I talked to the shop as I was not sure if lights were included as I told them I might have a set.
Which I don't. They ordered a cheap set of led square lights. So that might add a bit to the price. They had acquire the plug harness and wiring. So that was included in the original price.

Ok guys, my mistake. There are rear brakes on the rear axle. At least drums. I have never towed anything that was heavy enough where I felt like I need them with the rig I tow with.

None of my rigs have a brake control in them. I am not even sure how they would work. There is no wiring for them that I see. No hydraulic set up. What should I do. I am tempted to just have the wiring done and continue to use as I have?

Possible a surge brake setup with the master cylinder made into the tongue unless the wiring harness has more than 4 connections. Not a huge problem unless you drive hills and high traffic areas as long as the tow vehicle is strong enough and you are keeping it under 5k or there about.

Thx Oz. No surge brake set up. No wiring that I see. That is my thinking as well on towing. Has been the case for years.

It will be nice to have new wiring. Been dealing with light issues more so lately, but ongoing. So getting that issue taken care of will be a big plus. Thanks to all who have provided thoughts and advice.

Enjoy your day guys.

I have an 18 foot 2 axle car hauler with electric brakes on both axles. I have used it for picking up and delivering baled hay, moving cars and moving an occasional tractor and large lawn mower. A riding lawnmower on it brings the total weight to about 3000 pounds. A load of hay or a tractor brings the total to about 7000 pounds. Brakes are necessary with the heavier weights and nice even on 3000 pounds. If you are driving down a country road at thirty miles an hour who cares? But if you are at highway speeds and somebody pulls out on you and you have an accident, you could be in legal trouble. I just bought a new to me 2013 GMC half ton. It is sort of wired for brakes from the factory but the controller needs to be added to complete the system. It was not difficult to do so I did it myself. I would check your state laws on brakes and determine if you have hydraulic or electric brakes and go from there. If you have a 3/4 ton dually, you can probably control a light load without brakes depending on how you define "light load".

I have surge brakes on both my boat and utility trailer. I have a solenoid in the brake line and wired to the backup lights so I can backup without applying the brakes.

Update: I have the trailer back with a new set of led tail lights. Not top of the line. Has a few leds in them. They are bright though.

So the talk about the brakes led me to talk with the shop about them.

The brakes were wired up. There was large flat connector near the front of the trailer. It was connected to a smaller flat four prong which is what I had always used (no brakes). The mechanic looked over and said most to the original wiring was in tact. So he left it after cleaning it up. Used some new wiring at the lights and used a new four plug connector at the front.

As it turned out I have a trailer with reliable wiring and all light functions work. But no brakes. Price was slightly over the the $250 but originally I was thinking I had some lights. So the shop supplied as it turned out I did not have a set.

I might of done it slightly different had I had it to do over again as far as the brakes are concerned. But the brakes have never been used so have no idea if they are operational or need major work to get operational. At some point I might have the brakes checked out and wire them up with a controller if I upgrade my truck down the road.

As it stands now I can use my trailer and feel good about it being fully operational in terms of the electrical.


Thanks for the help guys.