To Brake assist or not to brake assist ?

wa8yxm wrote:

First I would NEVER recommend a Brake Buddy or any of the other "Box in the driver's position" systems.. These have to be INSTALLED every time you tow (I know they say "No Installation" but don't believe it).

I"d go with a Ready Brake (If you have not gotten a tow bar the Ready Brute has that option) or Blue Ox Auto Stop.. or if you have air brakes and it fits your towed (not a given) The M&G or Air force 1...

X10!
I wish I'd had access to this forum AND your advice when I added my toad to my MH. I bought the Brake Buddy.

The Brake Buddy IS a pain in the butt.
YES... each and every time you stop you have to drag the thing out of your toad and then when you are ready to go again you have to shove it back in and hook it all up.

I.E. install it each time.

If you are a weekend/vacation RV'er it's not so bad you get to your vacation destination and you are only putting it in and taking it out twice. I full time so that thing was in and out hundreds of times.

I had a Chevy Tracker. Small and "low to the ground". I had to get on my hands and knees to shove that thing in under the steering wheel and hook it up to the brake pedal, plug wires in and then press the button x amount of times, yada, yada, yada. :R

wa8yxm listed some of the far better options for a brake assist for a toad.

IMHO I would never recommend a brake buddy. Ya it served it's function and worked but it worked me even harder putting it in and out!!

OP: I had to panic stop my MH and you CAN feel the toad helping to stop instead of just being dead additional weight pushing you.

There was a real good video in the RV Magazine several years back that ACTUALLY showed the stopping distance with and without an assist brake in the toad using a class A.

You couldn't dispute the fact that it DID shorten the stopping distance. Which Could easily determine if you would hit the guy in front of you with your MH or not. :C