• ZC3rr0r@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    That’s actually the most reasonable explanation I’ve seen so far, and it helps explain a bunch (one small correction: most states have a towing speed limit of either 55 or 65 mph, so just about the same or slower than in Europe. Canada is even worse with most provinces limiting highway towing speed to 80-90kmh). That said, it still doesn’t make any sense that our tow rating does not take into account the presence of a brake controller (that is to say, the stated towing capacity does not list braked and unbraked separately in most cars except trucks).

    • linuxisfun@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      one small correction: most states have a towing speed limit of either 55 or 65 mph, so just about the same or slower than in Europe

      Interesting, thanks for the correction! I didn’t spend the time to research it for all states / provinces, when I researched this topic a while ago.

      brake controller

      In Europe electronic brake controllers aren’t really a thing. Mechanical overrun brakes are used instead to brake trailers.

      That said, it still doesn’t make any sense that your tow rating does not take into account the presence of a brake controller

      Cars in Europe usually have two tow ratings, one for braked, the other for unbraked trailers.

      • trailers up to 750 kg can be unbraked and can be driven with a Class B driver’s license
      • trailers above 750 kg must be braked; you need a separate Class BE driver’s license, if the total weight of the combination is above 3500 kg
      • ZC3rr0r@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        My bad, that was a typo - I mean our tow rating. Most vehicles (except for trucks) don’t list the tow rating with a brake controller installed and the only way to get one is to have your vehicle rated and tested individually.