Baja, I think
So does Starcraft...
- Thread starter
- #36
Well, we looked at the 22ft and ended up liking it a lot, so much that we bought it. Don't know how it tows yet, we won't be picking it up for a couple of weeks. Dry weight is 4450lbs so we will probably be just a little over the limit when everything is loaded up but at least we aren't over the weight starting out. Also got an Equal-I-zer hitch for it. Now I just need to finish hooking up the Tekonsha P3 break controller and we will be set for the summer. I just hope that the 80 pulls it well enough that I don't automatically want another truck. Here are a couple of links:
http://famerv.com/search.php?type=1&c=U&Submit=Go It is the sportsman 2205 on the bottom Equal-i-zer Hitch - The “American Original” with 4-Point Sway Control and Weight Distribution And one of these to pull it
I will get some pics up after we pick it up.
http://famerv.com/search.php?type=1&c=U&Submit=Go It is the sportsman 2205 on the bottom Equal-i-zer Hitch - The “American Original” with 4-Point Sway Control and Weight Distribution And one of these to pull it
I will get some pics up after we pick it up.
LC4LIFE
Supporting Vendor
Very nice trailer, but you will surely feel that behind the 80. It will probably do okay until you hit your first incline, then your going to want forced induction or a different tow vehicle
with that kinda size & weight, id either regear or go back to stock size tires. thats alotta trailer. as great as the 1FZ is...its no HD3500. youll probably be better off with the V8's in the 100 series...
nice trailer at a pretty good price though...
nice trailer at a pretty good price though...
- Thread starter
- #39
I am a little worried about hitting any hills with it but right now I don't have the money to buy a new truck so I have to make this work for another year or 2. Ended up getting the trailer for 6k and the hitch for 500. I wasn't expecting to get quite that good of a deal but I guess times are hard for RV dealers. I will let you all know how bad the hills really are.
With that kind of weight, you better invest in some coil aribags ($100) to stiffen up the rear springs during tow load.
