Eaglemax wrote:

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Our tow car is a Hyundai i30 crdi manual. The van is 3.2 metres kind and 1.8 metres wide, 1.9 metres internal height. Home built by myself end 2015. Tare 450 kg, gross 700 kg. No brakes.................................

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 If I was you I'd get a set of coupling operated mechanical OVER-RIDE BRAKES fitted to the van asap.

You say the van has a 450kg Tare and a 700kg gross (ATM) - it is well known that a trailer under 750kg does NOT have to have brakes.

BUT ............... have a close look at the rated towing capacities of your diesel i30 - the Hyundai specifications states a tow capacity of 1300kg braked............. BUT ONLY 500kg UNBRAKED.

So, as soon as you add more than 50kg payload into the van (and that includes the 88 kg of water), you are instantly OVERLOADING the i30. If you are loading the van up to your stated 700kg gross, then you are already 200kg OVERLOADED. It might tow OK, but if you have an accident, and the van is weighed and found overloaded, it will VOID your insurance.

Get yourself braked before it is too late !

Hey, Eaglemax,

That's a great job for a home build, I bet you got a lot of satisfaction out of that !

I've got the 'sister' car to your i30, the Kia Cerato - in fact it is slightly less a tow car than yours - your i30 is 1300kg braked and 500kg unbraked - the Cerato is only 1200kg braked and 450kg unbraked.

When I was looking for a small caravan to tow with the Cerato, the Avan Aliner was the biggest I could tow, as the ATM of the Aliner is 1100kg, so 100kg less than the tow car max (a bit of reserve). The Cerato max ballweight is only 75kg, but I've measured the Aliner ball when fully loaded (with digital scales) and it comes in at 71kg, so just under. The Aliner comes with electric brakes as standard, so I had a Teckonsha Primus IQ controller fitted under the dash just to the left of the steering column - when adjusted correctly, the Cerato and Aliner brake nicely in unison - I've never had any drama in braking over the 4 years I've been using this combination, probably also because the car is heavier than the van, so the tail is not wagging the dog.

I also have a newish heavy duty 7x4 enclosed box trailer - it is only 240kg tare but has an ATM of 900kg - because the trailer is way over the Cerato limit for unbraked trailers, I had electric brakes fitted, other wise I could only tow 450kg. The big advantage with the electric brake controller with the box trailer, is that I can adjust the brake force to suit empty trailer (240kg), half loaded trailer (570kg) and the full 900kg trailer. The amazing thing is, my trailer builder set up the brakes to work best, when full at 900kg, at the same setting that the Aliner uses, so I can hook up and tow either the Avan or the full trailer without having to adjust the controller settings.

I'm fully aware that any trailer under 750kg does NOT have to have brakes, but have a look at the new Jayco J-Pod trailer, they sell it as 749kg ATM so it does NOT have to have brakes (and they don't even offer them as an option). But, then looking at the 'target market' for the J-Pod, small car owners, I don't know how Jayco sell any, as there are practically NO small cars that can tow 750kg unbraked. Any car big enough to tow 750kg unbraked can tow larger braked vans up to 2 tonnes or more, so most owners would buy a bigger van rather than a J-Pod. Jayco must be missing out on a massive share of the market - if they offered brakes as an option, I reckon they'd sell heaps more. Avan's equivalent to the J-Pod, the Weekender, has electric brakes as standard, so does not have the same small car restrictions that the J-Pod has.

In my last post, I suggested you use mechanical over-ride brakes, but before you dive in and add brakes, also do a comparison with fitting electric brakes, you might find them a better option for your circumstances.

Regards, Brian