Hauling into Colorado

[Stephen Newell]

My son is moving into Colorado from Texas and I've offered to loan him my 16' utility trailer. His truck has Texas plates as well as the trailer. He's afraid of getting a ticket because the trailer doesn't have brakes and it is required there. I think it's ridiculous to put brakes on the trailer to haul one light load in the summer months and come back empty. Do you think they would ticket a Texas driver?

 

[caterpillar guy]

I would doubt they would know nor worry about it unless there were one of a couple things happen 1 an accident. 2 there was some kind of inspections going on that they would see it. And then they may not say anything being it has TX plates and knowing that they don't require them unless he was going to plate it in CO and since you said he is going to borrow it then he's not going to be keeping it nor plating it in CO . Though unless it is an awfully good paying job I don't see why he would be moving to CO with the political winds that are blowing there now days.

 

[john in la]

Most 16 foot utility trailers have 2 axles and have a GVWR of 7000 lbs or more.

My understanding is Texas requires brakes and break away on any trailer that goes over 30 mph and has a gvwr of 4500 lbs or more.



And why are we so worried about Colorado???
You have to get through either Ok or NM that have the same 3000 lb rules as Co also.

But to answer your question. The chances of a non commercial unit being caught unless a fatality accident occurs is slim to none.

 

[craigco]

I would not worry about it. Unless he is doing something to draw attention to him he won't even get one look. There are more out of state plates then Colorado plates. There's no inspection to come across either for personal trucks.

 

[Stephen Newell]

I would doubt they would know nor worry about it unless there were one of a couple things happen 1 an accident. 2 there was some kind of inspections going on that they would see it. And then they may not say anything being it has TX plates and knowing that they don't require them unless he was going to plate it in CO and since you said he is going to borrow it then he's not going to be keeping it nor plating it in CO . Though unless it is an awfully good paying job I don't see why he would be moving to CO with the political winds that are blowing there now days.

Strangely enough he was born here but can't stand the summer heat anymore. On top of that his wife's family lives there. He had to talk her into making the move though.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Most 16 foot utility trailers have 2 axles and have a GVWR of 7000 lbs or more.

My understanding is Texas requires brakes and break away on any trailer that goes over 30 mph and has a gvwr of 4500 lbs or more.



And why are we so worried about Colorado???
You have to get through either Ok or NM that have the same 3000 lb rules as Co also.

But to answer your question. The chances of a non commercial unit being caught unless a fatality accident occurs is slim to none.

In Texas you have to have a gross weight of more than 4500 lbs before brakes are required. Even carrying a car it's difficult to exceed that. My son brought it up about having brakes on the trailer. I could see in winter months when there might be ice on the roads. Where he's going is in the mountains.

 

[Stephen Newell]

I would not worry about it. Unless he is doing something to draw attention to him he won't even get one look. There are more out of state plates then Colorado plates. There's no inspection to come across either for personal trucks.

That is what I thought, you couldn't tell by driving by whether the trailer had brakes or not, you would have to crawl under the trailer with a flashlight to tell.

 

[john in la]

In Texas you have to have a gross weight of more than 4500 lbs before brakes are required. Even carrying a car it's difficult to exceed that. My son brought it up about having brakes on the trailer. I could see in winter months when there might be ice on the roads. Where he's going is in the mountains.

In Texas you have to have a gross weight Rating of more than 4500 lbs
I have never seen a law that allows you to go on what you actually weigh.
It is always based on what the GVW rating is or what you can haul.

I am now thinking this must be a home built trailer as a manufacture would have put brakes on a tandem axle trailer from the get go.
Either way I do not think this one trip will be a problem.

 

[Stephen Newell]

In Texas you have to have a gross weight Rating of more than 4500 lbs
I have never seen a law that allows you to go on what you actually weigh.
It is always based on what the GVW rating is or what you can haul.

I am now thinking this must be a home built trailer as a manufacture would have put brakes on a tandem axle trailer from the get go.
Either way I do not think this one trip will be a problem.

It was a factory made trailer but was made in the 1980's.

 

[ss55]

My son is moving into Colorado from Texas and I've offered to loan him my 16' utility trailer. His truck has Texas plates as well as the trailer. He's afraid of getting a ticket because the trailer doesn't have brakes and it is required there. I think it's ridiculous to put brakes on the trailer to haul one light load in the summer months and come back empty. Do you think they would ticket a Texas driver?

