WA State trailer brake law?

Does anyone live in WA and know for sure the trailer brake law for boat trailers? The Washington State Patrol's Trailer Requirement states that "every trailer having a gross weight exceeding 3,000 pounds must be equipped with brakes on all wheels". Do you guys in WA have brakes on both axles on your trailers?

http://www.trailnsail.com/selection%20guide.htm

Yes that is the law in WA. Use link above and scroll down to bottom it lists all the regulations for towing in WA. It says "Required on all trailers on all wheels. Under 3000 lbs not required unless trailer exceeds 40% of the towing vehicle gross weight".

It is the law but I don't follow it. I bought my boat from a dealer that purchased it out of California from a dealer that went BK. I talked to my dealer and his answer satisfied me but for the life of me I can't remember what it is. I have on 2 occasions locked up the trailer brakes and they worked just fine. Incidentally I know do not follow so closely while towing.

Yes, brakes on every wheel. Although I moved to WA from Cali and got a waiver on my old boat's trailer from the SP because it was from out of state.

When I bought my MB from Oregon it only had 1 set of brakes and there were no q's from Wa state. Maybe the law means the trailer not including boat weight. I dunno.

(Message edited by newty on March 11, 2008)

The law is definitely for the trailer and boat weight combined. Listen, I would NOT recommend towing a $40-50K + wake boat over the mountains in Washington ( or anywhere for that matter) without brakes on both axles. The first time you really have to crush the brakes to get out of the way of some idiot that cuts you off ( and it will happen) you will regret trying to stop a 5500 trailer/boat setup with no brakes or even one set of brakes on a tandem. I lived in Washington for 17 years and made the run from Sammamish to the Columbia A LOT and coming down the pass with good trailer brakes is VERY comforting.

If you choose not to have a trailer shop ( like Tork Lift in Kent) add the brakes to your set-up then at least do everyone on this board a favor and post pics and your license information so we can stay the heck out of your way when we see you on the road.

interesting opinion.
A properly adjusted and maintained set of trailer brakes should never have any problem stopping. The problem there is, the fair share of people do not maintain there brakes.

That's strange,

I only had one axle with brakes on my first boat purchased in Seattle. My second boat was purchased in Portland, and only had one axle with brakes. My third boat I purchased in California and it doesn't have brakes on both axles. I've had to lock up the rig on a couple occasions, and the trailer brakes have been more than adequate. Maybe it's just the fact that I own a one ton with four wheel discs and an 18k towing capacity, but I've never had issues with stopping?

Yeah I think a one-ton ought to do it. Look - i'm not trying to start a fight- but there are some folks out there pulling very heavy boat/trailer set-ups with inadequate rigs and no trailer brakes or brakes that don't work well. And Cliff you know how fast you can get going coming down Snoqualmie Pass- that's a scary situation without the proper set-up.

If most other states think 1 set is just fine on the trailer than I'm comfortable with 1 and a good tow rig. I'm a big fan of over trucking your load I'm pretty lucky I get a new F150 every 6 months which is rated at 9300# and I only tow about 4k. My buddy is buying a new Jeep Unlimited and we regularly go to Chelan/Entiat. He want's to tow the boat over with it which it's rated to do but I told him "hell no" I wouldn't consider it.

Apparently that is the law in WA. With the mountains there, I'm sure that's why they did it. While brakes on one axle might be adequate, I understand the WA State Patrol requires brakes "on all wheels" and if you're in an accident in WA you could be liable for not having the correct brakes.

I wonder when this law was put in place?

My '96 Sunsetter LX trailer had drum breaks on one axle and my '06 Sunsetter XTi has disc brakes on both axles. The '96 was purchased from a Washington dealer and the '06 was purchased from an Idaho dealer.

JT

New boat trailers have to have brakes on all axles. I don't know if they require it on used boat trailers. My old boat (I bought in Seattle, but it was originally from AZ) had surge brakes on one axle, not the other. My new boat trailer has discs on both.
Whether you can stop or not, if you are in an accident and you have equipment that is illegal, you will get a hefty fine. Even if it's not your fault.

For all,

I wasn't trying to engage in debate (I should have used emoticons) I was just caught off guard on this one. What really gets me is there was no mention of it whatsoever in my Power Squadron teachings. Just when you think your as safe as possible, bam, another law surfaces.

My 2006 Supra came from Spokane and it came standard with discs on all 4's

There has to be some production time frame limitation here. There are way to many single brake setups on trailers in Washington. Maybe something on the books regarding a certain manufacture year forward like emissions.

nope cliff you're not legal. honey give me the phone, i'm calling the cops!

;)