People certainly do tow in bad conditions, however I don't see many people trying to tow things like RVs, car trailers, ect in bad conditions around here. You do see the standard 18 wheel truckers out there in the worst of conditions but keep in mind many of these people have literally millions of miles of experience and their trailers are designed so that a significant portion of the weight is directly over the drive wheels.

Couple of other observations.

1) trailer brakes are required by law when you get to a certain weight point with the weight of the trailer. Limits vary by state but its typically between 2K and 4K pounds. Virtually all 2 axle trailers are equipped with brakes, cheaper trailers will have brakes on only the front axel but most 2 axle setups will have brakes on both axles.

2) Based upon my experiences it would be suicidal to attempt to tow a 3K pound trailer in snow/ice without trailer brakes. I can almost guarantee that you will have big problems in a very short time unless you live in a totally flat state and don't exceed 20 mph.

3) A larger contact patch in snow/ice is exactly what you don't want, larger contact patches will decrease the available traction, I've never driven a single axle trailer in bad weather but I'd guess they would be more stable.

4) The braking force delivered to the trailer is infinitely adjustable and must be 'dialed-in' by the operator based on the amount of weight the trailer is carrying AND the available traction. The procedures for setting the brake bias are detailed in the instruction manual for the brake controller. This 'feature' can be a real issue, for example you have to be aware that if you set the braking force when the pavement was dry that it needs to be adjusted when the road gets wet or icy. Same deal if you've offloaded a car and are now running empty - the first time you hit the brakes on an unloaded trailer they will all lock-up.

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