On flat ground local trip probably no problem. In mountains, a loaded half ton pickup towing a 2000 pound trailer without brakes and some cargo could be more than the pickups brakes can handle, especially on long mountain grades at interstate speeds. A 3/4 ton pickup or rent a trailer with brakes (one way or round trip) might be better.

 

[Scott 730]

Where he's going is in the mountains.

All the more reason to have brakes on the trailer.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Id use it just keep in mind the no brake issue in the mountains. I pulled a header trailer from Billings to ID with a 3/4 ton Pickup with no brakes with 2 30 ft heads on it .they were the rigid heads not flex heads but still in the 10-15000 range with trailer. Had a gear transmission to work with though in the pickup. Went over Bozman pass with it into Bozeman and Belgrade to Three rivers and down through to ID that way, Was 30 years ago now. Mountains in MT are not as tall as the ones in CO though only about 6-8000 versus 6-12000.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Look up "reciprocity." As a general rule, if a NON-COMMERCIAL vehicle/combination is legal in your home state, it's legal in all other states. There are a few exceptions, such as double towing. Honestly I can't say about trailer brakes, I haven't done the research.

You can probably get away with it. Just don't get pulled over or get into an accident, and you'll never need to know.

 

[John Deere D]

My son is moving into Colorado from Texas and I've offered to loan him my 16' utility trailer. His truck has Texas plates as well as the trailer. He's afraid of getting a ticket because the trailer doesn't have brakes and it is required there. I think it's ridiculous to put brakes on the trailer to haul one light load in the summer months and come back empty. Do you think they would ticket a Texas driver?

What is decided in a Curt of Law after the accident,can ruin you for ever.

 

[SPMN]

My son is moving into Colorado from Texas and I've offered to loan him my 16' utility trailer. His truck has Texas plates as well as the trailer. He's afraid of getting a ticket because the trailer doesn't have brakes and it is required there. I think it's ridiculous to put brakes on the trailer to haul one light load in the summer months and come back empty. Do you think they would ticket a Texas driver?

A group of us pulled trailers loaded with ATV's & UTV's from Texas to Colorado for years & none of us were ever checked.

 

[TractorDad3]

I guess I’ll play devils advocate and suggest being safer than sorry when towing in the mountains. I live 2 miles from I70 in the foothills outside of Denver and have seen plenty of nasty wrecks with trailers as you describe. There’s one at our exit all torn up right now. If he’s going up in the mountains rent him a trailer with brakes for safety’s sake, and maybe stay outta trouble if something does happen while you’re at it

 

[MarkB_MI]

As a non-commercial vehicle, it's unlikely the Colorado State Patrol will give him any trouble. HOWEVER, should he be involved in an accident or have to use a runaway truck escape ramp, the CSP will be very interested in his trailer's lack of brakes.

Is he actually going to be taking the trailer into the mountains? Most of the jobs in Colorado are in the Front Range, and you can drive there from Texas without ever encountering a steep grade. If, on the other hand, he's going into the Rockies I hope he has experience driving a heavy vehicle in the mountains. If he has to take your brake-less trailer into the mountains, he needs to GO SLOW.

 

[Stephen Newell]

New twist on the story, my son's father-in-law has been looking to buy a trailer so he had my son buy one for him here. It will have brakes on it.

 

[Stephen Newell]

As a non-commercial vehicle, it's unlikely the Colorado State Patrol will give him any trouble. HOWEVER, should he be involved in an accident or have to use a runaway truck escape ramp, the CSP will be very interested in his trailer's lack of brakes.

Is he actually going to be taking the trailer into the mountains? Most of the jobs in Colorado are in the Front Range, and you can drive there from Texas without ever encountering a steep grade. If, on the other hand, he's going into the Rockies I hope he has experience driving a heavy vehicle in the mountains. If he has to take your brake-less trailer into the mountains, he needs to GO SLOW.

It will be in the mountains. He is experienced with driving with heavy loads, for a while he drove an 18 wheeler.

 

[John Deere D]

New twist on the story, my son's father-in-law has been looking to buy a trailer so he had my son buy one for him here. It will have brakes on it.

I love a story, with a great ending............