Hey all,Sold my diesel 40 ft with air brakes and air brake actuated towed btake, blue ox. Still have the jeep and want to occasionally tow flat behind my e450 Thor 23u.What are the best e brake systems for these? I see the drop in kind like brake buddy, haven't seen nor priced the install version. Occasionally we will be on the road for a couple days, so how is the brake buddy style kept charged? Any other? Looking for easy set up.Right now lights on towed are 4 pin round connector to tail lights .The coach has no prodigy or other brake controller on it , but has a 7 pin at rear.Thanks

I used a brake buddy when I towed a toad. you will hear a lot of "not proportional " and other nonsense, but it works just fine. I plugged mine into a small jumper battery jobby that I wanted along anyway so it wouldn't run down the battery. I liked it because I could move it between/among toads. bumpy

The Patriot II isn't bad to work with. Sets up automatically after you position it. Has a 12VDC wireless remote monitor that sits inside the motorhome to let you know when the brakes are applied. Runs off a 12VDC outlet, and there just happens to be one inside the center console in our 2016 Wrangler Sahara. It's "hot" even when the Jeep ignition isn't on, so it works great as the power source for the Patriot.

I use the ready brake system to tow my JK. It's mechanical and I find it reliable.

I have a SMI Stay-N-Play. Control is mounted out of the way. You do not have to remove every time you need to drive toad. Just turn switch on to tow and off to drive toad.

X2 - We have a SMI StayNPlay on our Jeep Wrangler also, it's a reliable and quite convenient braking system.

electric towed brake systems help | Good Sam Community

Bumpyroad
Explorer
Jan 28, 2018
I used a brake buddy when I towed a toad. you will hear a lot of "not proportional " and other nonsense, but it works just fine. I plugged mine into a small jumper battery jobby that I wanted along anyway so it wouldn't run down the battery. I liked it because I could move it between/among toads.
bumpy
MDKMDK
Explorer
Jan 28, 2018
The Patriot II isn't bad to work with. Sets up automatically after you position it. Has a 12VDC wireless remote monitor that sits inside the motorhome to let you know when the brakes are applied. Runs off a 12VDC outlet, and there just happens to be one inside the center console in our 2016 Wrangler Sahara. It's "hot" even when the Jeep ignition isn't on, so it works great as the power source for the Patriot.
klutchdust
Explorer II
Jan 28, 2018
I use the ready brake system to tow my JK. It's mechanical and I find it reliable.
enblethen
Nomad
Jan 28, 2018
I have a SMI Stay-N-Play. Control is mounted out of the way. You do not have to remove every time you need to drive toad. Just turn switch on to tow and off to drive toad.
Islandman
Explorer
Jan 28, 2018
X2 - We have a SMI StayNPlay on our Jeep Wrangler also, it's a reliable and quite convenient braking system.
cbigham
Explorer III
Jan 28, 2018
How much is that, who installs and total cost? Thanks
enblethen
Nomad
Jan 28, 2018
Stay-N-Play is about $1000 for kit. Amazon has them for $990. It should take a automotive shop about 2 hours for install.
Bea_PA
Explorer
Jan 28, 2018
We always used Brake Buddy because we towed different cars, now use a Patroit
cbigham
Explorer III
Jan 29, 2018
Thanks,
Home mechanic installable?
MDKMDK
Explorer
Jan 29, 2018
Bea PA wrote:
We always used Brake Buddy because we towed different cars, now use a Patroit

I like the Patriot, and it fits in nicely with the rest of my Blue Ox flat towing system. Patriot II BRK2016 is a proportional braking system. Some folks prefer this to the progressive braking of some of the other braking systems. It's also easily moved from one toad to another, should you change your current toad. No additional installation required, and setup is pretty easy. Just move the Patriot to the new toad. You'll need to move or add a new baseplate and wiring for lights, but you'd have to do that for any braking system. The Patriot II is comparably priced. There are demo videos and reviews on both out there if you're interested.