Is there a definable standard, or a rule-of-thumb for how much weight you can tow on a trailer before you should consider having brakes on that trailer?
I'm sure the individual vehicle plays into this quite a bit in regards to braking ability, but as someone with no towing experience looking to buy a trailer soon for my very under-powered, light car, I'm interested in finding out whether a trailer I intend to tow should have / needs to have brakes, and at what point they should be considered.